Pleasures Unknown

Pleasures Unknown

Track Listings

1. Namuka Bay

2. Runaway Together

3. Free Fall

4. Reach'n

5. Hanging by a Rope

6. Disco Assassinator

7. Done With You

8. Shake It Up

9. Air Guitar

Tracks:

Disorder
Day Of the Lords
Candidate
Insight
New Dawn Fades
She's Lost Control
Shadowplay
Wilderness
Interzone
I Remember Nothing

Customer Reviews:

Shades of Grey.......2006-11-13

This is an album that displays emtion in each of its song. Unlike many of todays artist who pose for certain look or stlye, Joy Division were about channeling their emotions through their music. Unknown Pleasures, a landmark album the world was not ready for its time of release and yet still an album that sounds fresh and not dated. From the opening track Disorder to the track I Rememeber Nothing, the album is a sonic venture unlike the world has seen. She's Lost Control alone a track that makes you feel like you are on the edge of losing control. Seeing footage of Ian Curtis perform SLC is simply shocking. As the beat of the Stephen Morris drums fuel the gyrations of what seems to be an Ian Curtis in a state of epilepsy, one can wonder how Ian didnt lose control there and then. Whereas the power of Shadowplay can be summoned up in one lyric "In the Shadowplay acting out your own death.." Unknown Pleasures offers us a view into Joy Divisions world. A dystopia in shades of grey.

Track Listing Peculiar.......2006-11-01

Amazon sort out your track listing for this album you dense sick motherfu$$ers..........and remember to clean your teeth afterwards.

This album desrves much much better than to be tagged with incorrect information being unique in its genre or rather inventing its own genre unlike yourselves.........I tell ya wat if you lot were a river i'd dam you.

correct track listing.......2006-10-14

Amazon tsk tsk tsk... you got the product description and track listing wrong! Get with it guys!
REAL track listing:

1.Disorder - 3:32
2.Day of the Lords - 4:50
3.Candidate - 3:05
4.Insight - 4:29
5.New Dawn Fades - 4:48
6.She's Lost Control - 3:57
7.Shadowplay - 3:56
8.Wilderness - 2:38
9.Interzone - 2:16
10.I Remember Nothing - 5:52

innovative pioneers.......2006-10-09

highly influental and can never be compared to. so many artists try to cover their songs and all seem to fail miserably to grasp the sound, especially all the electronic artists. give it up!! get off your computer and play some instruments if you want to cover a band like joy division!

am i the only one that notices that amazon has the track list wrong? or did the band change the titles at one point?

Depressive Pleasures .......2006-10-01

"Joy Division's " first album-- Unknown Pleasures (1979))--launches a scathing sucker punch to humanity that will turn your Peter Pan "happy thoughts" aflame. Through daunting singer/songwriter Ian Curtis--an artiste that uses his pessimistic lyrics as a comment on societal mores to promote subversion in the listener and make them question the bleaker aspects of everyday existence-- this unit achieves pathos in a number of ways; including Curtis' suicide shortly after recording the single, Love will Tear us Apart, shortly before the release of their second album, "Closer." This second-dimension to the refrain make this group from Manchester, England much more than the typical mainstream, jivey, and greedy bands that seem like they are only trying to become the next poster boys. Instead, it is an intriguing, as well as a heartbreaking listen to a man's final testament to the world and god that he feels betrayed by.

Their message is made apparent by Curtis' voice, lurching with a flat monotone, peeling the listeners' emotion away like a vagrant soul found in the pages of an Edgar Allen Poe story. Moreover, this relic of mirth is at the heart of the lyrical themes that range from betrayal, death, depression, religion, and crumbling sanity. This downbeat sensibility has the somberness of the broken-hearted youth in a Shakespearean tragedy, and the damnable suffering of a villain's final breath in the climax of a Jacobean revenge story. The "all is not well in wonderland" angst is apparent on Pleasure's opener, the emotionally withdrawn song, Disorder. Containing the daring first lyric, " I am waiting for the guide to come and take me by the hand," the refrain shows a loss of touch with reality, leading to a lust for death. It is this blur between the earthbound and the empyreal that makes "Joy Division" a landmark band that would set up the groundwork for other genres, such as Goth.

Bassist Peter Hook, drummer Stephen Morris, and guitarist Bernard Albrecht perform the sonic atmospherics. This British triple-threat adds to this emotional masterpiece of dark delicacies constructed from a vortex of fractured passions and disbanded ecstasies. Working as a collective whole, the members brandish a high concepted, yet refined minimalism in their sound that fluctuates from dizzyingly kinetic, to a subdued, unsettled tone; and it is in the passionate musical arrangements that a cough of life emerges. "Joy Division's" classical merit is an absolute, they are a fever-pitch of decadence, and a masterful band that transmitted their social concerns and lack of faith in the system into their music. Speaking on the unjust tragedy of Curtis' suicide, the audience must understand that true art is an emotional outlet for someone's own frustrations in the world, and no matter how blurred with reality it may be, art is always a form of self-expression, and communication. Thus by turning our back on the artists' views, because of their personal problems, we in turn dehumanize that person.

Moreover, despite their gloom-drenched aura, "soul" and "diversity" is at the hull of the band. The music itself speaks; frankly, re-animating the emotional somberness only for the album to stop spinning in the player, but not in the listeners' mind. Unknown Pleasures is not just a masterpiece of music, but rather an experience that brought artistry into the post-punk sound, and made it an emotional tool to break your heart, to then enclose the fragments in darkness. R.I.P. Ian Curtis

**** 1/2 (Out of 5)

Note- Only negative-- The overlong last song, "I remember nothing."

Kathleen Battle & Christopher Parkening ~ Pleasures of Their Company

Average customer rating:

Enjoying The Pleasures of K. Battle & C. Parkening
Great blending of the talents of two top-notch artists in their respective fields. Parkening on the guitar and Battle singing.
Superb technique, emotionally flat, but enjoyable even so.
ONE OF MY FAVOURITES
Fans will be delighted!

Kathleen Battle & Christopher Parkening ~ Pleasures of Their Company
John Dowland , Manuel de Falla , Charles Gounod , Heitor Villa-Lobos , Enrique Granados , Fini Henriques , Jaime Ovalle , Joaquim Antonio Barroso Neto , Franz Xaver Richter , Anonymous , William Levi Dawson , Robert MacGimsey , Kathleen Battle , and Christopher Parkening
Manufacturer: EMI Classics
ProductGroup: Music
Binding: Audio CD

General | Classical | Styles | Music

Gospel | Christian & Gospel | Styles | Music

General | Opera & Vocal | Styles | Music

Modern & 20th Century | Historical Periods | Opera & Vocal | Styles | Music

Battle, Kathleen | Divas | Opera & Vocal | Styles | Music

Solo Instrumental | New Age | Styles | Music
Similar Items:

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Kathleen Battle · Wynton Marsalis ~ Baroque Duet / Anthony Newman · Orch St. Luke's · Nelson
So Many Stars
The Best of Kathleen Battle
Kathleen Battle Sings Mozart

ASIN: B000002RNM
Release Date: 1990-10-25

Tracks:

Music By John Dowland: Come Again! Sweet Love Doth Now Invite
Music By John Dowland: Allemande (Guitar Solo)
Music By John Dowland: What If I Never Speed?
Music By John Dowland: Galliard (Guitar Solo)
Music By John Dowland: Fine Knacks For Ladies
Ave Maria
Bachianas Brasileiras No.5: Aria
Coleccion De Tonadillas: La Maja De Goya
Three Brazilian Songs: Boi-Bumba
Three Brazilian Songs: Azulao
Three Brazilian Songs: Para Ninar
Three Spanish Folk Songs: Cancion
Three Spanish Folk Songs: Nana
Three Spanish Folk Songs: Seguidillia Murciana
Six Spirituals: Ain't Got No Time To Die
Six Spirituals: I Couldn't Hear Nobody Pray
Six Spirituals: Ain't That Good News!
Six Spirituals: Sweet Little Jesus Boy
Six Spirituals: This Little Light Of Mine
Six Spirituals: Ride On King Jesus

Customer Reviews:

Enjoying The Pleasures of K. Battle & C. Parkening.......2007-05-06

Whether you are very familiar with these two artists or have never heard either one, you will delight in this musical collaboration. Only a guitarist of Christopher Parkening's stature could be the ideal accompaniment to the perfection of Kathleen Battle's voice. The music ranges from selections by John Dowland to American spirituals, Bach/Gounod, Villa-Lobos, Granados and some Spanish folk songs. The result is a coherent, soothing and utterly delightful listening experience. You will revisit this album often, and always be glad that you have it. For fans of Kathleen Battle and Christopher Parkening, I think it is a must.

Great blending of the talents of two top-notch artists in their respective fields. Parkening on the guitar and Battle singing........2006-01-31

We always enjoyed seeing and hearing Battle in concerts, usually on the television and Parkening has been a favorite guitarist. To listen to these two fine artists in concert is a real treat.

Superb technique, emotionally flat, but enjoyable even so........2005-05-25

I can't imagine these songs being performed with any greater technical brilliance than they are by Parkening and Battle on this CD. Both are virtuosos, him in the guitar, her the voice. Their skill is particularly apparent in the Dowland songs, the "Ave Maria", and the Bachianas brasileiras no. 5 (for me, the high point of the recording), which are all in a formal style well suited to the talents of the performers.

I compare the Brazilian songs to the version recorded by Salli Terri with Laurindo Almeida in the late '50's on "Duets with Spanish Guitar", which I have listened to repeatedly since I first heard it in 1959. Battle's phrasing, enunciation, and vocal skill are far superior to Terri's, but Terri brought a level of emotion to her singing that Battle seems to lack. Where Battle's perfection enhances her superb performances of the Dowland and Villa-Lobos pieces, it seems to detract from her performance of the Brazilian folk pieces.

I find this to be true again in the spirituals - vocal perfection and control detracting from the "soul" required to bring out the "spiritual" feeling. Imagine these same pieces sung by Mahalia Jackson or Aretha Franklin and you'll understand my point.

Parkening's performance has the same quality - technical virtuosity, especially noticeable in his lute-like technique in the Dowland solo - but lacking in emotional depth.

The classical selections are highly recommended, the folk pieces a bit disappointing, but overall an enjoyable recording.

ONE OF MY FAVOURITES.......2004-03-19

THIS IS ONE OF MY FAVOURITE BATTLE ALBUMS, HER SWEET VOICE IS ACCOMPAINED BY THE GUITAR VIRTUOSO CHRISTOPHER PARKENING, TOGETHER CREATE A TENDER, DELIGHTFUL & BEAUTIFUL LISTENING EXPERIENCE. BACHIANAS BRASILEIRAS N- 5 HAS IT`S BEST PERFORMANCE IN THIS CD.

Fans will be delighted!.......2003-08-25

Fans, maybe, but I must say I'm not a huge fan of Kathleen Battle or opera or songs in different languages, either. My mom is, though. And through her I have heard Kathleen's best. And her very best (if you ask me) is one of the tracks ON THIS CD titled "Ain't that good news," even though it should be called "Ain'ta dat good news," since that is how its sung. It is a really good song (ask anybody) with a little surprise high-note at the end. If I were you I would (if not buy this CD right here and now) then go to [a book store] and see if their computers will let you hear "Ain't that good news" because that song is great.