I bought this CD in 1995, and it's been a great friend these past ten years. I'm not a dance music kinda guy, but I make an exception for New Order (or Future Sound of London!), as their music not as devoid of substance as the vast majority of music that exists to make us shake our rumps. There's a hard-to-define melancholy running through much of this music, almost mystical in feeling. I often find myself quietly singing these songs and am not surprised when they conjure up some strange emotions, or the longing ache in the solar plexus. "Vanishing Point" has always reminded me of William Blake.

This album is more like a summary of new order's work, with the songs chosen being shortened from their original versions...It's a great album with a nice mix of their acoustic and electronic songs, but they should have included the original blue monday and not the '88 version, which is garbage...My favorite songs from this CD are vanishing point and the round and round remix...Good Stuff from a great band, but if you really want to listen to their music, buy ALL their albums and you won't regret it! Technique and Power, Corruption and Lies are in my opinion their best albums, but buy all their cd's and you'll listen to what real versatility in music is compared to all the other garbage out there today!

Forgett about Depeche Mode, Forgett about Kraftwerk
NEW ORDER rules the techno world.
thats all i have to say
HM

Equally at ease with synthpop or rock, New Order has, for about a quarter of a century, been producing music that has been a hit with the public, critics, and peers. New Order started out as Joy Division, part of that explosion in the United Kingdom in the late '70s early '80s that gave birth to experimental synthesizer-based acts like Gary Numan, The Human League, Orchestral Manoeuvres in the Dark, Depeche Mode, and Yaz. Not as early as Germany's Kraftwerk, but close.

New Order's Peter Hook's melodic bass and Bernard Sumner's unemotional singing--copied by the Pet Shop Boys' Neil Tennant?--and subtle lyrics help set this group apart from other artists. Their albums, for the most part, are stark in design, provide no pictures of the band members, and do not even mention their names. In the early part of their career, they rarely gave interviews--they preferred to let their music do the talking--gave short sets during their live performances--about an hour--and no encores. No wonder a mystique built up.

New Order can rock with the best as "Run 2" demonstrates; this is danceable, but you will get a better idea of the dance gods they have become with synthpop masterpieces like "Touched by the Hand of God" and "Blue Monday--88"--a four-minute mix of the 7.5 minute original "Blue Monday" that is the biggest selling twelve-inch; although these are three of New Order's best songs, it is debatable whether the rest of the material on this album are among their best.

"World in Motion" is not in any of their studio albums, so it is a welcome addition here. "True Faith--94," "Bizarre Love Triangle--94," "1963--94," and "Round & Round--94" are pleasant but no huge improvement over the versions that appear in their studio albums and the compilation _Substance_. Similarly, "Fine Time," "The Perfect Kiss," and "Shell Shock" are shorter versions. "Regret," "Vanishing Point," and "World (Price of Love)" are, like the previously mentioned, all good songs, but, again, it is debatable whether they are New Order's best.

What happened to songs like "Dreams Never End," "Your Silent Face," "Love Vigilantes," "Temptation," "All the Way," and the album version of "Sub-Culture"? Other songs that should have been included would be a selection from "Age of Consent," "The Village," "586," "Ceremony," "Everything's Gone Green," "In a Lonely Place," "Mesh," "Hurt," and "Confused Instrumental." The early version of "586" on _The John Peel Sessions_ is also outstanding. If you have nothing by New Order, this is an excellent recording to get you familiar with the band's sound. Just do not think that you are getting anything close to their best.

If you like this recording, you should also buy their double-CD set _Substance_. After that, buy, in this order, their albums _Power, Corruption & Lies_, _Technique_, _Low-Life_, _Get Ready_, _Brotherhood_, and _The John Peel Sessions_. If you enjoy _Peel_, you may also want to buy Joy Division's _Closer_. Joy Division has a much different sound--darker and less melodic, less poppy, less electronic sounding, and less danceable, a night-and-day difference.

this album doesn't even remotely do this band justice. The renditions of the songs they have selected are often weaker(i.e perfect kiss,blue monday,bizarre love triangle), because these are the radio versions, but no one is a buying the cd because they want the radio dammit, they want the best of new order. bottom line: great band, but this disc is waste of time. check out substance instead and wait patiently until someone actually compiles a real best of collection. Also note this album completely neglect power corruption, and lies, my favourite new order album and the turning point in their career.