Love is the Cure For Every Evil

Confusion - August 1983

With the success of "Blue Monday", New Order had established themselves as an outfit that could create great dance music in addition to pop and rock tunes. It was only natural that they would continue to explore this musical realm further. In doing so, the band left their beloved Manchester, headed across the Atlantic Ocean to New York City, and teamed up with renowned DJ Arthur Baker.

"Confusion" is a very successful blending of New Order's pop sensibilities and instrumentation with '80s American hip hop beats and conventions. Vocal samples, scratch effects, and backmasking, tools never before employed by the band, come into play throughout the song. The result is an amazingly catchy dance number. The fact that the song is a lot of fun, especially when compared to "Blue Monday", makes it really stand out in my mind.

It should be noted that the version on Substance is a rerecording and not the original mix. A shorter radio edit of the original mix can be found on Singles. The original mix is rawer and has more energy, but both are pretty fantastic.

9 out of 10

Thieves Like Us/Lonesome Tonight - April 1984

"Thieves Like Us" is another collaboration with Arthur Baker, but unlike "Confusion", this song is a synth-pop ballad. rather than a dance jam. This is about as lovely of a song as one can get from New Order. It's very keyboard driven, has a great Peter Hook bass line, and is embellished with some nice, but sparse distorted guitar hits. Lyrics have never been Bernard Sumner's strengths, and "Thieves Like Us" has some of pretty goofy lines. "Love is the air, it supports the eagle" being a real gem. Still the sentiment is pure and lovely, and the entire package is near perfect.

The B-Side is "Lonesome Tonight" which is one of New Order's better second side efforts. It's a little more guitar driven when compared to "Thieves Like Us", but it compliments the A-Side fairly well. Laid back and serene, but not as sexy as "Thieves Like Us". It's a pretty rewarding song, though, and it continues to grown on me with each new listen.

9 out of 10

Murder/Thieves Like Us (Instrumental) - May 1984

This single was only released in Belgium, but both songs appear on the second disc of the Substance CD. "Murder" is a forgettable instrumental that features samples from the films 2001: A Space Odyssey and Caligula. Very bland. Very unremarkable. The B-Side is a slight remixing of an instrumental version of "Thieves Like Us" which is pleasant enough, but I'd rather have the silly lyrics.

4 out of 10