Power, Corruption & Lies

Infobox Album
Name = Power, Corruption & Lies
Type = studio
Artist = New Order


Released = 2 May 1983
Recorded = Britannia Row Studios, Islington (1982/3)
Genre = Post-punk
Alternative dance Techno New Wave
Length = 42:35
Label = Factory
UK - FACT 75
US - FACTUS 12
Producer = New Order
Reviews =
* Allmusic Rating|4.5|5 [http://www.allmusic.com/cg/amg.dll?p=amg&sql=10:uau06j4h7180 link]
* "Rolling Stone" Rating|4|5 [http://www.rollingstone.com/artists/neworder/albums/album/106610/review/5941989/power_corruption__lies link]
* Robert Christgau (B+) [http://www.robertchristgau.com/get_artist.php?name=new+order link]
Last album = "Movement"
(1981)
This album = "Power, Corruption & Lies"
(1983)
Next album = "Low-Life"
(1985)

"Power, Corruption & Lies" was the second album by Manchester band New Order, released in May 1983. The album achieved more widespread popularity than any of the band's previous releases, including those of previous band Joy Division. The music is more electronic-based than previous albums, with heavy use of synthesizers. In 1989, it was ranked #94 on "Rolling Stone" magazine's list of the 100 greatest albums of the 1980s.

In 2008 the album was re-released in a Collector's Edition with a bonus disc.

Cover

Peter Saville's design for the album had a colour-based code to represent the band's name and the title of the album, but they were not actually written on the sleeve itself (they were, however, present on the North American sleeve). The decoder for the code was featured prominently on the back cover of the album and can also be used for the "Blue Monday" and "Confusion" singles. Saville also used it on Section 25's album "From the Hip", which is in many ways aligned stylistically with "Power, Corruption & Lies" and produced partly by New Order's Bernard Sumner.

The cover is a reproduction of the painting "A Basket of Roses" by French artist Henri Fantin-Latour, which is part of the National Gallery of London's permanent collection [http://www.nationalgallery.org.uk/cgi-bin/WebObjects.dll/CollectionPublisher.woa/wa/work?workNumber=NG3726] . The art director Peter Saville intended to create a collision between the overly romantic and classic image which made a stark contrast to the typography based on the modular, colour-coded alphabet he created solely for the band. It is also said [cite video
people = Peter Saville, Tony Wilson
year = 2002
date =
title = 24 Hour Party People
url = http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0274309/
format =
medium = DVD (commentary)
publisher = Pathé
location =
accessdate =
accessmonth=
accessyear =
time =
quote =] that the owner of the painting (The National Heritage Trust) first refused Factory Records access to it. Tony Wilson, the head of the label, then called them up to ask who actually owned the painting and were given the answer that the Trust belonged to the people of Britain, at some point. Wilson then famously replied "Well, the people of Britain now want it". The title of the album was chosen by Bernard Sumner from a 1981 conceptual art exhibition in Cologne, Germany. On the opening night of the exhibition the artist Gerhard Richter vandalized the exterior of the Kunsthalle by spray painting the text, "Power, Corruption, and Lies".Fact|date=September 2008

Track listing

All songs written by New Order.

# "Age of Consent" – 5:16
# "We All Stand" – 5:14
# "The Village" – 4:37
# "5 8 6" – 7:31
# "Your Silent Face" – 6:00
# "Ultraviolence" – 4:52
# "Ecstasy" – 4:25
# "Leave Me Alone" – 4:40

"US Reissue"
# "Age of Consent" – 5:16
# "We All Stand" – 5:14
# "The Village" – 4:37
# "5 8 6" – 7:31
# "Blue Monday" – 7:29
# "Your Silent Face" – 6:00
# "Ultraviolence" – 4:52
# "Ecstasy" – 4:25
# "Leave Me Alone" – 4:40
# "The Beach" – 7:18

2008 Deluxe Edition reissue bonus disc:
# "Blue Monday" (12" Version)
# "The Beach" (12" Version)
# "Confusion" (12" Version)
# "Thieves Like Us" (12" Version)
# "Lonesome Tonight" (12" Version)
# "Murder" (12" Version)
# "Thieves Like Us" (Instrumental)
# "Confusion" (Instrumental)

Personnel

* Bernard Sumner; Vocals, guitars, melodica, synthesizers & programming
* Peter Hook; 4 & 6 stringed bass, electronic percussion
* Stephen Morris; Drums, synthesizers & programming
* Gillian Gilbert: Synthesizers & programming, guitars
* New Order; Production
* Michael Johnson – Engineering
* Barry Sage and Mark Boyne – Assistants

Release details

* UK 12" – Factory Records (FACT 75)
* UK cassette – Factory Records (FACT 75C)
* US 12" – Factory Records/Rough Trade Records (FACTUS 12)
* UK CD (1993 re-release) – London Records (520 019-2)

Chart positions

* UK – #4
* AUS – #38

See also

* New Order discography

External links

* [http://www.neworderonline.com/Music/Release.aspx?ReleaseID=6 "Power, Corruption & Lies" on New Order Online]
* [http://www.worldinmotion.net/neworder/discography/albums/1983/pcl.htm "Power, Corruption & Lies" on World in Motion]

References