Technique (album)

Technique
Studio album by New Order
Released 30 January 1989
Recorded 1988 at Mediterranean Studios, Ibiza; Real World Studios, Box
Genre Alternative pop, alternative dance, acid house[1]
Length 39:32
Label Factory – FACT 275
Producer New Order
New Order chronology

Brotherhood
(1986)		 Technique
(1989)		 Republic
(1993)
Singles from Technique
  1. "Fine Time"
    Released: 28 November 1988
  2. "Round and Round (remix)"
    Released: 27 February 1989
  3. "Run 2"
    Released: 28 August 1989

Technique is the fifth studio album by the English rock band New Order, released in 1989 via Factory Records. Partly recorded on the island of Ibiza, it incorporates Balearic beat and acid house influences into the group's dance/rock sound.

Technique was the first New Order album to reach number one in the UK charts. "Fine Time", the first single lifted from it, reached number 11. Remixed versions of "Round & Round" and "Run" were also released as singles. John Denver's publishing company filed a lawsuit, alleging that the guitar break in "Run" too closely resembled Denver's "Leaving on a Jet Plane".[2] The case was settled out of court. An instrumental version of "Vanishing Point" was used on the BBC series Making Out.

Music videos were produced for the three singles.

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

Music

Ian Harrison wrote in the liner notes of the 2008 Collector's Edition: "It's arguable that Technique is more a clear split between rock and electronic dance than Brotherhood was [...] While 'Fine Time', 'Round and Round', 'Mr Disco', 'Vanishing Point' and 'Dream Attack' sit in the latter category, [...] the vocal songs ['All the Way', 'Love Less', 'Guilty Partner' and 'Run'] with guitars are infused with a similar sensuality."[3] Bernard Sumner reflected, "We were in this position of being known for this dance-electronic sound and it would have been daft to have just stopped doing it. That was the nature of the time. The way I saw it was we were still writing band music as well, so we'd reached a compromise."[3] Peter Hook joked that the album was "an epic power struggle between the sequencers and me. I was resisting it valiantly, because I still wanted us to be a rock band."[3]

Sumner also wrote all of the lyrics himself, and Harrison suggested that the band partying and recording on the island of Ibiza heavily influenced the sound and lyrics of the album.[3] Gillian Gilbert recalled, "We had Mike (Johnson, engineer) with us, so there was always somebody doing something, but it was the beginning of us not being together in the studio when we were doing things. It was like, 'oh you do your drums today, and I'll do the vocals tonight...' The songs were sort of there but there were huge chunks missing. You'd leave blocks and say, 'will you fill that in? I'm off now.'"[3] Following four months spent in Ibiza, the band shifted to Peter Gabriel's Real World Studios to finish recording, which Sumner referred to as a "much more sober atmosphere".[3]

Echoing a sentiment also expressed by Harrison, Hook remarked, "I think Technique sounds fantastic. It really does, considering it's not an Ibizan dance record. I think it catches a summer sound really brilliantly."[3] Stephen Morris mentioned that the album had an "end of term, last day of school feel about it".[3] Harrison posited that Technique represented "New Order's commercial zenith" and that it paved the way for other bands to "blend rock and dance [... ,] predicting club music's chart takeover in the '90s."[3]

Critical reception

Professional ratings
Review scores
Source Rating
AllMusic [1]
The A.V. Club (B+)[4]
Pitchfork Media (9.2/10)[5]
Robert Christgau (B+)[6]
Rolling Stone [7]
Spin (9/10)[8]
Stylus (A)[9]
Uncut [10]

Technique received generally positive reviews from music critics upon its release. In a contemporary review, Robert Christgau stated that the album was a "lot franker and happier (hence smarter) than Depeche Mode" and that the band had "lightened up".[6] Rolling Stone claimed that "Technique delivers a solid blast of sonic presence with immaculate playing" and called it a "surprisingly inviting album from this generally reserved outfit".[7]

Technique has since garnered critical acclaim in retrospective reviews. Allmusic referred to the album as "another classic record" by New Order and stated that their "instincts for blending rock and contemporary dance [had] resulted in another confident, superb LP".[1] Spin magazine's 1995 Alternative Record Guide claimed that "Technique is New Order's best [album]" because it represented the perfect synthesis of the band's abilities as a punk-influenced rock band and as synthpop pioneers.[8] In reviews by both The A.V. Club and BBC Music the album was referred to as New Order's "last truly great album".[4][11] Pitchfork labelled the album as "magnificent" in 2008 and stated that Technique "takes the easy interplay and full-band sound of Brotherhood and drenches it in good Ibiza vibes".[5] Although they praised the album, Pitchfork criticised the Collector's Edition bonus material as containing only "listless B-sides and instrumentals, and merely functional remixes".[5]

Technique has been listed by several publications as one of the best albums of the 1980s and of all time. In 2006 Q magazine placed the album at No. 21 on its list of the "40 Best Albums of the '80s" and NME ranked the album at No. 122 on its list of "The 500 Greatest Albums Of All Time" in 2013.[12][13]

Track listing

All songs written and composed by New Order except where indicated. 

No. TitleWriter(s) Length
1. "Fine Time"    4:42
2. "All the Way"    3:22
3. "Love Less"    2:58
4. "Round & Round"    4:29
5. "Guilty Partner"    4:44
6. "Run"  New Order, John Denver 4:29
7. "Mr. Disco"    4:20
8. "Vanishing Point"    5:15
9. "Dream Attack"    5:13
2008 Collector's Edition bonus disc
No. TitleWriter(s) Length
1. "Don't Do It"    4:34
2. "Fine Line"    4:45
3. "Round & Round"    6:52
4. "Best & Marsh"    4:32
5. "Run 2" (extended version)New Order, John Denver 5:26
6. "MTO" (Minus Mix)  5:27
7. "Fine Time" (Silk Mix)  6:19
8. "Vanishing Point" (Instrumental Making Out Mix)  5:12
9. "World in Motion" (Carabinieri Mix)New Order, Keith Allen 5:52

Personnel

Chart positions

Album charts
Chart (1989) Peak
position
Australian ARIA Albums Chart[14] 25
Canadian RPM Albums Chart 28
German Media Control Albums Chart[15][16] 25
New Zealand RIANZ Albums Chart[17] 11
Swedish Sverigetopplistan[18] 23
Swiss Albums Chart[19] 15
UK Albums Chart[20] 1
UK Independent Albums Chart[21] 1
US Billboard 200[22] 32
Singles charts
Single Territory/Chart (1988/9) Peak
position
"Fine Time" UK Singles Chart[20] 11
"Fine Time" US Billboard Hot Dance Music/Club Play[23] 2
"Fine Time" US Billboard Hot Dance Music/Maxi-Singles Sales[23] 3
"Fine Time" US Billboard Modern Rock Tracks[23] 3
"Round & Round" UK Singles Chart[20] 21
"Round & Round" US Billboard Hot Dance Music/Club Play[23] 1
"Round & Round" US Billboard Hot Dance Music/Maxi-Singles Sales[23] 6
"Round & Round" US Billboard Modern Rock Tracks[23] 6
"Round & Round" US Billboard Hot 100[23] 64
"Run 2" (limited release) UK Singles Chart[20] 49

References

  1. ↑ 1.0 1.1 1.2 Bush, John. "New Order: Technique > Review" at AllMusic. Retrieved 19 August 2011.
  2. ↑ Mack, Bob (11 January 1991). "Plane Tiff". EW. Retrieved 2011-08-19.
  3. ↑ 3.0 3.1 3.2 3.3 3.4 3.5 3.6 3.7 3.8 Harrison, Ian (2008). Technique (booklet). New Order. London Records. pp. 8–10.
  4. ↑ 4.0 4.1 Modell, Josh (10 November 2008). "New Order". The A.V. Club. The A.V. Club. Retrieved 23 April 2015.
  5. ↑ 5.0 5.1 5.2 Ewing, Tom (10 November 2008). "New Order: Technique". Pitchfork Media. Retrieved 19 August 2011.
  6. ↑ 6.0 6.1 Christgau, Robert. "New Order". robertchristgau.com. Retrieved 19 August 2011.
  7. ↑ 7.0 7.1 Robbins, Ira (23 March 1989). "New Order: Technique". Rolling Stone (RS 548). Archived from the original on 18 October 2007.
  8. ↑ 8.0 8.1 Spin Alternative Record Guide, Publisher: Vintage Books, Published 28 Oct 1996, ISBN 0679755748. Retrieved 8 Nov 2013.
  9. ↑ Gwillim, Keith. "New Order: Technique". Stylus. Stylus magazine. Retrieved 23 April 2015.
  10. ↑ Quantick, David. "New Order – Reissues". Uncut. Uncut magazine. Retrieved 23 April 2015.
  11. ↑ Wade, Ian. "New Order Technique Review". BBC Music. BBC. Retrieved 23 April 2015.
  12. ↑ Q August 2006, Issue 241
  13. ↑ "The 500 Greatest Albums Of All Time: 200-101". NME. NME. Retrieved 23 April 2015.
  14. ↑ "Discography New Order". Australian-Charts.com. Retrieved 2008-11-03.
  15. ↑ "German chart positions". Charts-Surfer.de. Retrieved 2008-09-03. Note: User must define 'Quicksearch' search parameter as "New Order".
  16. ↑ "Chartverfolgung / New Order / Longplay". MusicLine.de. Retrieved 2009-05-20.
  17. ↑ "Discography New Order". Charts.ord.nz. Retrieved 2011-02-23.
  18. ↑ "Discography New Order". SwedishCharts.com. Retrieved 2009-05-20.
  19. ↑ "Discography New Order". SwissCharts.com. Retrieved 2009-05-20.
  20. ↑ 20.0 20.1 20.2 20.3 "Chart Stats: New Order". ChartStats.com. Archived from the original on 2012-05-25. Retrieved 2008-10-02.
  21. ↑ "Indie Hits "N"". Cherry Red Records. Retrieved 2011-01-08.
  22. ↑ "New Order > Charts & Awards > Billboard Albums". Allmusic. Retrieved 2009-05-20.
  23. ↑ 23.0 23.1 23.2 23.3 23.4 23.5 23.6 "New Order: Billboard singles". Allmusic. Retrieved 2010-11-23.

External links

Preceded by
The Legendary Roy Orbison by Roy Orbison		 UK number one album
11 February 1989 – 17 February 1989 		Succeeded by
The Raw and the Cooked by Fine Young Cannibals