CD: SFRSCD093
RELEASE DATE: 1996
LABEL: Srange Fruit

1. Touched by the Hand of God
2. Temptation
3. True Faith
4. Your Silent Face
5. Every Second Counts
6. Bizarre Love Triangle
7. Perfect Kiss
8. Age of Consent
9. Sister Ray

This album has its good points and its bad points. The song selection and the recording quality is excellent. The problem is that several of these songs fall short of their studio versions. The worst example is "Temptation", which does drone on for two or three minutes longer than it has to, not to mention that Barney's singing doesn't sound at all good and the guitars are barely audible. The other most prominent example is "Every Little Counts" in which the bass chords sound unusually distorted. "True Faith" sounds alright, but not nearly as good as the Substance version (which is awesome). On a more positive note, many of the songs did equal or even better their originals. "Touched By the Hand Of God" is supported by percussion that sounds quite heavy and very bass-oriented. As a result, it sounds almost like an underground techno-anthem rather than the pop gem its known to be. In similarity, "Your Silent Face" also has a heavy drum beat to it and it works quite well with the synths in that song. Favorite part of this recording is definetly "Bizarre Love Triangle". Sumner's vocal explosions in the chorus show his true passion for this particular number and it easily elevates this rendition to much better than the album version. This is one of the few instances in which all the instrumentation combines to form an orgy of sounds which, if you listen to any of of New Order's proper albums, is what New Order is all about. This track alone is worth the admission price. The band also finishes off with a high-caliber version of "Age of Consent", which also surpasses the original, and their cover of "Sister Ray."