After some hemming-and-hawing over the New Order name, word escaped that Sumner and Morris had a new project called Bad Lieutenant and would be writing/releasing new music under that name. People said "ummm, OK".
In March 2009 Sky Arts in the UK featured Bernard Sumner on their recurring series "Songbook" that blends MTV/VH1's "Storytellers" and "Unplugged" series into a narrative interview with several acoustic performances interspersed.
Bernard, backed by guitarists Phil Cunningham and Jake Evans, performed 4 tracks "unplugged" - just acoustic guitars and Bernard's legendary voice.
That's not that impressive in and of itself - the thought of New Order tracks unplugged just doesn't really jibe, if you know what I mean - but it turns out Bernard turned in one of his most inspired performances ever.
Not only that, but it was the first public airing of a Bad Lieutenant track, which I'll get to shortly.
What was played? Well, you've come to the right place!
1) "Love Will Tear Us Apart" (Joy Division, 1979)
High-bitrate, high-quality mp3
Three acoustic guitars, no "whooping" from Bernard. Perhaps the best non-Joy Division performance of this song, ever. Really really good performance, perfectly suited for Bernard in this interpretation.
High-quality YouTube footage
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2) "Bizarre Love Triangle" (New Order, 1986)
High-bitrate, high-quality mp3
Oddly I'd never imagined this song in an acoustic setting, but it works, and it's fantastic. Of course I'm discounting Frente!'s version but I don't really count that....
High-quality YouTube footage
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3) "Getting Away With It" (Electronic, 1989)
High-bitrate, high-quality mp3
The debut Electronic single (the side project that Bernard started with Johnny Marr in the late 1980s), never before heard in an acoustic setting. Again, a stellar performance, and it really gets to the root of the melody. And when Jake comes in with a fairly spot-on Johnny Marr imitation in the solo, it's really something else.... I would have to say this is the best version of this song I've EVER heard, no question.
High-quality YouTube footage
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4) "Sink Or Swim" (Bad Lieutenant, 2009)
High-bitrate, high-quality mp3
The first public airing of this brand-new Bad Lieutenant track, this is REALLY good. Interestingly, the main guitar motif suggests a possible Peter Hook bassline, which makes this even more poignant. Stellar, stellar stuff, and a fantastic teaser for any further upcoming efforts....
High-quality YouTube footage
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On YouTube you can also find the interview segments, but I'll leave that for you guys to get. I just wanted to feature the music... ;)
enjoy!
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