The Walrus - Music With Big Fuckin' Teeth!

11/05/2007

Genius in the Making: The Warsaw (Joy Division) Demos

Symbolic of the band's innocent and optimistic beginnings?

Since I am a huge Joy Division fan, I went to see the new Ian Curtis biopic, Control this weekend. The film did not disappoint. Anton Corbjin's cinematography was absolutely beautiful and all of the performances were stellar. Of course, the film focused more on Ian and his wife Deborah's turmoil and paid little mind to the musical process of the band. Although I know that was the point, I have always been more curious as to how the band's sound came to be.

The film makes it seem like their songs were born overnight, but when one listens to the band's demos from 1977, when they called themselves Warsaw (named after the David Bowie song "Warszawa"), one realizes this is not the case. These raw musical sketches act as fascinating blueprints to future classics. They stand as a pre-cursor to the extraordinary production that Martin Hannett would eventually provide them. Ian's voice, extremely unpolished, sounds more angst-filled than god-like, especially on the proto-hardcore track "Gutz," One can also hear the band inching closer and closer to the sound that would make them infamous.

The full collection of demos is available on import at Amazon.