Almost everything they've recorded is here, and some rarities are so cool that any fan is going to pee their pants. "In a lonely place" and "Ceremony" (on disc 3) are from rehearsal tapes, and they are awesome. Mind-blowing.

The organization of the box-set is great. The first 3 discs go in basically chronological order and then the 4th is a bunch of live tracks.

If you don't know Joy Division, perhaps it would be best to start out with "Substance". But if you like them at all, then this set is for you.

Included on the set are both Peel Sessions, and also rare tracks that have been unavailable for years. Of course there still are the aforementioned live tracks and rehearsal tracks. You still get (duh!) "Unknown Pleasures", "Closer", portions of "Still", "Substance" and other singles tracks.

There are still some things you don't get, which doesn't make this collection "THE" definitive word on Joy Division (but what collection by any artist could contain every single thing?): you don't get all of the material they recorded as "Warsaw" (available on the "Warsaw" U.S. import) You don't get all of "Still"-- the live part is not included in "Heart and Soul". There also is a new live album called "Preston 28 February 1980" that is pretty awesome too, and it is not on "Heart and Soul"

Even though everything isn't on "Heart and Soul", it still is the final word on the band. A great collection. Buy it if you like the band. "Heart and Soul" is a testament to one of the greatest bands ever, whose depth and intensity are well represented on this recording.


Some packaging flaws - my version at least.   November 30, 2001
 13 out of 19 found this review helpful

Everything you've ever heard about Joy Division is true. They were a truly incredible band, even as Ian Curtis' vocals quickly dropped from ferocity to unsteady. Make no mistake, by the time Joy Division recorded 'Closer', Curtis had lost his vocal skill, whether to epilepsy or loss of soul. Doesn't matter - 'Closer' is a brilliant unforgettable record. This massive box set is equally wonderful, the only tracks left out are live tracks better unheard. (Their version of 'Sister Ray' is NOT superior to the original. Not at all.)

The quality and content are great - you MUST hear this stuff. The problem I have is with the packaging. I bought the UK version - no different from the version now available in America. The glue was so weak that the CD cases shifted, dropping the actual CDs on the floor. Since every CD holds about 80 minutes, a scuff & nick matters a lot. Great CD-closers like "In a Lonely Place", "These Days" & "From Safety to Where?" were scratched, or at least threatened to. I had to buy this amazing box set twice, so be warned. Buy American! (Will they do it better?, I'm keeping my fingers crossed.....)

(PS: shame on whoever designed the cover art. Ian Curtis looks like a stoned retard. This music isn't half-lid dull, it's nasty sad eye-wide reality...)


Wonderful music from a far too short lived band.   June 1, 2005
 12 out of 16 found this review helpful

There's so much to say about Joy Division, its sometimes hard to know where to start. A short lived post punk outfit, they recorded just two albums upon which their entire legacy was built. Getting their start as a punk band called Warsaw in the mid-70s, vocalist Ian Curtis, guitarist Bernard Sumner, bassist Peter Hook and drummer Stephen Morris, the band eventually changed its name to Joy Division (as someone else beat them to the Warsaw name) and brought for a unique sound-- dark, meditative, patient, so unlike the punk roots they came from. Add to this the vocal of Ian Curtis-- haunted is probably the only way to describe his singing-- and the results are nothing short of earth shattering. Sadly, the band was cut short by Curtis' hanging himself in 1980, and eventually the rest of the band would carry on as New Order, but could likely never equal

Having this in context a bit better, this set is just about everything-- broken up into four CDs, the two albums ("Unknown Pleasures" and "Closer") are each given a disc, augmented by singles (a and b sides) and extra tracks (some of this material was releaed on posthumous releases "Still" and "Substance"). The third disc is the remainder of studio recordins-- an early single and some unreleased material from the same era, BBC sessions, and a number of other studio takes. The final disc is devoted to live recordings from the band. All of this is packaged into a gigantic digipack with a rather odd choice of cover photo and a book containing extensive liner notes, detailed discography and sessionography, and the lyrics to all the material. All in all, 35 of the tracks, including the entire fourth disc, have never been released and a further four tracks (as far as I know) have been been reeleased on CD prior to this.

The music though is clearly what this set is about, and it is breathtaking. Discussing only the sound quality-- the material all sounds quite good, clearly the studio material is of higher fidelity than the live sessions, but the whole thing sounds superb. As to the music, what is amazing about Joy Division is that while not every song is a masterpiece, there's precious little unlistenable material on their catalog. I suspect this is because the entire band understood the rolls each member had-- there wasn't the ego of anyone being showy, but rather everyone contributed in thier own space. The music is atmospheric, and brilliant-- categorized as post punk, gothic, new wave... probably all are correct. While this is largely a cheerless affair ("Day of the Lords"), it reflects itself in a number of fashions, from a nearly danceable, infectious rhythm ("She's Lot Control"), total despair ("I Remember Nothing"), near ecstacy ("Transmission"), haunting ("Dead Souls") and melancholy ("Love Will Tear Us Apart"). All told, its an experience to listen to, and it is music that is weirdly compulsive and brilliant. The live material is a bit looser (hey, these guys were punks) and remains its high quality.

The only complaint is the set itself-- the trays don't really grab the CDs well, and they pop out-- I'm actually on my second copy because of this as one of my first copy's discs got scratched beyond repair. Oh, and the box itself is pretty poorly made and tends to get beat up easily-- don't believe anyone who claims the UK packaging is better, I picked up a UK set first (it came out quite a bit before the US one).

But that's a moot point, packaging can be worked around. What's in the package is what matters, and there is little that equals this. Honestly, this is the place to start with the band, its a fantastic set (if you worry about the investment, get "Permanent" first then come back and get this) and is really quite essential material.