Factory Records: Communications 1978-92

iTunes Review

Featuring 63 tracks released between 1978-1992, this compilation traces the development of Britain’s highly influential Factory Records label. Factory encouraged the often experimental, cutting-edge sonics of Joy Division, New Order, Cabaret Voltaire, O.M.D., the Durutti Column and Happy Mondays, as well as lesser-knowns: the reggae-dub of Xodus, the neurotic synth creep of Crawling Chaos and the sweet pop of the Railway Children. The collection, compiled by noted music journalist Jon Savage, is arranged chronologically to show the label’s growth beginning with Joy Division’s razor-blade intense “Digital” from the label’s first release, A Factory SampleEP, and winding down with the smoother counterbalance of the label’s final release, the Happy Mondays’ 12-inch “Sunshine and Love.” In between are great hi-jinks, from the original O.M.D. 7-inch version of “Electricity” that uses futuristic keyboards in a lo-fi setting to the nearly orthodox new-wave pop of the Distractions’ “Time Goes By So Slow” and the askew rhythms of Crispy Ambulance’s “Deaf.” Factory Records turned Manchester, England into “Madchester,” shining its careful light on a scene that relied on dramatic shadows to re-cast its adventurous, art-damaged yet dance-friendly musical forms.