[Link removed 20 November 2012] (48 MB)
State Of The Nation
Factory Records FAC 153
Produced by New Order/New Order and John Robie
September 1986
Tracklisting:
1. State Of The Nation
2. Shame Of The Nation
3. State Of The Nation (7" Edit)
4. Shame Of The Nation (7" Edit)
1 and 2 sourced from Substance
3 and 4 edited from 1 and 2
Notes form the restorer:
Unlike most of the tracks on Substance, I thought these needed a bit of boost in the highs instead of a cut.State Of The Nation is either an album cut from Brotherhood or a non-LP single, depending on which version of the album you bought. The vinyl LP doesn't have it at all, while the CD has it tacked on at the end, and then there's the deluxe cassette edition I have which has both State and Shame added one apiece onto each side.
Once again, the band broke form by not only giving the song a title that referenced the lyrics, but also using the most obvious line for it. The big surprise here is the B-side, which given the previous tracks with titles that consisted of similar wordplay (Shellcock, Dub-Vulture), would lead one to expect a randomized and chopped-up dub mix. Instead, Shame Of The Nation is really John Robie's mix and production of the song, for which he was given co-production and songwriting credit, whereas State is credited only to the band. Unlike his previous efforts, here he pulls back on the excessive effects and edits that characterized Shellshock and Sub-Culture, giving something that is equally as listenable as the A-side.
It seems this one is regarded as a somewhat average effort by the group. Personally, while I didn't care much for it at first, the song has really grown on me. I will occasionally drop State in one of my DJ sets.
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