Well, I've not ended up writing what I imagined I'd be writing when I first received this.
Anyone of my vintage (mid -30s and gaining scarily fast) will already know Joy Division's "Love Will Tear Us Apart" is one of the greatest singles of the past 30 years. The discerning out there don't need surveys to understand this fact. Thus, it has (rightly, in my opinion) attained a kind of 'untouchable' status, where attempting a cover in itself seems utterly redundant. If you don't believe me, I have only two (but two extremely powerful) words in my defence: Paul Young. Remember him? Cod-soul British wazzock from the mid-80s who cut a version so Godawful cliffs were running out of lemmings. Why oh why? we cried en masse. Did poor Ian Curtis die for this travesty?
So the idea of some jumped up pillock once again attempting an act of sacrilege along the same lines is almost more than a right-thinking individual can stand. However, HONEYROOT'S "Love Will Tear Us Apart" is actually quite acceptable. And no, I'm not under the influence of mind-melting chemicals unless Fair Trade tea makes the cut. This is actually OK. Crikey.
Of course, delve into this a little deeper and you realise the enigmatic Honeyroot is actually partly a vehicle for one Glenn Gregory: yes, as in the blonde bombshell vocalist with Human League offshoot popsters Heaven 17. C'mon: you must remember him? I mean there can't be anyone out there over 32 who hasn't surreptitiously enjoyed their hit "Temptation" at college discos, wedding receptions and the likes? Can there?
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Anyway, Honeyroot's "L.W.T.U.A" is really quite decent. It's reinvented as a slow, spectal piano ballad, with a cello lowing respectfully in the background and Gregory enunciating the lyrics with due care and attention. By the time the strings and full band sweep in with the third verse you may not be hooked exactly, but you're certainly well on the way to laying down the baseball bat and thumbscrews you'd had at the ready.
Of course we have to be honest at the same time, and however benign this reviewer feels he can be, there's still no way this version can touch the original, so let's not get stupid about it. Having said that, there will probably be worse tributes to Ian Curtis this year (the mooted film biopic alone already has me cringing) and at least in Glenn Gregory we have someone from the same vintage as Ian Curtis who clearly loves the song, so fair do's all things considered.
There again, I had hired a tank to run over the CD single this afternoon and now I have no compunction to follow through with it, so I won't have that satisfaction now. Huh. There's always a downside, isn't there? Bet I won't get a refund for the armoured vehicle either.....
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