Joy Division’s Unknown Pleasures (2004)

A quick and dirty internet search does not yield much about Chris Ott, though there is a discernible scattered trail: a youtube channel, some reddit discussions, twitter threads though he no longer appears to be on twitter. To confuse matters, there is also a Chris Ott who plays the trombone. This Ott’s treatment of Joy Division’s first album is one of the first in the 33-1/3 series—#9. Ott was also a contributor to Pitchfork but there appears to be an acrimonious break there. His 33-1/3 deals less with Unknown Pleasures than with Joy Division and its origins, specifically Ian Curtis and his troubled life. Ott sounds like he is from Manchester and was there and aware of the band when they were active, but that might be the research talking. He goes into great detail on all the studio sessions and oddball releases that preceded and followed the album and even gets into Closer a little. I learned the most about Curtis and producer Martin Hannett. It's probably worth the time for any dedicated follower. I felt something was missing here but couldn’t put my finger on it. Ott seems to be speaking with authority from the inside, with direct quotes from band principals Bernard Sumner (I get the feeling Ott doesn’t like him somehow), Peter Hook, and Stephen Morris, plus insights from Curtis’s widow Deborah, which may have come from her memoir Touching From a Distance (now on my list to read), along with assorted studio hands and scenesters. In a way, Ott’s problems writing about Joy Division and Curtis—it’s obvious how much he appreciates them, but it often feels like he is holding back a little—may be similar to those of writing about Nirvana and Kurt Cobain. There’s a certain elephant in the room and it’s hard to know whether it’s better to notice it or ignore it. Among the things I learned about Curtis was how serious and debilitating his late-onset epilepsy was, how hemmed in he was by his life and circumstances. I haven’t read much Joy Division literature, so have little idea how much this contributes to or duplicates it. I was hoping for more about the album and not so much about adjacent releases in the time period, EPs and 7-inchers and whatnot. But probably because it is such an early entry in the series inevitably it’s going to suffer some from a lack of definition. It’s certainly worth looking into if you are a JD maniac, but I’m not sure how much it offers to more casual fans of the band or series. I think you might be better off spending the time listening to Unknown Pleasures a few more times.

In case the library is closed due to pandemic, which is over.