Still collects outtakes and rarities along with a live set recorded on May 2, 1980, just over two weeks prior to
Ian Curtis' death. In addition to the atmospheric "Glass" and the haunting funeral march "Dead Souls," the studio sides include four leftover tracks from the sessions for Unknown Pleasures, while the concert set includes performances of seminal tracks such as "Transmission," "Isolation," and "A Means to an End." Although neither as cogent nor as indispensible as the band's two studio records or the
Substance compilation,
Still is nonetheless a valuable chronicle of
Joy Division's remarkable evolution, a growth charted by the inclusion of an early live cover of
the Velvet Underground's "Sister Ray" to the only recorded version of the hypnotic "Ceremony," the ultimate
Ian Curtis composition which later resurfaced as the first single from
New Order. ~ Jason Ankeny