New Order Album: “Spooky [#4]”

Once in a while I need a friend. I usually settle for a New Order tune. I'm rarely disappointed.

I'm listening to "Spooky" in my CD-ROM drive to refresh my familiarity with this maxi-single as I write this review. I'm glad I bought this one.

Here's the scoop:

You probably know maxi-singles are usually 5 or 6 versions of the same piece.

Sometimes a B-side is added. In rare cases, you get a mini-album of 3 or 4 completely different tunes. That's not the case for "Spooky." Here you get 8 mixes of the same song. But they are very different from each other in style and tone. This is probably because 4 different production teams worked on these tracks.

The Tracks:

1. "Radio edit" - Basically the album version.

2. "Stadium mix" - Clubby and reminiscent of The KLF.

3. "Magimix" - This has an ambient trance flavor.

4. "Out of order mix" - Definite techno, experimental, wears thin on repeated listenin! g.

5. "Night tripper mix" - bass heavy club beat.

6. "Moulimix" - pure clubby electronica.

7. "New Order in heaven mix" - beat heavy trance-inspired piece.

8. "Boo! dub mix" - instrumental.

All in all, it is a solid work. Only Track 4 is a truly weak. (Track 1 produced by Stephen Hague & New Order; additional production and remixes as follows: Tracks 2, 5 & 8 by Tony Garcia & Peter Daou; Track 3 & 6 by Fluke; Tracks 4 & 7 by Paul Van Dyk.)

1 Spooky (Radio Edit) (3:45)

2 Spooky (Stadium Mix) (6:32)

3 Spooky (Magimix) (6:57)

4 Spooky (Out Of Order Mix) (6:20)

5 Spooky (Night Tripper Mix) (7:03)

6 Spooky (Moulimix) (5:47)

7 Spooky (New Order In Heaven Mix) (6:11)

8 Spooky (Boo! Dub Mix) (4:56)