Substance: Inside New Order

Extremely engaging and intelligently written, "Substance" manages to be, in equal measures, factually detailed, very funny and surprisingly poignant. As an overview, then, "Substance" might be best described as a hybrid of auto-biography and a sort of sociology of the music business. Peter Hook has the story-teller's gift of engaging you by mixing technical details with fun facts/vignettes that keep you turning the page (I conquered the first third of the book in a morning, because I could not put it down). And the fun to be had includes, as marginalia/side notes, some true "Easter eggs:" Top-ten lists (Top 10, no, Top 11, hotels in the world; Top 10, no, Top 16, slogans written on bass cabinets, etc.); a running list of New Order gig dates (with some interesting summaries of his memories of particular gigs); and, for those like me who love the technical details, quite a few "geek" alerts (explanations of what terms such as "fold backs," gaffer tape" and "producers' points" mean, as well as an equipment summary that details what guitars, compressors, pedals, cabinets, etc. Hook utilized to create his famous over-driven, chorused bass sound (best I can tell from the book, he went through three major set-up changes throughout his career).

As a consequence of this two-fold structure (personal/social), there is much for both the fan and the casual reader alike to enjoy. If you are looking for TMZ-style sex, drugs and rock-'n-roll it is there in spades. New Order might have aped the Continent for their artistic sensibilities; but at the height of their popularity (and fully 3/4 of the book focuses on the 1980s), they could hold their own against the Rolling Stones and Van Halen and the like for pure excess. In fact, the staunchly blue-collar Salford sensibilities of Peter Hook (his own characterization of himself) come through in quite a few places. Without spoiling the details, let's just say Peter was no stranger to the fast life, and unlike, say, Van Halen (and this is the blue-collar part), he would have fit right in in a Bakersfield, California bar brawl, giving as good as he gets. No gentle daisy to be found in that garden, ladies and gents. But for all of that, there is definitely a heart in this man (more on that below).

For the fan, of course, it is in the end about the music. And the details are also there in spades and worth noting. Hook details the song writing, recording and mixing process, taking careful note of the influences along the way (Kraftwerk, Hammett, Baker, et al), as well as the very different functions the band members played, say, in 1980-1982, as opposed to later (say, 1990s at the time of Republic) where relations (and, as a consequence, functions) had changed quite dramatically. But Hook also branches out into the larger eco-system of the business, discussing the changes in technical means (say, the shift from the use of the DR-5, Moog Source and Sumner's early home-made sequencers in Strawberry (studio), through the ARP Quadra/Pro One phase, the Yamaha phase, to their later use of SSL/DSP mixing desks in such top-notch studios as Real World); the promoters (Ruth Polsky); the clubs (Danceteria, etc) and the rival bands, fans and audiences along the way. In the same vein, he also takes a fairly balanced view (or perhaps it is an ambivalent view) of the effect that this particular career has had on his relationships. His dalliances are depicted in rather blunt fashion. However, age has its effects on rhetoric, and what could come off as juvenile (if not outright sexist) is rather presented by Hook as it likely is: a weird mix of, "I can't believe I get to live this life: parties and beautiful women everywhere," and, "This is not the person I aspire to be."

Indeed, if there is a thread that runs through this book it is ambivalence: on the one hand, great pride in creating a whole new style of melodic bass playing; pride in telling the A&R people to pound sand, while creating a whole new genre of music that was played internationally; great pride in grabbing the bull by the horns and riding it as far as one can--the life of no regrets. This is rock-'n-roll Lemmy Kilmister-style, if you will. On the other hand, the later tragic circumstances of many of the people one meets earlier in the book are discussed, as are the horrid financial practices of Factory Records (see his other book for a full description of that); and the toll that living the rock-'n-roll life does have on everyone (roadies included . . . there are some eye popping stories about them as well) involved. Wives, girlfriends, business partners, become, in a very real sense of the word, collateral damage. His discussions (in the latter part of the book) of his relationship to "Caroline" I found especially poignant and are in marked contrast to the bombast that can be found elsewhere.

In that vein, if there was one element I found a little off-putting, it was his discussions of his fellow band members. Hook does (and I want to underline this) give great credit to Sumner and Morris (and even, Hammett, who otherwise takes a bit of a beating in this text) for having some truly original ideas and propelling the band forward. That said, Hook often writes as if it is “Peter Hook v. The Other Three.” Gilbert, for example, is a peripheral figure, at best, in the book; and what he does have to say is occasionally dismissive of her contributions to the band. Morris is given quite a bit of technical credit. But as a personality, he too is at the margins of the narrative. However, being placed at the margins is a better position to be in than Sumner finds himself. Hook's style is brutally honest and straightforward; but also, well thought out and not geared toward cheap-'n-easy calculated inclusions/omissions . . . with one exception: When comes to Sumner, this reader could not help but feel that (occasionally) a story was a set up to take a bit of a swipe at Sumner. We get it. A band break up is like a divorce (and H & S are still in litigation as I write). But do you have to remind the reader of that every ten pages or so (in a book with 724 pages of narrative)?!

That said, no text is perfect, and I highly recommend this one. And, on a final note, if you are a fan of Hook's other projects (like Revenge and Monaco; or his production work for the Stone Roses), they are also discussed (albeit much more briefly--this is, after all, "Inside NEW ORDER").

I skimmed parts of this after reading Bernard Sumner's book. I wanted to learn about the process behind some songs and the Technique album. All I kept encountering is that Peter Hook detests Bernard Sumner for a multitude of reasons ranging from arguments over the placement of the bass in the final mix to Sumner's existence.

If you want to immerse yourself in a high school name calling fight, by all means slog through all 700 pages. If you don't, put on "Temptation" and listen to Technique and don't think about the men behind those great tracks.

Having read and enjoyed the Joy Division and Hacienda books, I looked forward to this one, and it has not disappointed. As witty and self-deprecating as ever, this book may be the most entertaining of them all, possibly because I am more familiar with the New Order catalog than the Joy division era, or the Manchester club scene nearly 30 years ago. A great read for those enjoying dry British humor, foul language, and loads of ancient drug anecdotes.

Peter Hook has written three books about his adventures in the music business: “Unknown Pleasures: Inside Joy Division”, “The Hacienda: How Not to Run a Club”, and now “Substance: Inside New Order”. I’ve enjoyed them all to various degrees, but this felt overlong, despite covering the subject matter most important to me. While there are many interesting details related to the production of each album (and the intraband feuds that led to the group’s implosion), too much time is spent on the hijinks of a band on tour. Hook includes seemingly endless anecdotes about the drinking and drugging escapades of each tour, slipping out of control as the band gets more popular. Hook laments the hiring of additional staff to deal with the equipment, driving, and sound checks: all tasks that he used to handle himself. His newfound free time fills with partying, and anyone that’s seen a “Behind the Music” knows the rest of the story. The one difference here is that the stories seem mostly unsanitized - Hook and his entourage regularly slip into football hooligan levels of behavior. The misbehavior ranges from the innocuous (tossing dinner rolls at Bono during awards ceremonies) to ridiculously stupid (an explicit look at using aftershave to attempt to stave off an STD infection) to violent (brawling at a “Pretty in Pink” Hollywood movie premiere). Guitars are smashed and green rooms are wrecked. A friend tricks Bill Clinton into signing a paper that professes a love for Al Qaeda. The constant bad behavior is amusing at the beginning of the book when stakes are low and the mischief mostly amounts to pranks but starts to drag on as the story progresses. Hook readily admits to smoking crack in later years and is generally open about his struggles with alcohol. I was relieved when he checked himself into rehab, if only because the arc of the book would be altered.

More interesting are Hook’s track-by-track thoughts on albums and hearing how the recording process transformed from a band jamming in the studio into a solitary experience as the members recording all their work individually. His feud with lead singer Bernard Sumner is well known, and we get significantly more details about here than Sumner shared in his book. In general, Sumner offered very little color on the New Order experience; he covered entire albums in the space of a paragraph, while Hook has shockingly detailed descriptions about much of their work, especially given the number of substances he describes consuming. Maybe Barney’s memory didn’t fare as well as Hook’s. Either way, It’s clear there’s an “odd couple” dynamic between the two; Hook is loud, energetic, and open, while Sumner is reclusive and moody. These differences combined with both lacking communication skills likely doomed their relationship from the start.

Overall, a must read for New Order fans that’s much more informative than Sumner’s book, but don’t feel bad about skimming through the lengthy “life on the road” sections.

Love reading this book while listening to their albums especially the track by track narrative