All Day Long

Bizarre Love Triangle < All Day Long > Angel Dust

All Day Long, in my honest opinion, is the finest song ever written by New Order.

In an otherwise blinding set of 5-star tracks scattered across their canon; songs that on any given day will have you wondering how on earth such sublime perfection can emanate from the hearts and minds of four regular souls, All Day Long manages to ascend even higher. It is a work where the subject matter is of such incomparable darkness, set inside music that is – quite simply – stunningly beautiful, that to this day I find myself unable to listen to it or sing along with it without being overcome.

All Day Long is New Order’s Atmosphere, or if you prefer their Love Will Tear Us Apart; its that remarkable. Bernard was channeling something extraordinary the day he wrote lyrics like these:

So don’t tell me about politics,
Or all the problems of our economics,
When you can’t look after what you can’t own,
You scream and shout all day long.

It’s on par with anything that Ian wrote, and there is a clear link from the difficult subject matter in many of Joy Division’s songs to All Day Long… child abuse for Christ’s sake! What other ‘pop’ band would go there? What other record label wouldn’t exercise commercial pressure to prevent a track like this from appearing on an album? When I first heard it I was literally moved to tears, and no matter what anyone says about some of the band’s lighter moments, one can always knowingly and without preamble point to this song, as it speaks volumes for itself.

Even if it were an instrumental, All Day Long would leave me weak-kneed. Its an exceptional and note-perfect production; combining once and for all those two poles of New Order’s compass: alternative rock and electronic music. There’s not one superfluous sound, not one questionable effect. Sung beautifully, the song’s subject matter is handled succinctly and with great intent by Bernard, but in a way that incredibly (and in only two verses) puts you in the mind of both the perpetrator, and – by way of warning – the rest of us. There is no such thing as an innocent bystander to child abuse, and – despairingly – its a song that remains relevant to this day in a world riven with darkness. Children continue to suffer at the hands of desperate men (and women). Every other news article is about some twisted fucker, be it in the home, the church, or in a random sick attack, who takes despicable advantage of the innocent; abused and used by what adults do indeed. Bravo to Bernard, Peter, Stephen and Gillian (and Tony, Rob and Alan) for making a statement like this.

The song is so musically powerful. The synth bass keeps the main heartbeat with a wonderful depth of sound, allowing Hook to focus on his wonderful (and so very-New Order) melodies with his own exceptional bass performance. The percussion, though drum machine-based, is beautifully programmed; emphasizing only when necessary with a quick snare triplet or a single deeply reverbed strike to offer exclamation. The lead guitars add to the huge wall of sound with their thick chords and country-esque melodies, but – whether its Sumner, Morris or Gilbert (or likely a combination of all the above) who are responsible – its the synths and strings which turn All Day Long into such a vehicle of grace. Those delicate chimes, the soaring cello sequences and arpeggiations, the pizzicato violins… and they just keep coming, in layer upon unbelievable layer; all of the parts perfect in isolation but sublime in their combination.

All Day Long is terrible and beautiful. Its an indictment and a rallying cry. Its this band’s finest moment.

Rating: 

Available on: Brotherhood