Republic (stylised as Republic©) is the sixth studio album by English band New Order. It was first released on 3 May 1993 in the United Kingdom by CentreDate Co Ltd in association with London Records[15][16] and on 11 May 1993 in the United States by Qwest and Warner Bros. Records. It was the band's first album following the demise of their former label Factory Records, and would be their last studio album for eight years until 2001's Get Ready.

Republic
Studio album by
Released3 May 1993 (1993-05-03)
Recorded1992
Studio
Genre
Length47:37
LabelCentreDate Co Ltd/London
Producer
New Order chronology
Technique
(1989)
Republic
(1993)
(the best of) New Order
(1994)
Singles from Republic
  1. "Regret"
    Released: 5 April 1993
  2. "Ruined in a Day"
    Released: 21 June 1993
  3. "World (The Price of Love)"
    Released: 23 August 1993
  4. "Spooky"
    Released: 6 December 1993
Professional ratings
Review scores
SourceRating
AllMusic[1]
Blender[7]
Entertainment WeeklyB−[8]
Los Angeles Times[9]
NME8/10[10]
Q[11]
Rolling Stone[12]
The Rolling Stone Album Guide[3]
Select3/5[13]
Vox7/10[14]

Republic became New Order's second consecutive album to top the UK Albums Chart, and was nominated for the 1993 Mercury Music Prize. In the United States, it reached number 11 on the Billboard 200, the band's highest-peaking album on the chart to date. Its lead single "Regret" became New Order's last top-five entry on the UK singles chart. The band went on hiatus following a gig at the Reading Festival in promotion of the album in August 1993. Lead singer Bernard Sumner was known to dislike travelling to North America, and media reports suggested that the pressure of the long leg there contributed to the band's temporary demise, although they reunited in 1998.

Background

edit

According to bassist Peter Hook, the band were forced to make the album in order to save The Haçienda, a Manchester club partially owned by the band that was losing a great deal of money. The band were also told that if they did not produce another album, Factory Records would go bankrupt and the band members, who had guaranteed loans for Factory and the club, would be ruined financially.[17]

At the same time, Hook and Bernard Sumner were "at that point in the relationship where you hate each others' stinking guts," and the band members were "all off our heads on various things," which made for a stressful working environment. While Bernard Sumner was off recording with Electronic, Hook, Morris and Gilbert wrote a whole instrumental album that would be shelved at the request of Sumner when he came back . Disputes over the music and publishing rights created further acrimony that caused the band to break up, though they reunited in 1998 and recorded two more studio albums before Hook departed with what threatens to be everlasting endurance.[17]

Artwork

edit

As with previous New Order releases, Republic's artwork was designed by Peter Saville and no text other than credits appears within the sleeve. Saville, who had relocated to California, depicted different aspects of the state—people relaxing on the beach while houses burn (a reference to frequent wildfires or the 1992 Los Angeles riots) and vast natural landscapes contrasting with the skyline of Los Angeles. Most of the images were taken from stock photo libraries to achieve a commercial look, and were heavily retouched. Several of these images have been used elsewhere, such as direct-mail campaigns, catalogues and adverts for businesses. Another interpretation of the album's artwork alludes to the Fall of Rome.[18]

Republic: The Limited Run..

edit

A limited-edition version of Republic, titled Republic: The Limited Run.., was released in the United States. Although the tracks are the same as on the standard release, the packaging is entirely different. Instead of including a jewel case, the CD is packaged in a folding wallet made of bright orange vinyl underpadded with soft foam, giving it the feel of an inner tube. The CD's label is also redesigned, with no words but with a picture of several orange rubber inner tubes against a background of flames, a reference to the cover artwork. The booklet, tucked into a pocket of the vinyl wallet, is the same as with the standard version, but is made of a plastic waterproof material instead of paper.

Track listing

edit

All tracks are written by Gillian Gilbert, Peter Hook, Stephen Morris, Bernard Sumner and Stephen Hague

No.TitleLength
1."Regret"4:08
2."World"4:44
3."Ruined in a Day"4:23
4."Spooky"4:44
5."Everyone Everywhere"4:25
6."Young Offender"4:48
7."Liar"4:22
8."Chemical"4:11
9."Times Change"3:53
10."Special"4:51
11."Avalanche"3:15
Total length:47:37
Japanese edition bonus tracks
No.TitleLength
12."Regret (Sabres Slow 'n' Low Mix)"12:50
13."Regret (Sabres Fast 'n' Throb Mix)"12:17
Total length:72:47

Personnel

edit

New Order

edit

Musician credits for New Order are not listed in the liner notes of the album's personnel. Below are the instruments that the group typically plays.

Production

edit

The original liner notes list the album's personnel as follows:

Charts

edit

Certifications

edit
Certifications for Republic
Region Certification Certified units/sales
Canada (Music Canada)[33] Gold 50,000^
United Kingdom (BPI)[34] Gold 100,000^
United States (RIAA)[36] Gold 382,000[35]

^ Shipments figures based on certification alone.

References

edit
  1. ^ a b Bush, John. "Republic – New Order". AllMusic. Retrieved 21 September 2011.
  2. ^ Modell, Josh (3 May 2005). "New Order: Waiting for the Sirens' Call". The A.V. Club. Retrieved 19 July 2015.
  3. ^ a b Gross, Joe (2004). "New Order". In Brackett, Nathan; Hoard, Christian (eds.). The New Rolling Stone Album Guide (4th ed.). Simon & Schuster. pp. 582–83. ISBN 0-7432-0169-8.
  4. ^ Grant, Steven; Robbins, Ira & Reeher, Jason. "New Order". Trouser Press. Retrieved 26 August 2014.
  5. ^ Molanphy, Chris (31 October 2019). "The Lost and Lonely Edition". Hit Parade | Music History and Music Trivia (Podcast). Slate. Retrieved 8 November 2023.
  6. ^ Gwillim, Keith (16 September 2002). "New Order: Shot Right Through with a Bolt of Blue". Stylus Magazine. Archived from the original on 14 January 2010. Retrieved 17 December 2019.
  7. ^ Wolk, Douglas (19 April 2005). "New Order: Republic". Blender. Archived from the original on 4 May 2006. Retrieved 2 November 2015.
  8. ^ Romero, Michele (14 May 1993). "Republic". Entertainment Weekly. Retrieved 27 June 2020.
  9. ^ Hochman, Steve (15 May 1993). "'Republic' a Bit Too Comfortable". Los Angeles Times. Retrieved 2 November 2015.
  10. ^ Fadele, Dele (1 May 1993). "New Order – Republic". NME. Archived from the original on 12 October 2000. Retrieved 25 February 2016.
  11. ^ Kelly, Danny (May 1993). "Animal". Q. No. 80. p. 92.
  12. ^ White, Armond (24 June 1993). "New Order: Republic". Rolling Stone. No. 659. Archived from the original on 2 October 2007. Retrieved 24 June 2020.
  13. ^ Harrison, Andrew (May 1993). "World in Slow Motion". Select. No. 35. pp. 78–79.
  14. ^ Pattenden, Mike (June 1993). "Getting Their House in Order". Vox. No. 33. p. 65.
  15. ^ "New Order | full Official Chart History | Official Charts Company". Official Charts Company.
  16. ^ "New Order Online – A New Order / Joy Division Web Site".
  17. ^ a b Backspin: Peter Hook on New Order's Later Years. Yahoo. 12 April 2017. Retrieved 23 June 2021.
  18. ^ "New Order". Retrieved 19 August 2011.
  19. ^ "Australiancharts.com – New Order – Republic". Hung Medien. Retrieved 15 June 2019.
  20. ^ "Top RPM Albums: Issue 0964". RPM. Library and Archives Canada. Retrieved 15 June 2019.
  21. ^ "Dutchcharts.nl – New Order – Republic" (in Dutch). Hung Medien. Retrieved 15 June 2019.
  22. ^ "European Top 100 Albums" (PDF). Music & Media. Vol. 10, no. 21. 22 May 1993. p. 28. OCLC 29800226 – via World Radio History.
  23. ^ Pennanen, Timo (2006). Sisältää hitin – levyt ja esittäjät Suomen musiikkilistoilla vuodesta 1972 (in Finnish) (1st ed.). Helsinki: Kustannusosakeyhtiö Otava. ISBN 978-951-1-21053-5.
  24. ^ "Le Détail des Albums de chaque Artiste". InfoDisc (in French). Retrieved 15 June 2019. Select "NEW ORDER" from the drop-down menu and click "OK".
  25. ^ "Offiziellecharts.de – New Order – Republic" (in German). GfK Entertainment Charts. Retrieved 15 June 2019.
  26. ^ ニュー・オーダー (in Japanese). Oricon. Archived from the original on 8 November 2012. Retrieved 27 June 2020.
  27. ^ "Charts.nz – New Order – Republic". Hung Medien. Retrieved 15 June 2019.
  28. ^ "Swedishcharts.com – New Order – Republic". Hung Medien. Retrieved 15 June 2019.
  29. ^ "Official Albums Chart Top 100". Official Charts Company. Retrieved 15 June 2019.
  30. ^ "New Order Chart History (Billboard 200)". Billboard. Retrieved 15 June 2019.
  31. ^ "The RPM Top 100 Albums of 1993". RPM. Vol. 58, no. 23. 18 December 1993. ISSN 0033-7064 – via Library and Archives Canada.
  32. ^ "Top 100 Albums 1993" (PDF). Music Week. 15 January 1994. p. 25. ISSN 0265-1548 – via World Radio History.
  33. ^ "Canadian album certifications – New Order – Republic". Music Canada. 26 January 1994. Retrieved 15 June 2019.
  34. ^ "British album certifications – New Order – Republic". British Phonographic Industry. 1 May 1993. Retrieved 6 February 2022.
  35. ^ Caulfield, Keith (5 April 2006). "Ask Billboard: New Depeche Order Mode". Billboard. Retrieved 23 April 2019.
  36. ^ "American album certifications – New Order – Republic". Recording Industry Association of America. 8 March 1994. Retrieved 15 June 2019.
edit