Zero: A Martin Hannett Story

by Martin Hannett

Overview

This is the third time Martin Hannett's production work has been anthologized. Martin, released by Factory in 1991 (shortly after Hannett's death), and And Here Is the Young Man, released by Debutante in 1998, are quite similar to this set (they're also shorter), but they've both gone out of print -- perhaps this disc will slide out of circulation within seven years as well, only to be replaced with a slightly better and more thorough representation. The three discs share a lot of the same material and have some similar faults, and they each provide demonstrative looks into Hannett's career, even if you already have half the material on each one. Zero: A Martin Hannett Story contains 21 tracks and lengthy liner notes from LTM's resourceful James Nice. It rolls through a lot of key moments, beginning with Buzzcocks' "Boredom" (Hannett's first job) and concluding with World of Twist's cover of the Rolling Stones' "She's a Rainbow." (You can almost sense the former sneering at the very idea of the latter, but that's another story.) The average music fan won't hear the imprint of singular production work until the seventh track, Joy Division's "Transmission," where Hannett truly began to use the studio and new effects to alter the sound of the instruments. As Nice says, Hannett used "anything, indeed, that created space, weirdness, and 'sonic holograms.'" His creativity peaked during the post-punk era, and a lot of that had to do with the moods and themes explored by the bands he worked with at the time. New Order's "In a Lonely Place," Magazine's "The Light Pours Out of Me," OMD's "Electricity," and Pauline Murray & the Invisible Girls' "Dream Sequence 1" are other central inclusions, while some less-known tracks -- the Names' "Night Shift," Basement 5's "The Last White Christmas," Kitchens of Distinction's "Quick as Rainbows" -- are just as important to the story. "Quick as Rainbows," recorded in 1990, actually indicates Hannett's slide into indistinguishable work, especially if you compare it to Hugh Jones' production of the same song. ESG, A Certain Ratio, Minny Pops, and maybe even Crispy Ambulance and the Stockholm Monsters are the significant missing bands from this roundup, but they all have compilations or in-print albums that are worth finding. The disc is filled to capacity, so it's not as if they would've all fit anyway. ~ Andy Kellman

Product Details

Release Date:	04/25/2006
Label:	Big Beat Records
UPC:	0029667427029
Rank:	87495

Tracks

1. Boredom  -  Buzzcocks  - Howard Devoto  - Pete Shelley
2. Cranked Up Really High  - Mick Rossi  -  Slaughter & the Dogs
3. Jilted John  - Graham Fellows  -  Jilted John
4. I Don't Want to Be Nice  - John Cooper Clarke  - Martin Hannett
5. Dream Sequence, Pt. 1  - Pauline Murray  -  Murray
6. 11 O'Clock Tick Tock  -  Bono  - Adam Clayton  -  Edge  - Larry Jr. Mullen  -  U2
7. Transmisson  - Ian Curtis  -  Joy Division  - Stephen Morris  - Bernard Sumner
8. Conduct  -  Durutti Column
9. Electricity  - Paul Humphreys  -  Orchestral Manoeuvres in the Dark
10. The Light Pours out of Me  - Howard Devoto  -  Magazine  - John McGeoch  - Pete Shelley
11. In a Lonely Place  - Ian Curtis  - Peter Hook  - Stephen Morris  -  New Order  - Bernard Sumner
12. Oh Lucinda (Love Becomes a Habit)  -  Only Ones  - Peter Perrett
13. Night Shift  -  Names
14. The Last White Christmas  -  Basement 5  - Dennis Morris  - Anthony "Packrat" Thompson
15. Pretty in Pink  - John Ashton  - Richard Butler  - Timothy H. Butler  - Duncan Kilburn  - Roger Morris  -  Psychedelic Furs
16. Friendly Fires  - Vincent Cassidy  -  Section 25  - Paul Wiggin
17. Rebecca's Room  - Michael Atkins  - Rocco Barker  - Kenneth Scott  -  Wasted Youth
18. All Tomorrow's Parties  -  Nico  - Lou Reed
19. Quick as Rainbows  - Daniel Goodwin  -  Kitchens of Distinction  - Julian Swales
20. Wrote for Luck  - Mark Day  -  Happy Mondays  - Paul Ryder  - Shaun Ryder  - Gary Whelan
21. She's a Rainbow  - Mick Jagger  - Keith Richards  -  World of Twist

Album Credits

Performance Credits

Martin Hannett   Primary Artist
Nico   Primary Artist
Jilted John   Primary Artist
New Order   Primary Artist
Pauline Murray and the Invisible Girls   Primary Artist
Slaughter & the Dogs   Primary Artist
Kitchens of Distinction   Primary Artist
The Durutti Column   Primary Artist
Wasted Youth   Primary Artist
John Cooper Clarke   Primary Artist
U2   Primary Artist
Magazine   Primary Artist
The Names   Primary Artist
The Psychedelic Furs   Primary Artist
The Only Ones   Primary Artist
Orchestral Manoeuvres in the Dark   Primary Artist
Happy Mondays   Primary Artist
Buzzcocks   Primary Artist
World of Twist   Primary Artist
Section 25   Primary Artist
Basement 5   Primary Artist
Joy Division   Primary Artist

Technical Credits

Julian Swales   Composer
Vincent Cassidy   Composer
Graham Fellows   Composer
Kenneth Scott   Composer
James Nice   Liner Notes
Timothy H. Butler   Composer
Daniel Goodwin   Composer
Rob Finnis   Memorabilia,Label Consultant,Sleeve Art
Rocco Barker   Composer
Roger Morris   Composer
Peter Perrett   Composer
Richard Butler   Composer
Paul Wiggin   Composer
Shaun Ryder   Composer
Paul Humphreys   Composer
Stephen Morris   Composer
Andrew Prinz   Artwork,Art Direction
Paul Ryder   Composer
Pauline Murray   Composer
Ian Curtis   Composer
Larry Mullen, Jr.   Composer
Duncan Kilburn   Composer
Anthony "Packrat" Thompson   Composer
Tony Rounce   Sleeve Art,Memorabilia,Label Consultant
The Edge   Composer
Emily Mitchell   Art Direction
Gary Whelan   Composer
John Cooper Clarke   Composer
John Ashton   Composer
Lou Reed   Composer
Pete Shelley   Composer
Peter Hook   Composer
Martin Hannett   Composer
Nick Robbins   Mastering
Michael Atkins   Composer
Bernard Sumner   Composer
Keith Richards   Composer
Bono   Composer
John McGeoch   Composer
Howard Devoto   Composer
Mark Day   Composer
Mick Rossi   Composer
Mick Jagger   Composer
Adam Clayton   Composer
Dennis Morris   Composer