An Ideal For Living is a punk rock extended play which marks the debut of Joy Division. (Seemingly credited as "Joy! Division") The 7" was released on 3 June 1978, though it was recorded in 1977. Its 12" released on 10 October 1978.
Background
The EP's sleeve shows of a Hitler Youth beating a drum. The small print on the right of the album reads "An Ideal For Living." The album art and band logo was drawn by Bernard Sumner (Who at the time was using the pseudonym Bernard Albrecht). Not to show that they had anything to do with Nazis, especially since the band's name is also a reference to Nazism, the band made the 12" version release with a sleeve of a scaffolding.
The band recorded the EP in Pennine Studios, Oldham. The 7" version was released under the self-published label "Enigma" and the 12" was released under "Anonymous", as "Enigma" ended up being a real record company.
Tracklist
Reception and Reviews
Allmusic's gave it 3 stars. "Joy Division's first release showcases clearly the group's punk roots. "Warsaw" is classic rushed hardcore complete with shouted vocals, while "Failures" simply slows the tempo a bit to become a punk-influenced hard-rock number. "No Love Lost" is almost an instrumental selection, with very late-entering vocals that seem like an afterthought. Most indicative of the group's later releases is the slower-tempo "Leaders of Men," which allows Ian Curtis' bleak lyrics to come to the fore. Sound quality and production values on this release are extremely primitive. This is a mildly interesting, if not great EP; with the re-release of tracks one and three on the rarities album Substance, the need for diehard Joy Division fans to obtain this platter has notably decreased."[1]
12" Sleeve