ORDER OF THE UNIVERSE

Less is less

Order Of The Universe is another single released from the very good Anderson Bruford Wakeman Howe album. Unlike the Brother Of Mine single there is nothing here that wasn't already on the full-length album except two different edits of the main song. Hence, in a way you get even less here than on the album. While the unedited album version is the definitive version and one to return to again and again, these edited versions are mainly a curiosity for fans and their value extends to a single listen only. The b-side is Fist Of Fire taken from that same album and is presented in the same version as on the album.

The nice art work by the great Roger Dean probably makes this an attractive collectors item (I don't own it), but considering the musical contents this is only for hard core fans and even for us edited versions of songs we are already familiar with carries a very limited worth.

There were a number of different versions of this maxi-single on CD (and possibly cassette, though I don't remember any), and as far as I know, each had two edited versions of "Order of the Universe:" a "short edit" and a "long edit." The third track was either the unedited album version of "Order" or the album track "Fist of Fire." (While an alternate mix of "Fist of Fire" exists, I'm pretty sure it wasn't released until years later.)

Both edits of "Order" are included as bonus tracks on recent reissues of the band's album Anderson Bruford Wakeman Howe, so this maxi-single, in whatever version, is redundant unless you're a serious collector.

Since the nine-minute album version of "Order of the Universe" seems to be at least twice as long as necessary, the notion of an edited version is certainly tantalizing. The six-minute "long edit" seamlessly removes a third of the bulk by trimming excess throughout. It's still a little repetitive, but nothing important is missing. At nearly five minutes, the shorter edit seems to be the same as the longer edit, except that it is, oddly enough, cut short partway through Bill Bruford's Simmons drum solo.

Insofar as the edited version (long or short - - take your pick) of "Order of the Universe" is an unqualified improvement over the original, this single deserves a good rating. On the other hand, the single itself doesn't add any musical value whatsoever to a collection which includes either of the recent (2010 and 2014) reissues of Anderson Bruford Wakeman Howe. Three stars for the material, perhaps, but two for the item itself.