Substance compiles the four singles released by the band that did not appear on albums — "Transmission", "Komakino", "Love Will Tear Us Apart", and "Atmosphere" — as well as most of their B-sides. It also collects tracks released on various EPs, namely the band's first release, An Ideal for Living, and two samplers issued by Factory Records, A Factory Sample and . Two of the album's tracks, "Glass" and "Dead Souls", were previously included on the 1981 compilation Still. Additionally, the single "Atmosphere" had been originally issued in France as "Licht und Blindheit" with "Dead Souls" on the B-side; following Ian Curtis's suicide, it was reissued as a posthumous B-side of the "She's Lost Control" 12-inch single. with the titular song being an alternate, more elaborate version of the track that had previously appeared on Unknown Pleasures. The vinyl version omits the single "Komakino" and does not include the complete titles from the EPs, due to the lower storage capacity of a vinyl record. Later CD pressings issued by London Records contain a previously unreleased mix of "She's Lost Control" that is slightly different from the original single release. More guitar is mixed within the song, the synthesizer melody is shortened and starts at a later point, and the ending of the song is extended by 15 seconds and does not fade out. Substance was digitally remastered in 2015, containing not only the alternate mix of "She's Lost Control", but also two additional tracks: "As You Said" and the initial take of "Love Will Tear Us Apart", dubbed the "Pennine Version" after the studio it was recorded at.
Cover
The cover features the title of the album in green spelled with characters from Wim Crouwel's New Alphabet typeface below Joy Division's name and the years of recording in a smaller white font. The letters used in the title actually spell "Subst1mce", rather than "Substance". Brett Wickens, who worked on this cover whilst a partner at Saville Associates, claims this was for aesthetic reasons. The 1991 cover was different, featuring a large green "S" in the New Alphabet typeface with its lower half encircling Joy Division's name and the years of recording in the same white font used in the original cover.
Track listing
LP (Factory FACT 250)
CD (Factory FACD 250) and cassette (Factory FACT 250C)
Same tracks as LP plus the following bonus tracks, entitled Appendix:
