Into Battle With The Art of Noise

(Who's Afraid Of?) The Art of Noise!

_ My mother purchased this album (LP format) for me in 1984. I played it so much that I literally wore out the label, the album cover and some parts of the vinyl itself. Luckily I was able to get another copy and my only disappointment was that the label design was not of the style that was on the vinyl when the album was initially released (Island Records had gone to a new graphic design). This was the beginning of my fascination with England (I had seen the music video for "Beat Box" before getting the album and was amazed!) At the risk of sounding just like the other reviewers "Moments In Love" has to be one of the greatest slow songs ever made. I would be keen to use the song at my wedding! The awesome thing about the album is the group's ability to take ordinary sounds and generate really good musical compositions. My other favorite is "Who's Afraid (Of The Art Of Noise)". It is so much fun to listen and dance to! The same goes for "Realization". Get the album. You'll love it!

In Visible Silence

_ On this album the Art Of Noise continued to live up to its namesake: taking noise and making it a form of art! Opus 4 sounds very sweet and soothing, even though it's over right after it starts. Paranoimia is a definite favorite. It has a really nice beat and just sounds plain weird! Eye Of A Needle works the exact same way! Legs -- very danceable; I even tried to mix this record with alot of the House records that were coming out of Chicago in 1986 (what an experiment). Slip Of The Tongue was the other reason I tried to mix these seemingly unrelated forms of music - awesome sound effects! Backbeat sounds more retrospective and laid back. Instruments Of Darkness -- what a song! It is semi-political and yet still funky. Peter Gunn -- doesn't compare to the original 1960's version, but with the AON interpretation you really can't go wrong. Camilla-The Old, Old, Story has to be the best song on the album. Once again the AON showcases the ability to make a serious musical composition; slow records tend to be the best testing grounds. The Chameleon's Dish is more of a concept song, and it is very slick. Beatback...well, I'll leave that one for you to figure out (clue: reprise). If you're not careful you may find yourself playing this album repeatedly. It's excellent!

In No Sense? Nonsense!

_ Once again noise is reshaped and molded into musical sounds. This album has more musical overtones than previous ones, but there is still enough noise to sustain the weirdness. Favorite tracks: Dragnet, Fin Du Temps, Opus For Four, Debut, E.F.L., Crusoe, One Earth.

Re-Works of Art of Noise