Art Of Then ON Wester Nworld

The place for Art of Noise neophytes to start, Daft collects (Who's Afraid Of?) The Art of Noise! and Into Battle with the Art of Noise, along with two reworkings of "Moments in Love" from the original U.K. release of that song, to make a fantastic hour's worth of music. If anything, a single or two aside, Daft beats out the official Best Of compilation by a mile. Having aged superbly with time, AON's early works sound all the more advanced and of the moment, a testament especially to Trevor Horn's excellent production and Anne Dudley's gripping arrangements. Further entertainment comes from the liner notes, which aren't merely state-of-the-art 1984 album design but an apparently barbed attack on the further incarnation of the band from one Otto Flake…

A rather interesting demonstration of the possibilities of the Art of Noise in concert (though not as entertaining as the live video release of the same year), Re-Works of Art of Noise features excellent renditions of some AoN standards stirred together with J.J. Jeczalik's live Fairlight showcase on "Hammersmith to Tokyo and Back." Years after the fact, it remains intriguing listening.