Astroturf Noise

For a while back in the early ’80s Trevor Horn, Anne Dudley, Gary Langan and J.J. Jeczalik were just another group of musicians messing around with ideas in the studio. When journalist and copywriter Paul Morley (working with their record company ZTT at the time) presented an eight page manifesto defining the band and their guiding principles, The Art of Noise was born. Morley became a critical part of the The Art of Noise, contributing ideas, song titles and taking control the band’s image and the presentation of the records. Considering themselves an art-meets-pop project, a ‘hit’ record was not really on the agenda, but that is what happened in May 1984 when Close (to the Edit) hit the UK top ten…

The Art of Noise‘s 1987 album In No Sense? Nonsense! is reissued as a two-CD deluxe edition in November 2018. Gary Lagan had left after In Visible Silence leaving Anne Dudley and J.J. Jeczalik to continue as a duo. Dudley recalls, “At that time, we were meeting new people, doing adverts and films and things. There was lots of new input. These adverts generated other new tracks. They would evolve and we’d agree they were good ideas. And we’d ask each other what would happen if we did this, this and this? So that kept everything evolving.” The reissue features newly-remastered audio including bonus seven-inch and 12-inch mixes including collaborations with Paul McCartney (the Art of Noise ‘Spies Like Us’ remix) and Duane Eddy (‘Spies’). Additionally, there are 22 unreleased recordings from the sessions, taken from the original master tapes.

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.

"Moments in Love" is the third single by Art of Noise. Although the original 10-minute version appeared on both the Into Battle with the Art of Noise release in 1983 and the Who's Afraid of the Art of Noise? album in 1984, "Moments In Love" wasn't released globally as a commercial single until 1985, when the song was featured on the "Pumping Iron II: The Women" soundtrack. The version that was used on this soundtrack was "Moments in Love (Beaten)". Reissues followed in 1986 and 1987, in some markets. Copyright dates indicate the edits & remixes were prepared in 1984.
Singles generally featured shortened edits of the album version…

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…