Art Of Noise – Into Vision
Picture:
C+ Sound: B Extras: B- Concert: B
One way
to describe The Art of Noise as a band is to call them a supergroup without
trying. This band turned out to be early
Hip Hop pioneers, all white Brits to boot.
Now, they are back with The Art
of Noise – Into Vision, a top rate DVD-Video release. Trevor Horn, the super-producing
vocal/writing genius who had already made a fascinating showing with his band
The Buggles and as a fascinating temporary lead singer with the band Yes (on
their underrated Drama album in 1980),
was backing Frankie Goes To Hollywood when he formed Art of Noise. Another such genius, Lol Crème, joins this
version of the band. With Kevin Godley,
they helped make the Art Rock band 10 CC a commercial success in the 1970s with
the ever impressive I’m Not In Love,
then they went on to be a duo.
Both Horn
and Godley & Crème became pioneers of the Music Video. Horn did Video
Killed The Radio Star, Relax (the various cuts for Frankie Goes To Hollywood)
and The Look of Love, another
all-time classic for ABC. Together or
separately, Godley and Crème directed videos for The Police, Tom Jones, U2,
Sting, and many others. The video for
their own hit Cry is one of the
format’s all-time masterpieces. I could
go on for both, but this is a review, not a Music Videography, and that would
take some serious space of its own. The
combination adds up to its promise enough.
This new
DVD offers a reunion concert form their 1999/2000 tour, with lead singer Paul Morley
and Anne Dudley’s exceptional piano work.
They complete the four and the compilation of their various appearances
are mixed with all kinds of visual graphics and theatricals that has the feel
of a multimedia experience reaching its potential. The 14 tracks are as follows, following the
specific spellings on the Super Jewel Box and inside the paper sleeve:
1) ‘A is for….”
2) Something is missing
3) Born on a Sunday
4) Moments in love
5) Rapt: in the evening air
6) Metaforce
7) On Being blue
8) Il Pleure (At the turn of the century)
9) Beat Box
10) Peter Gunn [The Theme from]
11) Information
12) Il Pleure (Reprise)
13) La flute de pan
14) Dreaming in color
This may
not be for everyone, but I enjoyed the daring and talent it took to put
something this interesting together, a work that has this much depth these days
is becoming far too rare. It builds into
a density that clicks. There is even
footage from their classic Music Video for Close
(to the Edit) from director Zbigniew Rybcznski., though it is accompanied
by Beat Box instead. Even this works.
The
anamorphically enhanced 16 X 9 (1.78 X 1) image is purposely mixed up, so
though there is some fine picture fidelity at its best, we also get degraded,
dulled, grainy, color-manipulated and purposely impressionistic images that are
supposed to look that way. This was
likely shot on PAL format analog videotape and has a slight softness, but the
anamorphic transfer offsets that. It is
a very interesting mix, so enjoy the footage that is not sharp as well as that
which is.
The sound
is available in PCM 2.0 Stereo and Dolby Digital 5.1 mixes that both work well,
though the .1 might have a bit more punch than you would expect, yet the mix
moves well enough and is made to impress on better home theater set-ups. You only get PCM on the interview segment. The rehearsals and the two fine piano numbers
(Sarabande and Le sons et parfumes tournent dans Fair du soir) have both as well,
and all supplements are also anamorphically enhanced. The concert lasts about 78 minutes, while the
interview is about 6 minutes, Dudley’s piano at 5:10, and the rehearsal footage at
just over 21 minutes. That is about 111
minutes total.
That is
quite a high quality package, way ahead of most Music DVD-Videos in the quality
of the presentation of both the main program and the supplements. Horn and Crème have always been ahead of
their time. The Art of Noise – Into Vision is state of the “art” beyond the
band’s name and smart fun anyone can enjoy.
- Nicholas Sheffo
