Warning; Live CD
J. Davies | Seattle, WA USA | 04/03/2008
(1 out of 5 stars)
"I was SO looking forward to hearing the Art of Noise in SACD Surround. I did NOT know this was a live concert CD. I've never seen them live, and perhaps if I had, this might have been a nice reminder. But as a listener, the mix is bass-heavy, the crowd noise irritating, and the banter of the 'story of our hero, Claude Debussy' is pointless. I never want to hear this disc again."
Interesting, but not Enduring
Pyanfar Chanur | USA | 03/23/2010
(3 out of 5 stars)
"This live recording of The Art of Noise is based in the era following the release of "The Seduction of Claude Debussy". As such, it contains much of the narrative threads that tied that album together, but also attempts to weave other Art of Noise favorites (such as "Moments in Love") into the mix.
Unfortunately, much of this doesn't translate well into an audio recording. It might have been more fun to watch on video, to see what was happening onstage, and perhaps to feel more like one of the crowd watching. Without that, we have a concept album that's been chopped up, interspersed with crowd noise, and had a couple of "Greatest Hits" inserted here and there. The narrator is one of the members of the group, and he takes whimsical diversions between tracks into anecdotal stories and diatribes about getting drunk. These don't add anything to the recording, and come across more as "had to be there" moments when confined to audio as they are here.
If you are an Art of Noise fan who truly enjoyed "The Seduction of Claude Debussy", then this will probably satisfy you. Fans new to the band will find little here that is inspiring, and would better enjoy any of the many Art of Noise studio albums more than this."
