Who's Afraid Of The Art Of Noise, The Art of Noise
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This was the debut album from a collective of studio "wizards"—super-producer Trevor Horn, composer Anne Dudley, engineer Gary Langan, programmer J.J. Jeczalik, and "propaganda" minister Paul Morley.
The Sound: The Birth of "Sampledelia"
This album wasn't just electronic; it was one of the first commercially successful records built almost entirely on digital sampling using the Fairlight CMI (a computer that cost as much as a house at the time).
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Sonic Collage: They took "non-musical" sounds—car ignitions, power saws, and coughs—and turned them into rhythm.
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The "Non-Group" Identity: To keep the focus on the technology, the band remained anonymous, using masks and photos of statues (the one on the cover is from a cemetery in Italy) instead of their faces.
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Iconic Tracks
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"Moments in Love": A 10-minute ambient masterpiece. It’s haunting, romantic, and strangely timeless. Fun fact: Madonna reportedly walked down the aisle to this song when she married Sean Penn.
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"Close (To the Edit)": Famous for its "Hey!" sample and the sound of a stalling car engine. If that "Hey!" sounds familiar, it’s because The Prodigy sampled it for "Firestarter."
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"Beat Box": This track became an accidental hip-hop staple. It’s built on sampled drum hits (famously from Alan White of the prog-rock band Yes) and was massive in the early NYC breakdancing scene.
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MINT - sealed
NM - likely never played - almost perfect
VG+ - light scuffs, light scratches wont effect play
VG - signs of wear, light scratches you can feel
GOOD - surface noise, visible groove wear
POOR / FAIR- some damage, causing issues like skipping & distorted audio
OIS - original inner sleeve
