Note: this release was originally purchased as a cassette, later replaced by a CD (Art Works 12" Blue Cover).
I was excited to find a used copy of this out-of-print gem on eBay. I received it in the mail just yesterday. At the time of this release, I had heard of AoN, but hadn't heard any of their music. I picked this up and became an instant fan. While I have versions of the songs on other CDs, I was introduced to the group through these 12" remixes, so it is fun to revisit these versions now. In early 1989, I still considered myself a musician first and foremost and I enjoyed listening to how this group deconstructed and reconstructed pop music while experimenting with the latest editing and sampling techniques. The group's name couldn't be more apt. I wonder if I had heard them in 1984 if I would have become a fan.
Peak on the US Billboard Top 200 chart: #83 (Jan 28, 1989)
Tracks: Favs are Opus 4, Beatbox, Close (To the Edit), Peter Gunn Theme, and the cover of Kiss featuring Tom Jones. I prefer this AoN version to Prince's original. I could do without Paranomia featuring Max Headroom and Dragnet. Neither has aged well. Amazingly, I sometimes hear Moments in Love on smooth jazz radio. That always amuses me.
Personal Memory Associated with this CD: I remember buying this release on cassette on a cold, rainy day in San Antonio (which are rare). It was probably January 1989 at a store in the Sunset Ridge Shopping Center on N. New Braunfels. At age 22, I was a recent college graduate living in my parent's spare bedroom, so I needed a musical distraction from that situation.
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