THE ART OF NOISE ONLINE www.theartofnoiseonline.com

SO80S (SOEIGHTIES) PRESENTS ZTT

FRANKIE GOES TO HOLLYWOOD • PROPAGANDA • ART OF NOISE

The promise, the dream, the anticipation, the disappointment.

The first disc was originally intended to feature new reconstructions by Blank & Jones of classic tracks by Zang Tumb Tuum's three biggest acts of the time rather than updated dance remixes, with the second to feature a megamix of ZTT's back catalogue. However this is not how this double disc set is presented as nine out of the thirteen remodelled productions are of Frankie Goes To Hollywood with Propaganda and Art of Noise appearing as fillers. According to sources the duo were only sent the multi-tracks of the featured songs by ZTT, limiting them to what they could do with the project. From this fan's point of view it would have been better to have omitted the three Propaganda tracks: Duel, Dr. Mabuse, A Dream Within A Dream along with the now overused Moments In Love by Art of Noise and released the project as So80s (SoEighties) Present Frankie Goes To Hollywood.

With that said, the majority of these new reconstructions do sound as they were meant to, as one could be mistaken for thinking that they were all unreleased mixes from the 1980s. A great deal of care has been put into how these versions have been put together, so much so that Blank & Jones actually purchased equipment from that period for their additional work to seamlessly blend in with the original source material. Thankfully they didn't go in the direction of so many other people that have remixed tracks from ZTT's over the past twenty years by turning them into club anthems that removed their heart and soul.

In many ways this release is a contradiction as it is extremely enjoyable to listen to if one is a Frankie Goes To Hollywood, but at the same time it's a huge disappointment as it fails to deliver on many levels. Not even the well designed artwork and sleeve notes by Paul Morley can hide the fact that it could have been so much more. ZTT have always been full of inconsistencies over the past three decades, unfortunately this album doesn't fall into that ethos or does it?

- KM Whitehouse, April 2014