I hope I am not alone in liking odd parings. This is actually three in one: an 80s synthpop group called The Art Of Noise; a 60s vocalist Sir Thomas John Woodward who goes by the stage name Tom Jones; and pop superstar Prince.
The Art of Noise formed in London in 1983. They consisted of engineer/producer Gary Langan and programmer J. J. Jeczalik, along with arranger Anne Dudley (who is already on the jukebox as the arranger for Selection A4, Too Many Walls) producer Trevor Horn and music journalist Paul Morley. They are popular for creating music out of everyday sounds. You may hear a buzzsaw right next to a bassline. This digital sampling was new at the time, and it was definitely an interesting sound.
This, along with their interpretation of Peter Gun are their most popular, although they are also known for Close (To The Edit), and Paranoimia (featuring Max Headroom), all top 20 singles in England. Here in the US, only Kiss and Paranoimia made the top 40.
Kiss was already a number one for Prince. It is his third. It started as a one minute acoustic demo that he handed off to the band Mazarati, formed by former Revolution bassist Brown Mark. When they finished with the song, Prince liked it so much, he took it back, added the guitar solo, and kept the band's background vocals.
The Art of Noise remake is a work of art. Hiring Tom Jones to do vocals was genius. I really like his interpretation here. And the music is typical Art of Noise, pounding drums, horns, noises, and the bridge includes references to their previous hits, including the theme to Dragnet, along with the songs I mentioned earlier. And though it is weird, it works for me.
Selection B14 is E. F. L. It is more typical Art Of Noise goodness. I highly recommend talking at least one listen.
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