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"... and it was raining"


You sometimes hear about concept albums. Sinatra's In the Wee Small Hours is purportedly one of the first of that category. I've often heard it applied to albums that, frankly, don't seem to warrant the label. Our 4th best album of all-time, however, most certainly does.

#4 - Art of Noise - The Seduction of Claude Debussy (1999)

The last studio album of the Art of Noise finds them exploring the concept of the life and work of composer Claude Debussy, concentrated into a one hour, thirteen track album of synth, rap, hip hop, drum n bass, classical, and opera. It is unlike any recording I have heard before or since. And, if anecdotal conversations are anything to go on, during the nearly twenty years since its release, not enough people have heard of it.


The Seduction of Claude Debussy is, as mentioned earlier, a fusion of various music genres into surprisingly coherent melodies. Ostensibly a tribute to the titular French composer, the Art of Noise use his work as a springboard to explore a variety of different styles, taking the listener on a sort of journey through rhythm and time.


We are treated to the sound of soft rain, strong piano keys, strings (either natural or synthesized), the rapping of hip hop artist Rakim, the vocal intonations of mezzo-soprano Sally Bradshaw, and much more, all of which is narrated by actor John Hurt (star of the Elephant Man, and the War Doctor from Doctor Who). And it all works. Most of the time. There are, perhaps, a few miscues, but those can be forgiven for the sheer ambition of the overall work.

The album is lush, it is beautiful, it is soothing, it is hard hitting, it is danceable, it is operatic, and it is sometimes all of those things at once. If you've never listened to The Seduction of Claude Debussy, you owe it to yourself to do so at least once.


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