Modern Art: The Best of John Foxx [CD]

Foxx's early singles like "Underpass" and "Burning Car" conjured images of isolation and alienation, punctuated by a robotic delivery. While the themes would recur frequently, Foxx dropped the affected monotone after his first solo album, "Metamatic" (also the name of his label). However, another artist of the day would grasp onto that identity and make it his own. John Foxx founded all of the elements that would make Gary Numan a superstar.

Perhaps overcompensating for "Metamatic's" mechanical vocals, Foxx's voice veered toward the melodramatic at times on his next two albums, "The Garden" and "The Golden Section". His style had warmed up, with traditional instrumentation introduced back into the mix. Foxx's final album for Virgin, 1985's "In Mysterious Ways", was a more reserved affair, slightly foreshadowing some of his later ambient work. Foxx then took an extended break from music to focus on other artistic pursuits, including photography.

"Modern Art" capably encapsulates Foxx's 20+ years of musical product over 18 tracks, including all of his Virgin singles, samples of his later work (including collaborator Louis Gordon), b-sides and the odd rarity. The remastered sound is exceptional and the packaging and liner notes are most commendable.

If you have never experienced Foxx's work before, this is the perfect starting point (and mightly reasonable pricewise). For longtime admirers, "Modern Art" is the perfect companion to the "Assembly" compilation. And this CD represents essential listening for anyone with an interest in the history and development of electronic music..

Synth-based pop and rock had seen a few milestones along the
way during the seventies: Hot Butter's Popcorn (1972), Kraftwerk's Autobahn (75) and Moroder/Sumner's I Feel Love (77) all took the place by storm and yet synth music was still seen as the province of academics and the BBC Radiophonic Workshop
(rest in peace as it's now closed).

Bands like Ultravox, The Human League and Joy Division began
to change this assumption. 1979 was the year zero of synth
music: as punk rock's velocity began to sag (Foxx lyric!) and
council estates across Britain thought ska music was the new beginning (it wasn't and boy does it sound dated now?!), synths
became big-time musically. The intervening years have seen
music technology become mainstream but Foxx was in at the start...

He's a great songwriter and very underated. Metamatic shimmered
with ice-cool visions of a post-apocalyptic world along the
lines of Huxley's Brave New World; the singles Underpass and
No-One Driving are killers. As a thirteen year old kid already
mad on synth music, seeing Foxx on Top Of The Pops doing Underpass helped me make up my mind to be a musician. Cool
wasn't the word!

This album is a great introduction to anyone unaware of his
musical past and it's also useful for all us oldies who have
all the early stuff on vinyl: you can now play it in the car!

What can I say except go and buy this now!
Cheers
Al Ferrier

I scanned in great detail to ensure the offering was genuine and not release of cover versions by obscure, unheard of artists. I took the plunge and I am not disappointed. If you ever wanted to know the history of John Foxx, it is all here. I have most of the material in some form, but the newer stuff is not something I have kept up with.

The early stuff is all classic synth material. A must for any music journalist to study as part of a very moving period in music's history. I'd call this "classical music" in many ways! "Burning Car" still moves me - it has drama and energy unlike anything of it's era. It is both inspiratinal and chilling. Just think of the technology used to create these sounds and another word springs to mind; Pioneering!

During my fanhood(?) I kind of "lost the faith" shortly after the Golden Section was released. I did buy "In Mysterious Ways" but it never got much play time on my turntable as it seemed way off mark to me. Now that I hear the two tracks from that album on this compilation again: "Stars on Fire" and "Enter the Angel" and after all these years, they have a new sound, and a clever construction that I never appreciated before. Still a bit Euro-pop, but unique nevertheless.

Then I get to the new stuff that I haven't heard before. Sunset Riding is a natural extension of John Foxx's obsession with the Church setting, and if you put this record in the sleeve of the album "The Garden", you'd have a perfect match! Then, we move into something very new. Is it Kraftwerk? Is it Orbital? It has trace elements of many things, and it is something my ears know well, but just can't quite place. I like it though, and it is John Foxx's collaboration with Louis Gordon. It works, and it updates the sound so well.

Then the last two tracks are my flexi disk favourite "My Face" followed by a mild remix of "He's a Liquid". So glad to ave the former in difital format where it really does belong!

You cannot spend five pounds better than on this. I'd have paid a fiver just to have a digital copy of "My Face" to complete the history I wanted, to have all the other amazing stuff thrown in too? Wow!