Unlimited Streaming
Listen to this album in high quality now on our apps
Start my trial period and start listening to this albumEnjoy this album on Qobuz apps with your subscription
SubscribeEnjoy this album on Qobuz apps with your subscription
Digital Download
Purchase and download this album in a wide variety of formats depending on your needs.
It is amazing how polarizing (for listeners) Bill Laswell's Material side projects can be. They are either fresh and inventive or stale and uninspired. Unfortunately, Nona Hendryx's 1984 Material-produced album The Art of Defense falls into the latter category -- another case of some very talented folks making a very bland record. Nona and the Material crew are obviously capable of great things, but despite the formidable pedigree of the artists involved, The Art of Defense falls short of expectations. There are few real songs here, lyrically, so (if the group were going for the Donna Summer disco diva over complex-studio-grooves kind of thing) it would have made sense to make the music more engaging. Lord knows Laswell is capable of that. Neither the music nor the vocal performances ever take center stage, and the result is simply a boring album. The songs with the least going on in them (and the least going for them) are, invariably, the longest songs on the album, and the two songs that are actually somewhat engaging and well realized ("Electricity" and "Ghost Love") are the record's shortest tracks -- there is a lesson in here somewhere.
© J. Scott McClintock /TiVo
You are currently listening to samples.
Listen to over 100 million songs with an unlimited streaming plan.
Listen to this playlist and more than 100 million songs with our unlimited streaming plans.
From €13,50/month
Nona Hendryx, Associated Performer, Composer, Main Artist, Producer - Material, Producer
(P) 1984 RCA Records, a division of Sony Music Entertainment
Nona Hendryx, Associated Performer, Composer, Main Artist, Producer - Material, Producer
(P) 1984 RCA Records, a division of Sony Music Entertainment
Nona Hendryx, Associated Performer, Composer, Main Artist, Producer - Kevan Staples, Composer - Material, Producer
(P) 1984 RCA Records, a division of Sony Music Entertainment
Nona Hendryx, Associated Performer, Composer, Main Artist, Producer - Material, Producer
(P) 1984 RCA Records, a division of Sony Music Entertainment
Nona Hendryx, Associated Performer, Composer, Main Artist, Producer - Dan Hartman, Composer - Material, Producer
(P) 1984 RCA Records, a division of Sony Music Entertainment
Nona Hendryx, Associated Performer, Composer, Main Artist, Producer - Material, Producer - Trevor Gale, Composer - Kenneth Hairston, Composer
(P) 1984 RCA Records, a division of Sony Music Entertainment
Nona Hendryx, Associated Performer, Composer, Main Artist, Producer - Ellen Foley, Composer - Material, Producer - Jeffrey Kent, Composer
(P) 1984 RCA Records, a division of Sony Music Entertainment
Nona Hendryx, Associated Performer, Composer, Main Artist, Producer - Material, Producer - FRANCOIS KEVORKIAN, Re-Mixer - Ron St. Germain, Mixing Engineer
(P) 1984 RCA Records, a division of Sony Music Entertainment
Nona Hendryx, Associated Performer, Composer, Main Artist, Producer - Material, Producer
(P) 1983 RCA Records, a division of Sony Music Entertainment
Nona Hendryx, Associated Performer, Composer, Main Artist, Producer - Material, Producer
(P) 1984 RCA Records, a division of Sony Music Entertainment
Nona Hendryx, Associated Performer, Composer, Main Artist, Producer - Material, Producer - Tony Humphries, Re-Mixer
(P) 1984 RCA Records, a division of Sony Music Entertainment
Nona Hendryx, Associated Performer, Composer, Main Artist, Producer - Material, Producer - Tony Humphries, Re-Mixer
(P) 1984 RCA Records, a division of Sony Music Entertainment
Nona Hendryx, Associated Performer, Main Artist - Tom Scott, Composer, Lyricist, Producer - Candy Parton, Composer, Lyricist
(P) 1984 RCA Records, a division of Sony Music Entertainmentq
Nona Hendryx, Associated Performer, Main Artist - Tom Scott, Composer, Lyricist, Producer - Candy Parton, Composer, Lyricist
(P) 1984 RCA Records, a division of Sony Music Entertainment
Album review
It is amazing how polarizing (for listeners) Bill Laswell's Material side projects can be. They are either fresh and inventive or stale and uninspired. Unfortunately, Nona Hendryx's 1984 Material-produced album The Art of Defense falls into the latter category -- another case of some very talented folks making a very bland record. Nona and the Material crew are obviously capable of great things, but despite the formidable pedigree of the artists involved, The Art of Defense falls short of expectations. There are few real songs here, lyrically, so (if the group were going for the Donna Summer disco diva over complex-studio-grooves kind of thing) it would have made sense to make the music more engaging. Lord knows Laswell is capable of that. Neither the music nor the vocal performances ever take center stage, and the result is simply a boring album. The songs with the least going on in them (and the least going for them) are, invariably, the longest songs on the album, and the two songs that are actually somewhat engaging and well realized ("Electricity" and "Ghost Love") are the record's shortest tracks -- there is a lesson in here somewhere.
© J. Scott McClintock /TiVo
About the album
- 1 disc(s) - 14 track(s)
- Total length: 01:14:21
- Main artists: Nona Hendryx
- Composer: Various Composers
- Label: Legacy Recordings
- Genre: Soul/Funk/R&B R&B
This compilation (P) 2014 RCA Records, a division of Sony Music Entertainment
Improve album information
Why buy on Qobuz...
-
Stream or download your music
Buy an album or an individual track. Or listen to our entire catalogue with our high-quality unlimited streaming subscriptions.
-
Zero DRM
The downloaded files belong to you, without any usage limit. You can download them as many times as you like.
-
Choose the format best suited for you
Download your purchases in a wide variety of formats (FLAC, ALAC, WAV, AIFF...) depending on your needs.
-
Listen to your purchases on our apps
Download the Qobuz apps for smartphones, tablets and computers, and listen to your purchases wherever you go.