November 1983, Geoff Mann left the band to take his own way, closer to his religious beliefs. This farewell is immortalized on the awesome Live and Let Live. A few weeks after the recording of this testimony at the Marquee, Andy Sears arrives to bring Twelfth Night a new voice. Then, the mini album, Art & Illusion, is released at the end of 1984. This moment will be a turning point in the British band's career since it will contribute to their signing with Virgin: the compositions are more direct ("Art & Illusion"), more accessible and cleaner production-wise, despite its very peculiar sound signature ("CRAB"). A few typical eighties tics make their entrance...inevitably.

The Definitive Edition, with a quality level way higher than Smiling at Grief 's(including bonuses), faithfully reflects the album's transitional nature compared to the reference Fact and Fiction (1982), and an extremely promising successor, XII (1986). The first disk is identical to the Cyclops Records' 2003 reissue: the five original songs, with demo tracks from the same period added (some of them were on XII two years later, including a skeletal version of "Take a Look"). The second CD, with unpublished songs for the most part, contains live recordings from the EP's promotional tour. The overall quality is worth a good bootleg's, so it is an opportunity to listen to monuments of the band such as "We Are Sane" and "Creepshow" performed by Andy Sears. Art & Illusion - The Definitive Edition is probably not the best release of these endearing musicians...it is primarily intended for fans who will find a lot of material to be happy about.