lambchops's Full Review: Duran Duran (The Wedding Album) by Duran Duran
Duran Duran is more than just an MTV phenomenon. Their success first came in the form of stylish music videos. The band was identified as a sort of British boy band with wonderful good looks. I still can see their wind-whipped hair in music videos like the one for "Rio". It's almost embarrassing to admit that they finally reached musical maturity with the release of their self titled 1993 album (better known simply as The Wedding Album).
It was after the release of this album by Capitol that I realized that it was possible that I, a rock fanatic, had a soft spot in my heart for Duran Duran. At the time of the album's release, they were a quartet named after a character in the sci-fi flick Barbarella. Simon LeBon was the vocalist, Warren Cuccurullo was on the guitar, Nick Rhodes on keyboards, and John Taylor was also on the guitar. The release of The Wedding Album marked the ninth studio release from Duran Duran (although, one of them was a compilation of greatest hits aptly titled Decade).
The Wedding Album produced two mellow, top ten hits. These two tracks were very much unlike the happy, poppy Duran Duran songs of yesteryear. It was official, after five years of laying low, the band finally had a few more hit singles to their name. Personally, I found that these songs, "Ordinary World" and "Come Undone" were masterpieces. After relistening to this album, I couldn't have been more correct. In fact, I have to say that this album was a definite high point in the career of a band that could have become blips on the 1980's pop landscape.
As I mentioned earlier, the music on this album was much more mature. Rather than resembling fellow Brits Culture Club, the tracks on The Wedding Album sounded more like those of Blur. This wasn't a bad thing, in fact it was a welcomed change to the face of music. Duran Duran made a good choice when they decided to change their focus and to make music that is good rather than music that is MTV-bound.
"Ordinary World" is one of the best tracks on this 1993 album. To be quite honest, there's a reason it did well on the charts. For once, the listeners coincided with the music critics (as we all well know, this isn't commonly the case). This is a very low-key yet melodic track. There's a beautiful guitar in addition to absolutely magical vocals thanks to LeBon. There is no question in my mind that this is a mature Duran Duran as evidenced by the words...and as I try to make my way to the ordinary world, I will learn to survive. Absolutely gorgeous if you ask me (not that my opinion matters that much anyway).
The second popular track from this album is also really great. In fact, it is one of my personal favorite songs of all time. It hurts to admit that a Duran Duran song could possible be on that list, but Come Undone certainly is wonderful. I love the melody and I love the beat. Oh! I also need to mention that the backing vocals are great. It's a very emotional song, much more so than the stereotypical Duran Duran song. Again, I want to mention the lyrics. They are the focus of the song and therefore deserve some mention...Who do you need, who do you love When you come undone...
Of course these two songs aren't the only ones on the album. The first track is entitled Too Much Information. It speaks ironically to the fact that MTV isn't all good. Here's a quick example: Destroyed by MTV, I hate to bite the hand that feeds me so much information. As you can tell by that single line, this is a political and socially conscious song. It's got great lyrics, a great beat, and it's definitely a toe-tapper (yeah, I sound like a old lady). Shotgun has a very hip-hop beat. It's definitely an unexpected song on a Duran Duran album. In fact, it sounds very much like a Prince track. UMF is sort of a rap version of what you'd expect of Duran Duran in the eighties. It's a good song, though. Definitely easy on the ears. None of the Above sounds very much like a ballad from their decade of fame. It's a good song, but a bit slow for my taste. It also resembles the style they used on another one of my favorite tracks from another album, Lou Reed's "Perfect Day".
Femme Fatale is also a great song. But, of course there are others that I don't like so much. There aren't any really awful tracks, just less interesting ones like: Love Voodoo, Drowning Man, Breath After Breath, UMF, Shelter, To Whom It May Concern, and Sin of the City. Although, overall this is the best Duran Duran album of their career. It proves that they aren't just another here today, gone tomorrow band of the 1980's. Duran Duran has grown old gracefully. If you lean anywhere near this kind of synthesizer pop, I suggest you get this album. You certainly won't be disappointed. It's definitely a higher quality album than most pop you can buy from today.
I give this album a strong 4/5 stars. I want to give Duran Duran a bit more room to grow even further, although I suspect that their career is just about finished. They've lost their good looks and the face of music really has changed even since The Wedding Album found success in the early 1990's. Don't shy away from this album just because you don't like the Hungry Like a Wolf band...this is a very different album.
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