The Top 10 Duran Duran Songs You've Never Heard Before Jan 01 '10    Write an essay on this topic. Tweet Popular Products in Music The Dirtchamber Sessions, Vol. 1 by The Prodigy From $11 Jersey Boys [Original Broadway Cast Recording] by Original Broadway Cast From $8 The Bottom Line -- There are some musical acts that are destined just become marketable to a niche market. This is the reason performers like Celine Dion and Better Midler have a constant run in Las Vegas. It's not that they aren't talented, but rather that they only appeal to a certain segment of the community. When it comes to Duran Duran, they have one of the most loyal fan-bases around consisting of adult versions of the girls who screamed at their concerts, gay men, and DJs. Although they were more Tiger Beat-material at the peak of their career, Duran Duran are a lot more than just a novelty band. Little does the public know, but the band rose from the ashes of the punk movement, influenced by the British Invasion and then mixing it with a glam aestetic. And when they hit the scene, I don't think they knew that they were creating a brand new genre of danceable disco-rock. Taking pages from David Bowie, The Sex Pistols, and Queen, Duran Duran has released some of the most influential music of the 1980s. And it's not as if they ever stopped. Although the band has seen a rotating cast of the same core members, they have never once broken up. Resurging in each decade with a monster hit, Duran Duran always seems to come back. Ordinary World and Come Undone became comback hits in 1993, proving that they had more substance than people gave them credit for. Although Simon's lyrics and the band's complex musical arrangements were original and effective, the funky hooks and screaming girls stole their musical credibility. Then they came back again with (Reach Up for the) Sunrise in 2004, which, though successful, rode on its pure nostalgia of having all five band members in their original, classic line up. Duran Duran is gearing up to release a project in 2010 with English DJ Mark Ronson producing, which promising to bring the band back to the core of their first two records, the self-titled Duran Duran and their masterpiece Rio. Although nobody was listening in the mid-90s, Duran was outputing some very experimental music that proved they didn't have to squeeze into a synth-based 80s box. With the angsty, drug-induced sound on Medazzaland, Duran lost heartthrob John Taylor, who was hitting rock bottom with his severe drug addiction. Left as a trio, Pop Trash, their most decadent record featuring heavy guitar work and crunchy vocals, proved to be Duran Duran's least successful output. The band was down and out financially and mentally; ironically, they were finding new territory. I admire this band for being continuously experimental and not afraid of going to the limits of their talent and beyond. They never appeared ashamed to be a part of what was generally considered to be a "teeny bopper" band; they don't care if people think they are gay; they don't feel disgraced that Hungry Like the Wolf will forever be their most popular track. They are at terms with their past and seem to be very proud of it. And for this band of musically curious men, they have become like a fine wine-- a little nutty, very rich, and highly satisfying. This list comprises some of Duran Duran's more overshadowed tracks from throughout their career. These particular songs I find to be perfect examples of how versatile they were and are. From the Timberlake-produced later work to the multi-layered work from 1997, this list is designed to peak the interests of those who think of Duran Duran as a gaggle of pretty boys who were just in it for the glory and body glitter. I'd rather let the music speak for itself. Duran Duran is: Simon LeBon John Taylor Roger Taylor Nick Rhodes -- Warren Cuccurullo Andy Taylor Sterling Campbell 01. FRIENDS OF MINE, Duran Duran 1981 Friends of Mine is a thick, heavy dance track that was seemingly very influenced by Blondie, with whom the band would tour with. As they were both stemming from the same movement, Debbie Harry and her band were playing with the punk genre and dance music, hitting it big with the disco song Heart of Glass in 1977. What the nay-sayers at the time did not know is that it was all mechanical. The song was not an easy loop to perform, and the band really had to work their asses off to make it sound as smooth as the producer envisioned it. And the rest was history. This song was the stepping stone to the work on Duran Duran's eponymous debut record. This song is upbeat and mysterious, featuring a very claustrophobic production and vocal performance from Simon LeBon, who sings as if he's trapped inside of David Bowie's mind. Based around the concept of betrayal and namedropping George Davies, a no-no-notorious English criminal who tricked his supporters, Friends of Mine is paranoid and cold. At the same time, it's got an infectious chorus and perfected production. Georgie Davies is coming out No more heroes; we twist and shout Oh, no, not me! I'm not too late! And I know that I'm not waiting anymore! Rocky Picture's thrown away his gun Leave him out now he's having fun Oh, no, not me! I'm not too late! And I know that I'm not taking anymore! Whatcha doin', friends of mine? Calling back now, friends of mine... I've always heard you calling. 02. TEL AVIV, Duran Duran 1981 This instrumental piece of epic awesomeness directly follows Friends of Mine on their debut record, and it picks up on the mysterious vibe of the entire album. There was something transcendent, scary, and eerie about the overall sound on this record, and Tel Aviv is easily the best example of this. Running a little over five minutes, it's a majestic and twisted experimentation in sculpting a synthesizer to make something entire new. With divine Middle Eastern-inspired interludes and melodic motifs, Tel Aviv creeps up behind you before drilling its way into your brain. Instrumental music is very tricky, and it's easy to get bored. With this song, there seems to be an actual chorus to follow although Simon doesn't actually say a word. There is some rhythmic chanting towards the end of the song, but it's distant (and it's obviously not coming from any throat in the band). This track quickly becomes the soundtrack for a high-panic chase around a dark city district. Drugged. Chances are, you took a strange pill from a strange man in a strange alleyway, and then, out of nowhere, the stressed out chords in this song begin to impress themselves on your ear canals. Listening to this song makes me cringe at the notion that Duran Duran wasn't talented or original. 03. MY OWN WAY, Rio 1982 I don't remember when I first heard them, but I do remember what made me love them. The funky, Vandross-inspired bass playing on My Own Way swirled together with a snarky, intelligent attitude that seems to just epitomize everything that makes this band special. It's odd for me to pick a song off their critically acclaimed masterpiece from 1982, but this is one song that's been shamefully dismissed by the band and by many fans. The disco-influence is subtle, taking a page from the popular so-called "black music" at the time. The Night Version, a fast-paced disco mix with intense strings, which frankly took away from the melody, reach the Top 10 in England, but the band has excluded it from both of there greatest hits collections. This track, in my opinion, sparkles just as brightly as Save a Prayer or Rio, taking a far more catty approach to vocal performance. The verses are instantly enjoyable, and the chorus is hypnotic. The complexly layered grooves on this track are better than 99% of Duran's other music, which may sound like an insult, but trust me, it's a compliment. With all their well-used talent on The Reflex and others, this song tops the best of the best. Duran Duran did funk well, mixing it with a new-romantic style of disco. #1 Public Figure: what a pain Just puts another rattle in your brain Take another green bill It's not the same So now you're on the Sandline everyday Dancing with the bulls In any old way Running live a fox To keep up with me 'Cause I've got my own way I can find my own way 'Cause I've got my own way 04. VERTIGO (DO THE DEMOLITION), Notorious 1986 Duran Duran was in a really bad place at the time this record was released. Andy and Roger Taylor had left the band after the exhausting (and exhaustive) promotion of Seven and the Ragged Tiger. The remaining boys called on Nile Rogers, the genius being Chic and Debbie Harry's KooKoo, to produce the next record. This was also the introduction of Warren Cuccurullo as a studio musician, who would go on to help write some of the band's best material. Unfortunately, Notorious stumbled on itself. While it gave Duran Duran another smash single, the album is boring and flat. Most of the tracks lack that incredible hook, even though I liked the sterile approach they took to their music. Stripping away at the decadent new romantic sound, Duran Duran was left with a much more subtle and cold sound. And out of all the songs on the album, only a few stand-out, one of which being Vertigo, which was only released as a b-side to Meet El Presidente. The song relies on a Gorgio Moroder-esque sense of drama with rising synth chords, only they are far more subdued and squished into the background. The lyrics on the song shine, as does the delivery of the material. Though it's lost to a late-80s timestamp, the hook is classic and timeless. Once again, this is Duran Duran being snarky and patronizing, which oddly suits them very well. If I can recommend a single song from the Notorious album, this would be it. Ooh, don't you feel edgy? Bite your lips and bleed! Conversation is empty Abandoned in the freeze Freedom is the only condemnation Free to say, "Well, maybe, maybe, maybe, maybe." You can take it or leave it Just need a little hit tonight Where's the real life in your illusion? On the dark side of power and confusion Do the dance-- do the demolition! And lose the chance to hear when you don't listen 05. NONE OF THE ABOVE, The Wedding Album 1993 This song was another instant moment for me. The drowsy a cappella introduction is starkly powerful before it trips into an upbeat 90s-rock song about atheism and a general lack of faith in the options already out there. Simon Lebon is a staunch atheist, and it comes across very well in this track with lyrics that seem to say "I'm really smarter than you. You probably have no idea what you're singing, you fool." The song was released off of the second eponymous Duran Duran album (dubbed The Wedding Album by fans, due to the album artwork, which was based off of wedding photos from the band members' parents' special days), and this was a hot time for the band. After the commercial and critical failure of the 1990 album Liberty, Duran Duran needed to do something drastic. I don't think anybody expected the success of their follow-up record, which gave them two Top 10 singles in the US. The album helped to solidify that Duran Duran was not just a novelty band-- they had been writing serious songs, but nobody wanted to notice it. It's easier to think that teen idols are stupid. It's difficult to understand that they pulled the wool over your eyes. John Taylor was just about to eff off when the record took off on the charts. This particular track was released as a single in Japan and is woefully underrated. But then again, anything that questions God is considered sinful (to Americans), and it would have tanked Stateside. I am I myself alone, and realize I never need to use no-one. When it comes down to my soul, Freedom puts my faith in none of the above There was a time I was so afraid Of everything people around me said That I wanted to hide my face in the shadows There was a time on a bed of nails I was dreaming a plan I thought could not fail But no power under the sun could pull it together 06. THE CRYSTAL SHIP, Thank You 1995 This album was baaaaaad. It was a two-bit covers project that stopped the newfound Duran Duran momentum dead in its tracks, certain members jumping ship during promotion. After all the hype, the general public was woefully underwhelmed, and it's no real surprise; most of the songs are bad, and the renditions are flat out dull. But there are a few that just work. Simon Lebon, whose lyrics can be as cryptic as Jim Morrison himself, sings this classic Doors track with a lot of heart. The production is slightly more cold than the original, but it still has that wishy-washy effect to it that seems to sound...wet. Duran's very is icier, but it packs a powerful punch-- one that I don't think anybody really expected from Duran. The Doors are considered to be one of the best bands of the psychedelic movement; Duran Duran is not. The cover seems like an odd choice, but just knowing the band's history, I have to say that this song was aptly chosen. I mean, who wasn't inspired by the Doors in some way? This is one of the moments on Thank You where the band shines and the stars all aligned. They took a song that had seemingly nothing to do with their aesthetic and then made it sound like they wrote it. So tell me where your freedom lies The streets are fields that never die Deliver me from reasons why You’d rather cry, I’d rather fly The crystal ship is being filled A thousand girls, a thousand thrills A million ways to spend your time When we get back, I’ll drop a line 07. MICHAEL, YOU'VE GOT A LOT TO ANSWER FOR, Medazzaland 1997 Cut to the late 90s. Duran Duran have lost a lot of steam on the charts, and their latest product wasn't exactly raking in the new fans. But it was perhaps giving them a little more credibility. Think and disproportionate, Medazzaland is a "fuck-all" kind of record that throws away most of their own conventions. The melodies don't scream Duran, but the lyrics are just as twisted as ever. This time, though, the music backs it up. Written as a tribute to INXS singer Michael Hutchence (released only a few days before his untimely death), this song is dark with a hopeful twist. With the confusing delivery of the song, which initially sounds like a tattered love song, Duran Duran hit a creative peak with this song. The sparse, hypnotic acoustic guitar is eerie and brooding. In fact, had it been released and promoted, it probably would have appealed to the angst-riddled crowds of Nirvana and Soul Asylum. Simon's vocal performance is painful to listen to-- his heart is breaking on this song, and after Michael's death, the song was shunned out of need to survive. It never got its moment in the sun, and that's a shame. If I don't see you for awhile Thinking of you will make me smile You never bother me with responsibility Misbehaving in candlelight Don't ever try to give any more Michael, you've got a lot to answer for You got me waking up wise to the world 08. HALLUCINATING ELVIS, Pop Trash 2002 This was the absolute lowest point of Duran Duran's thirty-year run. With nothing left to musically strive for, the band was down on their luck and not getting any recognition. Unfortunately, most of the material on this album is very strong, if not just a little too difficult to enjoy. Because the album is shrouded in disaster and loathing, fans aren't keen on it and neither is the band. It doesn't make for the most pleasant of listens. That said, if you disassociate it from its own time, Pop Trash is a stellar release, and Hallucinating Elvis is a hypnotic catastrophic that sounds very much like the soundtrack to a night spent dropping acid in a retro-bar. If Medazzaland was the "fuck-all", Pop Trash was like the hangover. If you've ever seen a drug addict on his or her last leg, you will probably be accustomed to the sound on this record, because they sound desperate, reaching into the thin air for something to grab onto. This song is catchy in a way that's not all that pleasant initially-- it forces you to know the hook, and at first, it's intrusive. But as the song progresses, it becomes infectious. I was hallucinating Elvis Hawaii to Las Vegas Special treatment all the way Hallucinating Elvis Missing 18 hours Losing oxygen to the brain Lying on the floor There's a limit how much more I can take Rhinestone inside my shoe Because I'm turning into you 09. ASTRONAUT, Astronaut 2004 On the brink of self-destruction, something magical seemed to happen. After years of limping around the music scene, the three astray Taylor's from the original line-up wandered back into Camp D-Squared and rode a wave of nostalgia all the way to the charts. Warren was booted from the band after the disastrous effects Pop Trash had left on the band, and the newly-reformed Duran Duran was hard at work on creating the band-aid. And that band-aid was released in 2004 as Astronaut, a near-perfect pop record that brought back the shiny complex music they were famous for. Once again, the cryptic lyrics were mashed up against a plastic disco beat, and BAM. They were back. As the album is consistent from start to finish, many of the songs went unnoticed after the success of Sunrise and What Happens Tomorrow. The title-track from the album mixes acoustic guitar, power pop, and 80s synth-rock. Essentially, it's incredible. There theatrics and drama ignite on this song to become something between David Bowie, Debbie Harry, and Cyndi Lauper. Makes my hair stand up on end Something alien happening Synchronized but don't comprehend 'Cause where I stop? That's where you begin I know the moment I commit A pleasure rising when I take the hit And I'm addicted to the state you're in Cause you're getting me out of it Wasted There's nothing gonna ace this And we gonna go to space, kid 'Cause I'm leaving with an astronaut 10. NITE-RUNNER (Featuring Justin Timberlake and Timbaland), Red Carpet Massacre 2007 Oh, this album. This album, this album, this album. Red Carpet Massacre is responsible for creating one of the biggest civil wars in Duran Duran history. Following the sudden departure of Andy Taylor (again), the quartet scrapped all plans for the Reportage album to work with Timbaland on a disco-rock/hip-hop record. Projects involving the dreaded Timbo-lake combo seem to either be followed by extreme success or utter catastrophe, and this project was labeled as a failure. Because it didn't have that classic Duran sound nor something new, people didn't really know what to do with it. To me, this album was a disaster because I was just so utterly sick of Timbo-lake, and I still am. But after more than a few spins, I've come to appreciate it being like a drug you don't want to take, but you have to. Nite-Runner, a catchy dance track with the signature Timberlake beat-box beat, kind of reminds me what made me fall in love with the band. With the underlying 80s-disco sound, is harks back to My Own Way from the Rio album or Sound of Thunder from Duran Duran. The energy on this song is pure sex, and when it first came out, I was all over this song as it stood head and shoulders above the album's other tracks. And I still feel that way about the song three years later. Potentially my favorite Duran track? It could have been a decent hit if Duran hadn't released the thick Falling Down as the leading single. You're nocturnal: Only come out at night And I'm learning All the ways you wanna ride 'Cause you're on the roam But not until the darkness arrives And I'm certain I'll catch up to you one of these times Can I get my hands on you tonight? I must be feelin' somethin' Something' tells me I'm in for a ride I wonder if you see me comin' Nite-runner, I think I'm fallin' for ya -- DURAN DURAN 1981 - Duran Duran 1981 - Nite Romantics [Japanese EP] 1982 - Rio 1983 - Seven and the Ragged Tiger 1984 - Arena 1986 - Notorious 1988 - Big Thing 1989 - Decade: Greatest Hits 1990 - Liberty 1993 - Duran Duran (The Wedding Album) 1993 - Come Undone [CD-Single] 1995 - Thank You 1997 - Medazzaland 1998 - Night Versions 1998 - Greatest 2000 - Pop Trash 2004 - Astronaut 2004 - (Reach Up for the) Sunrise [CD-Single] 2007 - Red Carpet Massacre -- The Top 10 Duran Duran Songs You've Never Heard Before

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