Duran Duran: Coming To Terms With A Decade of Dominance
Apr 26 '02
Pros Some great pop classics
Cons Some not-so-great forgotten pop tracks
The Bottom Line Decade is an ample retrospective of Duran Duran's first decade in the music business.
Full Review
Considering my deeply buried attachment to everything involving the 1980’s, who am I to deny Duran Duran their rightful place at the top of the decade’s pop heap?
Formed in Birmingham, England during 1978 Duran Duran made a splash with their great looks, perfectly coiffed hair, and infectious pop music with the release of their self titled debut effort a few years later. Led by the vocal talents of Simon Lebon and featuring Nick Rhodes (keyboards), John Taylor (bass), Roger Taylor (drums) and Andy Taylor (guitar) the band would go on to set the charts afire with early hit singles like Girls on Film.
1982’s Rio ended up one of the band’s most notable albums and included hits like Rio and Hungry Like The Wolf. What really helped to push Duran Duran into the pop mainstream worldwide had less to do with music than it did with looks. Don’t get me wrong. The music is fun and at times relevant but with the burgeoning music video scene, the beautiful Englishmen struck gold (or platinum as the case might be).
Throughout the 1980’s, Duran Duran recorded five hit albums although their star began to fade as the decade progressed. To date, I believe their best album to be 1993’s Duran Duran otherwise known as The Wedding Album. At the very end of their massively popular musical reign came 1989’s Decade, an album featuring the greatest hits the band had to offer during the decade-long career.
Decade is an important album for any person who is unsure as to whether or not Duran Duran should be included in their collection. For example, I find it difficult to believe that there could possibly be people out there who don’t at least get some (at times very hidden) joy out of Union of The Snake, Notorious, All She Wants Is and all of the rest.
Released by Capitol, the album never proved particularly popular despite the band’s vast fan base in the 1980’s. But, I suspect that 1989’s market dominated by hair metal was still unwilling to accept that Duran Duran had made a lasting impression on the musical landscape. Decade, as I’ve already mentioned, is a worthwhile album. It accurately depicts a band in their heyday and a band on their way down. Way down. In fact, by the time this album hit shelves the poor blokes were already regarded as washed up has-beens.
Even though Duran Duran’s star faded, I find myself consistently drawn to their songs. I suppose that some of the appeal stems from my memories of childhood and my earliest exposure to MTV. But, then again Decade’s fourteen tracks seem to be more transcendent than the large majority of other similarly classified 80’s new wave/romantic artists. Arranged in rough chronological order, the album begins with Planet Earth and wraps up tidily with All She Wants Is.
In between those two tracks are some of the songs that represent my best memories of the decade…of course my tastes have changed significantly since I was ten years old. I find myself transported to a dessert island with palm trees and a crisp breeze while listening to the emotional Hungry Like The Wolf. Rio has much the same effect with its swirling synthesizers, drum machines, and upbeat rhythms.
Featuring a strangely Caribbean rhythm section, Union of the Snake is an example of one of the few bright spots from the band’s third effort Seven and the Ragged Tiger. It’s not quite as appealing as some other selections, but I still enjoy the track while managing to not be too embarrassed. Also fitting neatly into this under appreciated category is The Reflex, also from that aforementioned third album. This is pop music done right with more synthesizers than you can shake a stick at. Lebon’s vocals are clear and concise while still feeling the tiniest bit glam (not a surprise considering that the band in part credits a love for David Bowie as inspiration).
If you can accept Duran Duran as a British funk-pop band, then Notorious is an amazing track. But then again, funk played with synthesizers and drum machines is something very different than the same kind of music performed using bass guitars, horns, and attitude. I Don’t Want Your Love is strange for much the same reason, although the understated vocals and less apparent synthesizers are refreshing.
It’s difficult to foresee what I will think of Duran Duran in twenty years. I suspect the lads will end up in the Rock & Roll Hall of Fame for their considerable contribution to the earliest days of MTV and music video. I’d be the first to admit that Duran Duran’s music isn’t the most intellectual or the most musically succinct example. But, what I will add to that is that music doesn’t necessarily have to be intelligent to prove classic. Duran Duran taught the world to have fun, to be sexual, and to in the end appreciate a band for their looks in addition to musical and vocal talent.
Decade is a decent album. It’s good enough to earn four stars. But, what I suggest is that buyers beware. Examine this album carefully while holding their 1998 Greatest Hits release in the other hand. Both have their good points and bad. If you’re looking to relive your youth, Decade is a sure bet.
Track Listing:
1. Planet Earth
2. Girls on Film
3. Hungry Like The Wolf
4. Rio
5. Save a Prayer
6. Is There Something I Should Know?
7. Union of the Snake
8. The Reflex
9. Wild Boys
10. A View To A Kill
11. Notorious
12. Skin Trade
13. I Don’t Want Your Love
14. All She Wants Is
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