Duran Duran - song-by-song rate & discussion thread

Discussion in 'Music Corner' started by Blame The Machines, May 5, 2019.

  1. mark winstanley

    mark winstanley Certified dinosaur, who likes physical product

    I like this well enough, but it isn't up with most of the rest of this album for me.
     
  2. mark winstanley

    mark winstanley Certified dinosaur, who likes physical product

    The intro has a certain tension to it, that works well. Then we get some abrasive guitar, which is always nice to hear for some contrast in a pop. Then we move into a pretty decent pop song.
    It's been a long time since I heard any of these tracks and they are somewhat of a pleasant surprise. If I had been asked without listening, I would probably have said they were just a singles band.... This is a pretty solid debut album, and I really like Rio.
     
  3. Curveboy

    Curveboy Forum Resident

    Location:
    New York City
    Friends Of Mine

    Now this is what you'd call a deep track! This is a great one...another band showcase where they all shine. I hear a lot of Bowie in this tune too. I think this song also represents where a lot of New Wave bands would follow stylistically.
     
  4. mr_spenalzo

    mr_spenalzo Forum Resident

    Friends Of Mine ★★★★
    This is more like it. I remember once asking on a Blur message board if this song was an inspiration for "Girls & Boys": the influence of John Taylor on the song had previously been noted, but the guitars on both songs are similar to my ears. Message board user tweedo (= Graham Coxon) called the theory bollocks, or something to that effect. Unfortunately the message board doesn't exist anymore, so I couldn't find the quote. I did, when Googling, come across this on the Dutch wikipedia page though (courtesy of Google Translate since I'm lazy): "In 2019 the band works with producer Mark Ronson and ex-Blur guitarist Graham Coxon on new songs for a possible new album and the band plans for their 40th anniversary in 2020".

    What?

    Meanwhile, there's this video with the band playing cards and, towards the end, cracking up over something Simon said or did.

     
  5. Neonbeam

    Neonbeam All Art Was Once Contemporary

    Location:
    Planet Earth
    "Friends Of Mine": Great, love the collision between pulsating synths and abrasive - well, for a pop song at least :evil: - guitar, everything here is tight and there are also some little weird corners. Like the intro. Simons vocals are great too, in general I always thought that as a singer he arrived pretty much fully formed.

    Oh, and they boys are looking great. And were young enough to write couplets like this:

    "It's time that you were told
    I think you're growing old"

    Like many DD songs, I'm not really sure what it is about. Probably waiting or public transport? :biglaugh:Or.... false friends?

    4/5
     
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  6. mr_spenalzo

    mr_spenalzo Forum Resident

    Interestingly, he's "not waiting anymore" on this song.....
     
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  7. Neonbeam

    Neonbeam All Art Was Once Contemporary

    Location:
    Planet Earth
    Probably because he had already missed the night bus boat! :evil:
     
  8. statcat

    statcat Forum Resident

    Location:
    New Jersey
    Sound of Thunder has always been my favorite DD track. The bass line is awesome too.

    BTW can they release these demos already? Does anyone have them?

     
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  9. Paul Rymer

    Paul Rymer Forum Resident

    Friends Of Mine 5/5 superb track
     
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  10. Bluepicasso

    Bluepicasso Android Confused

    Location:
    Arlington, Va
    Friends of Mine 4/5. When I first bought this all those years ago, it was my least favorite. Now, I enjoy it. It points to their future!
     
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  11. Scott Davies

    Scott Davies Forum Resident

    Friends Of Mine was one of the last to grow on me, and it was finally allowing the song to make it to the "Georgie Davies..." catchy chorus that finally hooked me, then I learned to appreciate the whole thing. I consider it an essential track. Tel Aviv, well..., we will get there soon enough.
    I think they opened with Friends Of Mine when I saw them on the reunion tour back in the early 2000's. In fact, I think they played five songs from the debut, which thrilled me to no end.

    Last year I asked Warners if I could license the first DD album for a much needed and greatly improved remaster and deluxe edition. They told me their catalog is not available for 3rd party license. Bummer...
     
  12. AFOS

    AFOS Forum Resident

    Location:
    Brisbane,Australia
    Friends Of Mine ***1/2

    No more heroes we twist and shout - always thought that this somehow alluded to Bowie and Lennon
     
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  13. RobRoyF

    RobRoyF Forum Resident

    Location:
    Southland
    Friends Of Mine

    This is one of my all time personal favs of Duran. Probably my own fav. on this album. Awesome bass, great lyrics and just very solid. It does have a Bowie influence to it, I had not thought of that before.

    Thanks, Blame, for the trivia about George Davis.

    5/5
     
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  14. GLUDFSSR

    GLUDFSSR Senior Member

    Location:
    Los Angeles, CA
    Sound Of Thunder 3/5
    Friends Of Mine 4/5
     
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  15. Lance LaSalle

    Lance LaSalle Prince of Swollen Sinus

    Friends of Mine is a decent pop song. 4/5 Love teh funky track.
     
  16. negative1

    negative1 80s retro fan

    Location:
    USA
    friends of mine, another classic duran tune : 5/5
    great lyrics, catchy beat, the trademark guitars
    and it just fits in well with the theme of the album and other songs.

    here's the early demo of it:


    its sound more rock oriented, and of course the vocal balance
    is all over the place.

    and at the hammersmith:
    Duran Duran: Friends Of Mine (Hammersmith '82!) 8/11

    i like the moodiness and tone of the song,
    its a lot darker than the title implies, although
    it does lighten up for the chorus.

    i like how simon sounds kind of angry for parts of it.
    there's some good vocalizing on it.

    later
    -1
     
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  17. Blame The Machines

    Blame The Machines Forum Resident Thread Starter

    Location:
    Swindon
    Friends Of Mine - Mr Spenalzo's post has preempted much of what I was going to say. Blur's bassist & cheesemaker Alex James was a Duranie and was inspired by this track for his bass part on Blur's Girls & Boys. It was from this that Graham Coxon may have thought in for a penny in for a pound and been inspired by the riffage in the former which he used in the later. Earlier this year Duran Duran on their Facebook posted: Duran Duran

    Personally, this is my favourite track on their debut album. 5.0/5

    Thanks to negative1 for posting the Manchester Square Demo & Hammersmith live versions, so I'll post up this "interesting" performance from 2000 when Simon Le Bon was quite literally Hallucinating Elvis on their Pop Trash tour Although drummer Joe Travers top quality Mick Fleetwood style gurning at the camera steals this:
     
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  18. Neonbeam

    Neonbeam All Art Was Once Contemporary

    Location:
    Planet Earth
    OMG, what's wrong with Simon? He never was exactly the skinny type but that's.... wow!
     
  19. Blame The Machines

    Blame The Machines Forum Resident Thread Starter

    Location:
    Swindon
    012 Tel Aviv


    "Tel Aviv" is an instrumental by Duran Duran, released on the band's debut album Duran Duran by Capitol-EMI on the 15 June 1981.

    Originally the instrumental was titled "On My Own in Tel-Aviv" and had lyrics. This was one of many songs that Simon Le Bon wrote in his notebook of poems, which he brought with him to his audition for Duran Duran in 1980.

    Simon has stated that "Tel Aviv" is about when he was in Israel working on a Kibbutz. The track was the first to be recorded by the band, originally at AIR Studios in London, "Tel Aviv" eventually became a completely different track (and, according to Nick, the only thing that remains on the released version is the title)

    "Tel Aviv" is primarily instrumental but does feature some ethereal vocalizations by Simon, possibly words in Yiddish or Arabic. Strings were arranged by Richard Myhill, which was the first time Duran Duran used an orchestra.

    According to the band, the album version was used as the opener for their first concerts, however they had a recorded version that Duran Duran did not actually perform. In recent years the band have in fact performed the song live, at times even accompanied by a full orchestra (violinists, etc.) in order to authentically recreate the live strings found on the original recording.
     
  20. mr_spenalzo

    mr_spenalzo Forum Resident

    It's pretty much a different song...

     
  21. mr_spenalzo

    mr_spenalzo Forum Resident

    Well, that certainly has potential

    [​IMG]
     
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  22. Bluepicasso

    Bluepicasso Android Confused

    Location:
    Arlington, Va
    Tel Aviv - 5 out of 5. Love both versions. Inspired by this thread and listened to the 1st on the way to work. This song stood out to me.
     
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  23. Curveboy

    Curveboy Forum Resident

    Location:
    New York City
    Tel Aviv

    I suppose this is DD's version of Bowie's Station To Station? (Or would that be Downtown? We'll get to that later...)
    I never thought too much of this track until I heard the Air Studios version, and that is THE version IMO. Frankly the version on the debut comes across now as total filler.
     
  24. mr_spenalzo

    mr_spenalzo Forum Resident

    Tel Aviv ★★★★
    Of the two songs called "Tel Aviv" I prefer the one they put on the album. The AIR Studios version sounds a bit flat. The only issue I have is that it's just not an album closer: when the song ends the way it does, another song is needed. However, on its own merits this is an awesome little near-instrumental, siren LeBon aside.
     
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  25. Neonbeam

    Neonbeam All Art Was Once Contemporary

    Location:
    Planet Earth
    "Tel Aviv", I can't help it but it sounds like an application for a 007 soundtrack. I like this track, it ends the album on a quite exotic note and practically points directly to "Rio", the album.

    4/5
     
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