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

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

  1. americanscientist

    americanscientist Forum Resident

    Location:
    Boston, MA
    Salt in The Rainbow - 4/5: Somehow sounds like Oasis covering Save A Prayer and yet...it is still magnificent. Like Beautiful Colours, the lyrics are not complete and the synths are clearly placeholders, but you can hear the potential for a classic. The mind boggles at what Astronaut could have been.

    Anyway...
    Sunrise - 3/5: It's fine and safe but far from the comeback single they were capable of. Also, why release this as a single when the Nevins mix had been out since the beginning of 2004?
    Did they think it was that strong of a single? Based on the finished product, Want You More and Nice were far better choice to re-introduce the band.
     
    Last edited: Oct 9, 2019
  2. Record Rotator

    Record Rotator A vintage/retro-loving sentimental fool

    All in all, I really like the Astronaut album (to me, their strongest album since Big Thing), but the first single "(Reach Up For The) Sunrise" is my second least favorite track out of an otherwise pretty solid batch of songs, some of which I absolutely love. My problem with "(Reach Up For The) Sunrise" is primarily due to the pandering sing-along chorus, which, to my ears, just screams "We're so desperate for a hit". Nothing wrong with a commercial Pop hit, but this is not catchy in a good way. That irksome chorus always makes me think of the Eurovision Song Contest. Ugh!

    And the verses aren't that special, either.

    2.5/5.
     
    Last edited: Oct 9, 2019
  3. Record Rotator

    Record Rotator A vintage/retro-loving sentimental fool

    "Salt In The Rainbow".
    Quite lovely.
    4.0/5.
     
    Blame The Machines likes this.
  4. Guapito

    Guapito Forum Resident

    Location:
    UK
    Salt In The Rainbow - I love this, even if it is incomplete. In fact I liked most of the demos that were leaked. Pretty Ones had potential but again, it was just a draft. 4.5/5

    (Reach up for the) Sunrise - it’s ok but camp as a row of tents. I prefer the live Jason Nevins version. It’s a bit more rocky. This version is a bit bubblegum pop and a clear “let’s make a hit single”. I suppose being their position they had to play safe and it did pay off in some countries, including their homeland. 3/5
     
    Blame The Machines likes this.
  5. Bluepicasso

    Bluepicasso Android Confused

    Location:
    Arlington, Va
    Salt in the Rainbow 4.5/5. Great song. Should be on an album darn it.
    Reach Up For the Sunrise - 3.5/5. Much better with Andy's guitar at 11.
     
    Blame The Machines likes this.
  6. Adegan

    Adegan Forum Resident

    Location:
    U.S.A.
    I forgot to include my rating of the song, so here it is: 4.5/5.
    Salt In The Rainbow - Two versions out there, but really good. Another excellent song that should have been on the album - I'm sure there's a song on there *cough* bedroom toys *cough* that could have been replaced.
    Now, as to the post I've quoted above, I've put in bold and colored statements that stop to make you think. Over 30 pieces of music for Astronaut? Damn. Consider this - the album Astronaut only had 13 commercially tracks - and I'm using the Japanese release as a basis for this since they always get the bonus tracks, so Virus did make it out there . Then there were B-side songs - of which there were just 2. The just leaves the total of unreleased tracks, which is 5. So, all in all, there are 20 pieces of music from the Astronaut sessions that are out there. I find it interesting that Simon and / or the band state that Beautiful Colours is not yet completed or is just a draft version without proper lyrics. Really? The song sure does sound finished from what I've heard. Not only that, but they contributed the song to that FIFA thing. So why offer up a track that doesn't have proper lyric? The mind boggles. I'll reserve comment on the other unreleased songs until they show up as points in this thread.
     
  7. Adegan

    Adegan Forum Resident

    Location:
    U.S.A.
    (Reach Up For The) Sunrise - An uplifting anthem of a song. I was surprised that this was the first single released off the album since this one radio station had played What Happens Tomorrow, but that's for another post. 3.5/5. There are an ungodly amount of remixes / versions out there for Sunrise - 33 in all!
    3:24 (Reach Up For The) Sunrise (Album Version)|Sunrise (Final Master) <I guess this is the standard Album Version>
    5:41 (Reach Up For The) Sunrise (Alex G. Cosmic Mix)|(Alex G Cosmic Mix)
    7:23 (Reach Up For The) Sunrise (Ferry Corsten Dub Mix)
    7:07 (Reach Up For The) Sunrise (Jason Nevins Club Mix)
    4:14 (Reach Up For The) Sunrise (Jason Nevins Radio Mix)
    4:09 (Reach Up For The) Sunrise [Jason Nevins Radio Mix Alternate Beginning]|(Jason Nevins Remix)
    3:08 (Reach Up For The) Sunrise [Jason Nevins Radio Mix Edit]|Sunrise
    6:11 (Reach Up For The) Sunrise (Peter Presta Apple Jaxx Mix)|{Peter Presca Apple Jaxx Mix}
    5:55 (Reach Up For The) Sunrise (Peter Presta NY Tribal Mix)|{Peter Presca NY Tribal Mix}
    6:40 (Reach Up For The) Sunrise (Eric Prydz Mix)
    3:34 (Reach Up For The) Sunrise [Eric Prydz Radio Mix]|(Eric Prydz Mix)
    7:05 (Reach Up For The) Sunrise (Full Intention Club Mix)
    6:20 (Reach Up For The) Sunrise (Full Intention Dub Mix)
    3:06 (Reach Up For The) Sunrise (Full Intention Radio Mix)
    7:26 (Reach Up For The) Sunrise [Almighty Vocal]
    7:18 (Reach Up For The) Sunrise [Almighty Dub]
    7:12 (Reach Up For The) Sunrise [Wayne G And Andy Allder Grip Club Mix]
    3:20 (Reach Up For The) Sunrise [Wayne G And Andy Allder Grip Radio Mix]
    3:21 (Reach Up For The) Sunrise (Instrumental)|Reach Up (Instrumental) <from 10 Selection a Sony Reference CD>
    1:35 (Reach Up For The) Sunrise [Website Mix Clip]
    7:48 (Reach Up For The) Sunrise [Eric Prydz Alternate Mix]|Sunrise (Eric Prydz Remix)
    3:24 (Reach Up For The) Sunrise [Almighty Radio Edit]
    4:40 (Reach Up For The) Sunrise [Alex G. Solar Sail Remix]|(A1ex G's Solar Sail Remix)
    4:48 (Reach Up For The) Sunrise [Alex G. Panther Mix]|(A1ex G's PantherMix)
    3:56 (Reach Up For The) Sunrise [Alex G. Relaunched Mix]|(Relaunched)
    7:38 (Reach Up For The) Sunrise (Justin Strauss Mix)|Sunrise (Justin Strauss Unreleased Mix)
    2:59 (Reach Up For The) Sunrise [Demo 2003]
    3:52 (Reach Up For The) Sunrise [Demo 2004]
    2:52 (Reach Up For The) Sunrise [Alex G. Cosmic Mix Nick Edit]|(Nick Edit) <used in video clip>
    3:08 (Reach Up For The) Sunrise [Ferry Corsten Dub Mix Roger Edit]|(Roger Edit) <used in video clip>
    3:12 (Reach Up For The) Sunrise [Peter Presta Apple Jaxx Mix Andy Edit]|(Andy Edit) <used in video clip>
    3:08 (Reach Up For The) Sunrise [Eric Prydz Mix Simon Edit]|(Simon Edit) <used in video clip>
    3:43 (Reach Up For The) Sunrise (John Edit) <used in video clip>
     
    Blame The Machines likes this.
  8. Surly

    Surly Bon Viv-oh-no-he-didn't

    Location:
    Sugar Land, TX
    "(Reach Up For The) Sunrise" - 3/5. Not a bad tune, kind of catchy, but as @Record Rotator stated, it sounds like they were trying a little too hard for a hit with this one. As a pop song, it's decent, but as a D2 song, it's certainly near the bottom in terms of quality as a single.
     
  9. fictionalsounds

    fictionalsounds Forum Resident

    Location:
    Norman, OK
    maybe they should have done one more, just to make sure they got it right.
     
  10. OhioDuran

    OhioDuran Forum Resident

    Location:
    Cincinnati OH
    Haha - not what the point of remixes is!

    And hey - it must have worked. It hit #1 on the dance charts! And holy smokes, there are some great ones.
     
  11. Sea Within a Sea

    Sea Within a Sea Forum Resident

    Location:
    Los Angeles
    Reach Up For the Sunrise
    I remember the band (or maybe just Simon and John) guested on Sex Pistol Steve Jones's radio show here in L.A. to debut this single. I was driving at the time, and I puled over so I could listen closely. They played the track... and I was gutted. It didn't sound like the guitar rave-up that I wanted, knowing Andy was back. (I hadn't heard any of the other new material).

    But it quickly grew on me. Today, I think it's the only post-reunion song that kicks up the energy of their current live show and sounds like it truly does belong alongside the old classics.

    Does it sound like they were aiming for a hit? Sure, but let's be honest, they've been aiming for a hit since "Girls on Film." At least it's not "Last Night in the City."

    5/5
     
  12. fictionalsounds

    fictionalsounds Forum Resident

    Location:
    Norman, OK
    was just being facetious. but no matter what, that’s an excessive amount of remixes and alternative versions ;)
     
  13. fictionalsounds

    fictionalsounds Forum Resident

    Location:
    Norman, OK
    agreed on being underwhelmed as far as being the “duran duran is back” single. and. also agree that it’s grown on me as i have re-discovered the band at different points. it does play well at the live shows and i don’t mind if it takes the place of some of the overplayed singles.
     
  14. HeavensAbove

    HeavensAbove Forum Resident

    Location:
    Sacramento
    "Beautiful Colors"
    3/5

    "Salt In The Rainbow"
    4.5/5

    "Sunrise"
    4/5

    I had not heard BC or SITR before this thread. BC is pretty good. Though I'm more of a music person than a lyric person, the lyrics to this song are kind of clunky, IMO. SITR, on the other hand, is across the board excellent and has that appealing, early DD-ballad vibe ("Anyone Out There," "Lonely In Your Nightmare," etc..). It is unfortunate that it didn't make the album and "Bedroom Toys" did. "Sunrise," cheesy chorus aside, did a good job in announcing that the classic DD lineup was back. It certainly got me back in the fold, as I pretty much ignored them during the Warren years.
     
  15. Guapito

    Guapito Forum Resident

    Location:
    UK
    One thing I forgot to mention is how squeaky SLB sounds on Sunrise. Surely they cranked up the pitch on this. Not a fan of squeaky Simon. I think even Warren mentioned this in an interview sometime around Astronaut’s release, where he was asked if he had heard any of the new songs. He remarked that he heard it in a shopping mall and was disappointed to what they had done to Simon’s vocals and that they were a little to old to be making bubblegum pop. Or words to that effect!
     
    Blame The Machines likes this.
  16. omikron

    omikron Avid contributor to Paul McCartney's bank account

    Location:
    Lexington, KY
    Astronaut

    After two amazing albums, the only thing that could have excited me more than a Simon-Nick-Warren release would have been a full band reunion. And that is exactly what we got. After a somewhat dramatic dismissal of Warren, the Fab Five were back in the studio recording their reunion album. Anticipation was running high. People were excited. And then the album came out.

    In my mind, this album oddly has the most parity between tracks (even more than Liberty). A couple of their absolute best and a couple of their absolute worst.


    To kick things off . . .

    (Reach Up For The) Sunrise: 5/5 The ultimate soccer mom song. Women across the land (and I’ve actually witnessed this so I’m comfortable saying it) went nuts over this song when it first started hitting the radio. I’d see moms in their mini vans with the windows down blasting this song and singing it loud and proud as they drove their kiddies to wherever. It’s these women who were the mega fans of the 80s so this reunion and this song really juiced them up. Watching the DVD that came with the album also lends to this theory.

    As for the song it is a true-to-form mega pop hit that the guys did so well at crafting in the 80s. If their intention was to recapture the old magic with a saccharine pop radio hit, this song did that 100%.



    Beautiful Colours: 2.5/5 A fairly straightforward rock song with a straightforward melody. More of a United Colors of Benetton commercial than anything.

    Salt In The Rainbow 4/5 A lovely, serious ballad from the guys showing that their songwriting chops were still in there somewhere. They don't all have to be techo-pop.
     
  17. Record Rotator

    Record Rotator A vintage/retro-loving sentimental fool

    Well put! Now I know why I never cared for it. :D
     
  18. Chris Bernhardt

    Chris Bernhardt Forum Resident

    Location:
    Chicago IL
    Salt in The Rainbow- Never heard it but it's decent.

    Reach Up For The Sunrise- Although I enjoyed it this morning, this is usually not one of my favorites and one of the weaker tracks on the album. I never understood why it's been in the bands setlist ever since ,until recently that I found it was a big it in Europe. I like verses and breakdown, but the chorus is banal and as others said "it's screaming for a hit". but it does sound like Duran Duran which is what they were going for.

    Astronaut is a weird album. It took me longer then any Duran album to get into, but I do think it's a worthwhile record. A little more of a downer then you would expect , it, along with Ragged Tiger seems like it was a slog to make.
     
    Blame The Machines likes this.
  19. RTW

    RTW Forum Resident

    Location:
    Chicago
    I hate the Astronaut era and everything about it.

    Although I was a fan of the Warren trio, I admitted in an earlier post that I see now how they’d gone as far as they could and I have a better understanding about how unhappy Simon was without John, and with the TV Mania partnership dominating and changing the dynamic within the band, something had to give. And like everyone else I had hope for what might happen next.

    That said, just about every aspect of the Fab Five reunion was botched: the ugly dismissal of Warren; the looped snippets of songs on the website that simply stalled interest and bought time while they greedily shopped for a label who would pay out the most (for what must have been 3 long years); the ugly pink and black photo vomit that adorns the record sleeve—disregarding the fact that these boys ever had an eye for graphic design; and perhaps worst of all, the middling, overly safe and snooze-worthy (when not cringe-worthy) contents of the album itself.

    The worst offender by far, in my mind, is “Sunrise.” Here is one of the most celebrated chart groups of the past 20 years reuniting to bring rock sounds artfully back to the mainstream pop world and all they came up with is the Hokey Pokey. There’s a moment in the first chorus where Simon immediately tries to heighten the tension with an added, intense vocal aside, and it’s like he’s blowing his load in the first minute of the song. After that it has nowhere to go; in 1984 he would have saved that part for the chorus after the middle break. The accompanying video was an eyesore in yellow and muted colors that was promoted, most tellingly, by featuring five different edits, each one focusing on a different member of the band. Music for soccer moms, indeed. And all that after arguing with everyone I’d ever met about how Duran Duran were actually *good*, that they weren’t just a boy band. I can’t make that argument anymore.

    Guitar rock was back in a big way in the 2000s, and there were traces of Duran Duran’s influence everywhere. The Strokes might have been a little harder and rougher but they saturated pop culture for a hot minute as the “new” fab five. An indie band called Hot Hot Heat started making waves by replicating Duran’s sound from 83, while others like The Faint were stuck on the self-titled. (The Dandy Warhols video was already mentioned above.) Soon-to-be superstars like Franz Ferdinand and The Killers both borrowed from the Duran template. So why did Duran Duran’s own comeback sound like they were struggling just to sound like a 90s boy band with anemic musical backing? It’s extremely disappointing.

    There’s truly a song that goes “boopie doopie doo doo I taste the summer in your mouth.” Or whatever, that’s close enough. The worst thing about this era is people were so excited about seeing the reunion of the band that they lost the ability to hear them.
     
  20. Max Florian

    Max Florian Forum Resident

    By far the best musical things of the Astronaut era were the advance snippets on their website. They were far more promising than what was delivered as finished (or not) songs.

    They should have named the album Vanilla Sky.
     
    Blame The Machines and omikron like this.
  21. Curveboy

    Curveboy Forum Resident

    Location:
    New York City
    (Reach Up for The) Sunrise

    I was underwhelmed when I first heard this but have come to love it. Welcome back ex-members!

    4/5
     
    Blame The Machines and omikron like this.
  22. Blame The Machines

    Blame The Machines Forum Resident Thread Starter

    Location:
    Swindon
    Salt In The Rainbow

    I was not planning on it being included as being rated. But seeing how many of you have, I have to say it is a lovely song that has a ton of Duran Duran's DNA within it. Plus it has a lovely guitar solo by Andy to match the mood of the song. Its exclusion from the album is further mystifying when you consider ..... 4.5/5


    (Reach Up for The) Sunrise


    As my timeline was showing and a couple of you have brought up, the momentum was there for DD to capitalize on their legacy with the return of the Fab Five lineup; as several young guitar indie rock bands had mentioned and borrowed DD's old clothes & influences. So all DD had to do was make a great DD record that sounded like DD. The big big problem was two fold: Firstly they managed to achieve that two albums two late & minus their guitarist; & secondly (to me) (Reach Up for The) Sunrise sounds like Maroon 5 doing an advert for Coca Cola; on this over baked, over produced track; with Simon's digitally enhanced pitched up voice making him sound like a Backstreet Boy; and the band raw live energy neutered. So more Killed rather than The Killers. Just listen to the live version to see how at least this contrived song would & could have sounded so much better. The pop video was equally underwhelming.

    2.5/5
     
  23. Blame The Machines

    Blame The Machines Forum Resident Thread Starter

    Location:
    Swindon
    The last track before we get into the album proper:

    152 Know It All
    [​IMG]



    "Know It All" is an instrumental by Duran Duran, released as the B-side to their single "(Reach Up for The) Sunrise" by Epic Records on 27 September 2004.

    The instrumental was composed by the five original members of Duran Duran, during Astronaut demo sessions that began in the south of France in June 2001. The band wrote more than 30 songs during the demo sessions that continued into 2002 and 2003.

    The track didn't make it onto the final version of the album, but was released worldwide as the B-side on various "(Reach Up for The) Sunrise" singles in 2004.
     
  24. Curveboy

    Curveboy Forum Resident

    Location:
    New York City
    Salt In The Rainbow

    Never heard this either...really nice ballad. Does seem a little unfinished.

    3/5
     
    Blame The Machines likes this.
  25. Guapito

    Guapito Forum Resident

    Location:
    UK
    Know It All - I still really like this. I love it when they experiment a bit. It’s sounds like a jam that got no further than five guys messing about in a studio. But it’s great! Isn’t this the last proper B-side they’ve done?
     
    Blame The Machines and OhioDuran like this.

Share This Page

molar-endocrine