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

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

  1. Curveboy

    Curveboy Forum Resident

    Location:
    New York City
    Know It All

    1/5
     
  2. americanscientist

    americanscientist Forum Resident

    Location:
    Boston, MA
    Know It All - 2/5: Sounds like a rough draft from the demo sessions that was abandoned.

    Based on John’s bio as well as last year’s BBC doc, the making of Astronaut was fraught with tension and it was a miracle that we got an album at all.

    The down the middle approach of the album is easy to understand in hindsight. They wanted to pick up where they left off as a quintent and re-prove their commercial meddle.

    Why they did not feel that Beautiful Colours, Lonely Business or Salt in the Rainbow were worthy of this is beyond me.
     
  3. Bluepicasso

    Bluepicasso Android Confused

    Location:
    Arlington, Va
    Know It All. 2.5/5. Tried to like, but I just can't like it. At the time, it was touted to be similar to "To The Shore" in some fan comments I read on some DD forums. The lack of enthusiasm screams of too much time in the kitchen and testing the sauce to see if it is right. Even this small snippet of a song is over cooked.
     
  4. Bluepicasso

    Bluepicasso Android Confused

    Location:
    Arlington, Va
    --
    Lots of truth here. I think the time it took to get a "label" really made them slow and lethargic when it came time to put it down. It shows one of their problems. They wanted a mega label to sign them as they didn't want to have it any other way. They shot themselves in the foot as a result. Should have found a proper size label and ran with it.
     
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  5. HeavensAbove

    HeavensAbove Forum Resident

    Location:
    Sacramento
    "Know it All"
    2/5

    Hadn't heard this one before. Not that great. Definitely sounds like b-side filler, though the bass line is pretty good.
     
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  6. Guapito

    Guapito Forum Resident

    Location:
    UK
    Forgot to add my score - 4/5
     
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  7. RevolutionDoctor

    RevolutionDoctor Forum Resident

    Location:
    Gent, Belgium
    I've got some catching up to do :

    First of all that Dandy Warhols album :
    The song Plan A : That must be one of the most minimalistic backing vocals ever done by anyone to deserve the credit. If I'm not mistaken Simon just sings one syllable or is it just one word ? It's hard to make up with the delay effect.
    What's also strange is that Nick produced the album and then the Dandy's released their preferred mix of the album in 2009.
    Interesting to compare both versions.

    The reunion years prior to the release of Astronaut were a long wait for dedicated fans like me. Snippets on the website, long waits between updates, other projects (The Devils) that came and went. Dark Circles is a great album though.

    Then they started touring. First Japan, then the States. Too far. Living in Europe it was too far for me.
    Then one day came the announcement of the first UK date in London at the Forum.
    ONE WEEK prior to the event.
    I was on it the same night the message was spread, texted some friends and bought the tickets. The demand for tickets was largely exaggerated in the press though. I watched from close on how fast tickets went and it wasn't like sold out in x minutes. It was more like in 24 hours. But still. What a great night that was. I was at the front and when I looked behind me I saw the security guards dancing in unison. What a great sight !! To watch the original band play live in the UK for the first time in 20 years was an historic event.

    Beautiful Colours : Great track that unites people with a positive vibe. This could have been their comeback single 4.5/5

    Salt in The Rainbow : Another great one. Love the triggered acoustic guitar strums. But the passage "Trees and lovers, ever wonder why ? When everything starts breaking down they're reaching for the sky" makes me cringe a bit. Easy like a nuclear war-cringe a bit. But there's some great vocals here. And you can hear what it sounds like when Roger plays a natural acoustic drum kit that hasn't been processed to death, or completely replaced by triggered/programmed samples.
    DD, are you listening ? : More of that on the next album ! 4.5/5

    Sunrise : What a difference between the initial live version and the finished product. But then the band seems to prefer the Jason Nevins mix as they often play it live that way. It's not a bad track but I was dissappointed with it. Sounds like something a 20 year old boys band would play, not a band that had matured. I blame it on the record company and marketing department. But on a good day the song does lift me up and makes me happy !

    Sunrise : 4/5

    It's indeed true that the band chose not to include the tracks that had leaked on the album.Maybe it was the record company.
    Those were the days that leaks were common and hurt CD sales. How far we have evolved.
    Speaking of those tracks. Why did we skip TV vs Radio and Pretty Ones ? Because they also fit in that category.

    Know it all : No you don't 2/5.
    Very negative track that doesn't really go anywhere.
     
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  8. Guapito

    Guapito Forum Resident

    Location:
    UK
    I paid £300 for the Forum gig. Those babies sold out pretty quickly. I had to bu6 it on eBay and it was nerve-racking to see if the seller would turn up or not. What a gig though.
     
  9. fictionalsounds

    fictionalsounds Forum Resident

    Location:
    Norman, OK
    i dunno what else anyone should expect out of duran duran trying to find an appropriate record label at that time. it’s known that they wanted a label strong enough to give them a good push/support/promo, more than just a one/reunion record deal, and i would assume retain most, if not all of the artistic decisions. but given that “medazzaland” got them dropped by their home label and it wasn’t even given a full world-wide release, and then the mickey mouse “pop trash” fiasco, plus the record industry/internet flux that continues to this day... the only faults i really wanna assign to duran duran are the artistic ones.
     
  10. Bluepicasso

    Bluepicasso Android Confused

    Location:
    Arlington, Va
    ==
    Yawn...
     
  11. Adegan

    Adegan Forum Resident

    Location:
    U.S.A.
    The video of the song you posted is indeed the demo that found its way out. Now, with regards to the FIFA version...that's a different story. Compare the version of the song in the video you posted to this one and compare each beginning at 39 seconds into the song:
     
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  12. OhioDuran

    OhioDuran Forum Resident

    Location:
    Cincinnati OH
    Sunrise

    Yikes - I can't even remember if I reviewed this. It's just so unapologetically MOR/boring to me. It's trying to check too many boxes and be all things to everything, but it sounds contrived and forced.

    The five videos was a nice approach, each one completely different and focused on a separate member. Really clever! Also, each using a different mix.

    That said, I really LOVE some of the remixes (and would give a few a 4.5/5!) but as for the album version...

    3/5
     
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  13. OhioDuran

    OhioDuran Forum Resident

    Location:
    Cincinnati OH
    Know It All

    Love this one. Love the experimental side of them so much.

    4.5/5
     
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  14. Chris Bernhardt

    Chris Bernhardt Forum Resident

    Location:
    Chicago IL
    Know It All - Never heard it. I also love their experimental stuff. This harkens back to the first album.
     
  15. Blame The Machines

    Blame The Machines Forum Resident Thread Starter

    Location:
    Swindon
    Know It All

    With hindsight this was good to show that the band were still capable of experimenting (circa their debut album era), even if the track is more of a superior messing about in the studio mood piece, and not a lot more than that.

    2.5
     
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  16. Blame The Machines

    Blame The Machines Forum Resident Thread Starter

    Location:
    Swindon
    Astronaut
    [​IMG]

    Astronaut is the 11th studio album by English pop rock band Duran Duran. It was released on 11 October 2004.

    This was Duran Duran's first studio album since Pop Trash (2000), and the first (and to date, last) full album since Seven and the Ragged Tiger (1983), to be recorded by the most famous five-member lineup of the band (the stand-alone 1985 single "A View to a Kill" was their last studio recording together).

    Duran Duran originally announced a reunion of the most famous five members in 2001, and began writing new music together in the south of France. They continued to write and record intermittently, working hard for a few months at a time, throughout 2002 and 2003. The band's friend Nile Rodgers did preliminary production work on several tracks.

    Meanwhile, the search for a record label went on, complicated by the band's desire for independence, control, strong promotional support and a commitment for more than one album at the same time that the reportedly cash-strapped and risk-averse recording industry was unwilling to gamble on the "leftover fame" of a band best known for a series of 20-year-old hits.

    The band, frustrated and with nearly thirty new songs approaching completion, set out on a world tour in 2003 to show that the band still had drawing power. The sold-out dates in Japan, America, the United Kingdom and Australia and New Zealand — and the nearly delirious news coverage that followed the reunited band — warmed the record labels to the possibilities. The new songs "Sunrise", "Still Breathing", "Virus", "Beautiful Colours" and "What Happens Tomorrow" were played during these concerts; John Taylor also played a demo recording of "What Happens Tomorrow" on the air at Los Angeles radio station STAR 98.7 in May 2003.

    During this period, a "teaser CD" with short demo versions of a few of the unfinished songs (used to demonstrate the new work to potential labels and producers) was leaked to the Internet and quickly copied throughout the band's fan base. The songs were "Virus", "Sunrise", "TV vs. Radio", "Taste the Summer", "Salt in the Rainbow", and "Pretty Ones". The band was very unhappy about the leak, and with the exception of "Sunrise" (which became the first single) and "Taste the Summer", the leaked songs were not included in the final track listing for the album. Jason Nevins also remixed "Virus", which was not released as a single. (The Jason Nevins version of "Virus" later appeared as a bonus track on a Japanese release of Astronaut).

    A remix of "Sunrise" by Jason Nevins was included on the Queer Eye for the Straight Guy soundtrack in February; it received a warm reception by DJs anticipating new work from Duran Duran, but the song was not released as a single from the soundtrack. The band has generally performed the Jason Nevins version live in concert. The main version of the CD incorporates tracks from Jason Nevins' production, to which he is credited on the album's liner notes.

    In March, the band donated "Beautiful Colours" to FIFA, the international governing body for football, to use as its Centennial song. At the awards ceremony for the FIFA 100, honouring the top living footballers, a video of top moments in the sport was accompanied by the song. However, the song would not be one of those that made the final version of the album.

    After lengthy negotiations the band signed a four-album deal with Epic Records (a subsidiary of Sony BMG Music Entertainment) in June 2004. The songs were given a final polishing with producer Don Gilmore at Sphere Studios in London, and then mixed by Jeremy Wheatley throughout June and July 2004. R&B producer Dallas Austin produced three tracks on the album, and Nile Rodgers' early production work remains on another three.

    Limited copies of the new album were released with a bonus DVD which included 45 minutes of live and behind-the-scenes footage from Wembley Arena, recorded in April 2004. The CD/DVD set came in DVD-sized packaging and European copies bore copy protection, a holdover from the BMG days.

    A worldwide media tour accompanied the September 2004 release of the first single, "(Reach Up For The) Sunrise", with more surrounding the release of Astronaut in October. The pace became too hectic for guitarist Andy Taylor, and in November Duran Duran announced he was suffering from exhaustion and flu, and would not be participating in band promotion until January 2005. The remaining four members continued with television appearances, and a stand-in guitarist, Dominic Brown, was hired for the scheduled radio station Christmas concerts in December. Subsequently, January concert dates in Japan had to be postponed until the summer, after drummer Roger Taylor broke a bone in his right foot in December.

    Astronaut debuted at number three in the UK album chart, and at number 17 on the US Billboard 200 album chart, with similar top 20 debuts elsewhere in the world. Meanwhile, the CD/DVD set debuted at number one on the Billboard Top Music Video chart. The album peaked at number 29 in Japan.

    The first single, "(Reach Up for The) Sunrise", debuted at number five on the UK Singles Chart. In late November, it topped the Billboard dance chart.

    The second single, "What Happens Tomorrow" was released on 31 January 2005 and entered the UK chart at number 11 (where it peaked). It slowly gained radio play in the US, supported by a nearly sold-out tour of North American arenas and stadiums, touted as the band's "largest tour ever". Later in 2005, "What Happens Tomorrow" was used in a promotional spot for the US digital cable network Fox Soccer Channel; Simon Le Bon and John Taylor had also appeared in a separate spot for the network. Andy Taylor missed several American dates in February and March to visit his ill father and the subsequent funeral.

    Live favourite "Nice" was announced to be the next single in Europe to coincide with the band's tour there. It was believed that the single would not have a commercial release or music video, but would be downloadable. However, "Nice" was only released to radio in Europe, was promoted poorly, and disappeared quickly from the airwaves.

    Astronaut has been certified "Gold" in the UK for sales of over 100,000 copies. It was certified Gold in Italy. As of 2008, it had sold around 260,000 copies in the US. It has so far sold around 1 million copies around the world.

    On 29 March 2005, Sony BMG reissued Astronaut on the DualDisc format. This double sided disc included the CD version on one side and a remixed 5.1 DVD-Audio surround mix of the album on the other side. The DVD side also included a 25-minute program with new, behind-the-scenes footage.


    On 20 December 2005, Astronaut was released on the SACD format. Similar to DualDisc, this release featured the album in three formats — multichannel SACD, stereo SACD and stereo CD.

    All tracks are written by Duran Duran.

    Standard version
    No.
    Title Producer(s) Length
    1. "(Reach Up for The) Sunrise" Don Gilmore, Duran Duran, Nile Rodgers, Jason Nevins 3:27
    2. "Want You More!" Duran Duran, Gilmore, Dallas Austin 3:39
    3. "What Happens Tomorrow" Gilmore, Duran Duran 4:11
    4. "Astronaut" Austin, Duran Duran 3:26
    5. "Bedroom Toys" Duran Duran, Gilmore, Rodgers 4:01
    6. "Nice" Gilmore, Duran Duran 3:33
    7. "Taste the Summer" Duran Duran, Gilmore 3:55
    8. "Finest Hour" Gilmore, Duran Duran 4:02
    9. "Chains" Gilmore, Duran Duran 4:48
    10. "One of Those Days" Austin, Duran Duran 3:52
    11. "Point of No Return" Austin, Rodgers 4:59
    12. "Still Breathing" Duran Duran, Gilmore, Mark Tinley 5:59
    Japanese version (bonus track)
    No.
    Title Length
    13. "Virus" 4:07

    Additional musicians
    • Sally Boyden – backing vocals
    • Tessa Niles – backing vocals
    Production
    • Dallas Austin – producer, engineer
    • Bernie Beca – artwork
    • Francesco Cameli – assistant engineer
    • Daniel Catullo – producer, executive producer
    • Mike Clink – producer
    • Duran Duran – producer, executive producer
    • Richard Edgeler – assistant engineer
    • Guy Farley – string arrangements
    • Sean Fullan – editing
    • Tilton Gardner – executive producer
    • Don Gilmore – producer, engineer
    • David Gray – A&R
    • Richard Haughton – photography
    • Richard Hilton – engineer, digital editing
    • Sean Hogan – artwork
    • Heidi Kelso – producer
    • Wendy Laister – executive producer
    • David Massey – A&R
    • Robert McClaugherty – executive producer
    • Daniel Mendez – engineer, digital editing
    • Jason Nevins – producer, programming, engineer, mixer
    • Patty Palazzo – artwork
    • Nile Rodgers – producer, vocal producer
    • James A. Salkind – post production supervisor
    • Kristian Schull – cover photo
    • Rick Sheppard – engineer, digital editing
    • Sara Syms – graphic design
    • Mark Tinley – programming, engineer, pre-Production
    • Clarissa Tossin – artwork
    • Melanie Vaughan – producer
    • John Warwicker – creative director, graphic editing
    • Jeremy Wheatley – mixing
    • Leon Zervos – mastering
     
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  17. Blame The Machines

    Blame The Machines Forum Resident Thread Starter

    Location:
    Swindon
    I think I'm going to do them after the end of the album (after Virus)
     
  18. Blame The Machines

    Blame The Machines Forum Resident Thread Starter

    Location:
    Swindon
    153 Want You More!


    "Want You More!" is a song by Duran Duran, released on the album Astronaut by Epic Records on 11 October 2004.

    Track 2 on Astronaut was produced by the five original members of Duran Duran and Dallas Austin.

    "Want You More!" was written during demo sessions for the Astronaut album, which 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.

    Duran Duran signed a record deal with Epic Records in June of 2004. The Astronaut songs including "Want You More!" were given a final polishing with producer Don Gilmore at Sphere Studios in London, and then mixed by Jeremy Wheatley in June and July.

    Also credited:
     
  19. Bluepicasso

    Bluepicasso Android Confused

    Location:
    Arlington, Va
    I Want You More 3.5/5. Roger is the star here. Could do without Nick’s buzzing sounds. Is Andy even there? He’s so tamed...
     
  20. Record Rotator

    Record Rotator A vintage/retro-loving sentimental fool

    "Want You More".
    Now this is more like it. In a better world, this energetic track would've been released as the first single, and it would've been a well-deserved hit.
    It was (and still is) great to hear Nick's quirky but charming synth sounds/effects.

    4.0/5.
     
  21. americanscientist

    americanscientist Forum Resident

    Location:
    Boston, MA
    Want You More - 4/5: the perfect first single. Modern (for 2004) but retains that DD essence. My only complaint is too much Nick; Colin Thurston would have dialed back the synths on this one. Another missed opportunity not sending this to radio as it would have crossed over to alternative stations as well.
     
    Last edited: Oct 11, 2019
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  22. HeavensAbove

    HeavensAbove Forum Resident

    Location:
    Sacramento
    "Want You More!"
    4.5/5

    Exclamation point well placed. Awesome track! Production and performances are perfect. One of the best songs from late-era DD, IMO. Should have been a single.
     
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  23. omikron

    omikron Avid contributor to Paul McCartney's bank account

    Location:
    Lexington, KY
    Want You More!: 3/5 Some zany sound effect launch this up tempo song with a decent enough melody. We seem to be back to less complex lyrics too after the more pensive Warren years.

    Know It All: 1/5 Quirky beat. Unnecessary lyrics.


    I'm going to be kind of harsh on this album. But this isn't nearly as bad as DD Album Massacre and Paper Goofs.
     
  24. negative1

    negative1 80s retro fan

    Location:
    USA
    Theres a track by track podcast for Astronaut here:
    TRACK BY TRACK 61: DURAN DURAN - ASTRONAUT - TRASH

    To celebrate 15 years since the release of Duran Duran’s Astronaut, and ahead of a new Giorgio Moroder, Erol Alkan & Mark Ronson produced album, it’s all about the reunion of the fab five on Track By Track this week.

    In 2001 the original five members of Duran Duran – Simon Le Bon, Nick Rhodes, John Taylor, Roger Taylor and Andy Taylor – reunited for a huge world tour and their first album together since 1983’s Seven And The Ragged Tiger. Astronaut became their highest charting album for years, featuring the hits (Reach Up For The) Sunrise and What Happens Tomorrow, and with production from Nile Rodgers, Don Gilmore and Dallas Austin.

    With the band currently in the studio working on their 15th studio album, and Andy Taylor (who left again in 2006) about to play his first solo gig for three decades, it’s a great time to discuss one of the biggest reunions in pop/rock history.

    You can find this episode (and subscribe to Track By Track) on Apple Podcasts, or stream on Spotify or Acast or TuneIn. Let us know your thoughts @movetotrashuk #TrackByTrack, and don’t forget to subscribe so you never miss an episode.

    Read more: Astronaut Track By Track |

    later
    -1
     
  25. debased

    debased Senior Member

    Location:
    Roanoke, Virginia
    HOLD ON. So the guy that produced the last two Ride albums and signed Daniel Avery to his own label has a hand in producing the next Duran Duran album?

    :goodie:

    Sorry, back to Astronaut....
     

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