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

Astronaut - At first I was a bit meh about the song, but years later it's grown on me. 3/5

Bedroom Toys - Ick. They must have been channeling Warren in his later days with the band if you know what I mean. When I heard the song, I thought, "Oh my god......what's THIS?" 0/5.

 

Astronaut : The first thing that struck me when I heard this song is how simple it is. While there's nothing wrong with a simple song I expected more of the guys. The thing that saves it is the bridge which I like. Another pro is the acoustic guitar.
Agree with the falling twins remark. I thought it was a reference to 9/11 too.
I didn't understand why you would call a so much anticipated reunion album "Astronaut". It's a totally different theme. Not that the title of the album should've made reference to the reuinion per se but they still could have come up with something more original I think.

When the band plays this song live it's Simon who picks up the acoustic guitar. And then is never audible in the mix except for the intro ! And I even think that intro is actually prerecorded.
I hate that. If he goes through the trouble of putting that guitar over his shoulder and it's in plain sight because he is the frontman I want to hear him play. Otherwise it's just posing.
As I've taught myself to play on the acoustic, using many DD songs as study material, I think posing like that with an instrument is an insult to people who can actually play (well enough for them to be audible in the FOH mix)

Astronaut : 3.5/5

Bedroom Toys : I do like the music. For starters the song isn't overproduced to death unlike the three songs that precede it. There actually is breathing room, space. So in the track order this song is very welcome as it allows the ears to relax a bit. Then there's the subject matter. The lyrics. Again as a non native English speaker much of the details may have pass me by. They don't disturb me that much but they are rather vague, aren't they ? It's like Simon saying "Look at me at what I dare to sing about", and then puts on a a rather mild performance. I mean, compared to what gansta rappers rap about this song is ain't no Candy Shop (not that I wish DD would ever become such a band).
The bassline are great though !

Bedroom Toys : 3.5/5

Notes on the 5.1 mix of Astronaut :


I must add that I wrote my review of these two songs based upon my own surround version that I created of the album.
The album is/was available on Dual Disc (lossy) and on SACD. But there's problems with the authoring on both discs I believe. The SACD sound dull. The highs are not there. Don't acutally remember what was wrong with the Dual Disc.(Quick edit to add : is was only in Dolby Digital, not even in the far superior DTS format)

So I rebalanced an re-eq'ed the SACD version and now the album sounds more open.
The big advantage of the surround version (the surround mix isn't actually that bad) is that there's more dynamics.

I think there's too much bass in the stereo mix of Bedroom Toys, and of course the whole Paper Gods album also suffers from the same disease (to my ears).

Here's what the excellent Quadraphonicquad has to say about the surround version :
Dual Disc
DVD/DTS Poll - Duran Duran - Astronaut (DualDisc)

SACD review on SA-CD.net :
SA-CD.net - Duran Duran: Astronaut

 

Bedroom Toys


^ a chicken curling.

WTF were DD playing at? As other have mentioned they left certain tracks off the album which seemed much better than this embarrassing dad song. I always wondered whether this track was meant to be a diss at their former American guitarist and his hobby that he made a bit of a living out of, with Simon putting on a mock English accent? Musically it is little better as it is a turgid groove of a lite-funk track. Boy how I dream this was as good as "Maxwell's Silver Hammer"! This is the worst track DD ever committed to be released in their name.

0.0/5

 

158 Nice




Nice" is the 34th single by British pop band Duran Duran. Released in 2005 to radio in Europe and as download only, it was the third single to be lifted from the group's Astronaut album.

The infectious pop song was one of the first that the band wrote after its reunion in 2001, but a final version was not recorded until 2004 with producer Don Gilmore at Sphere Studios in London.

The song, even more energetic live than on recording, was a crowd-pleaser among new and old fans at the band's live shows in 2004 and 2005.

Gary Oldknow, who created most of the videos for The Devils and on-stage visuals for Duran Duran's concerts since 1998, was commissioned to make a music video for "Nice". As the track was relegated to radio play and download only, with no marketing push, the video got cancelled before it was completed.

 

Nice 4,5/5. One of the songs that grabbed me on this album. This sound has the classic Duran sound: infectious bass, cool-ass guitar licks, innovative drums, intricate layered keys, and great lyrics!

 

"Nice".
It's certainly melodic and fairly catchy, and I never skip it, but then, I don't find it particularly engaging, either.
I'm not a musician/songwriter, so I may be wrong, but it's musically rather unadventurous
and somewhat lacking in lyrical substance, isn't it? Again, I may be wrong. I may be missing something.
To me, "Nice" is just that: Nice. Pleasant enough. Nothing more, nothing less.
3.5/5.

 

Nice

This is an amazing song; for me one of their best. From the first hit of the kick drum, to the pump of the bass, and that great riff from Andy. Simon's voice has never sounded better than here. This is a top 10 track for me and stays in heavy rotation.

5/5

 

"Nice"
4/5

An awesome uptempo dance/rock hybrid that, like "Want You More!" and "Astronaut" before it, skillfully updates the classic early 80'2 DD sound for 2004. This is the sound that was missing from the wilderness years and got me back into the DD fold.

 

Nice - 4/5: Classic DD that deserved a solid push from Sony as a potential summer jam for 2005. Just like Want You More, this song really deserved to be a single and have a Rio-style throwback video. So missed opportunities from this era.
Anyone who caught the Astronaut tour knows that Nice received the best reception out of all the new material. We are million miles from sorry excuses like Hallucinating Elvis and Mars Meets Venus just four years prior.

 

Yes! The high quality of most of the Astronaut album made it exciting to be a DD fan again. For me, duds like BT were acceptable b/c of excellent tracks like WYM!, Astronaut, and Nice.

 

I should mention that for Bedroom toys there were three versions to punish your ears:
3:50 Bedroom Toys [Album Version]
0:20 Bedroom Toys [Website Demo 2002 Snippet]
4:23 Bedroom Toys [Demo 2004]

 

Nice - The single that was and wasn't. Yeah, only available for download and issued as a promo in Europe and the U.S., this song was never really given the chance it needed. Add to that, there were quite a few remixes out there for the song, so you'd think that with these done up, there would have been a concerted effort to get this out to the clubs and on the radio. 4/5
3:25 Nice [Album Version]
3:25 Nice (Eric Prydz Mix)
3:18 Nice (Eric Prydz Radio Mix)|(Eric Prydz Remix)
3:18 Nice (Eric Prydz Radio Too Mix)
7:18 Nice (Pablo La Rosa Naughty & Nice Mix)
6:56 Nice (Johnson Somerset Atomic Ice Remix)
3:48 Nice (Mike Greig So Nice Mix)
3:46 Nice (Dready Mix)
1:02 Nice [Website Mix Clip]
3:50 Nice (Disco Pusher Remix By David Sisko)
?:?? Nice [The Lindbergh Palace Remix]
?:?? Nice [456 Productions Remix]
0:35 Nice [Website Demo 2002 Snippet]
4:26 Nice [Demo 2004]

 

i almost want to hear the demo. almost

 

Great live version of Nice from VH1 with Dom on guitar:

 

Nice - ye, classic Duran here. Great instrumentation, vocals, chorus but the lyrics are a bit weak. “Coz I’m feeling...sooo nice!”. Yeah, ok. 4/5

 

"Bedroom Toys" - 1/5 - probably their worst original song. I hate to be so negative to a band I love so much, but this is stupid.

"Nice" - 5/5 - they redeemed themselves with this one, though! Love it, very much, thank you.

 

Judging by the previous posts I'm the odd one out.
I can't really discredit any of the songs on this album. I really do think it's arguably in their top 5 career albums and is a better "return to form" record than any they've ever done including AYNIN which to me worked in spurts whereas this one works 100% through and through. Nowadays I can pick up on the overproduced parts more but I do think the songs are still great. And the Andy factor really does make all the difference in spite of their apparent inability to stay together.
Thus most of these songs are 5/5 for me in enjoyment factor though I know it's not their best album. But they're damn fun, energetic, catchy and well put together.
I will note that the discussion has made me re-evaluate things and I will agree that their identity does feel as if were stripped back a bit in the production especially on certain tracks or sections. I can see where people are coming from. But did you not hear Paper Gods? That is darn near un-enjoyable.

Astronaut
I love this track. Always have. In fact I once had it blaring at a red light with my music on randomized next to a car tricked out with overzealous subs and the driver looked at me with a "what is that cool track?" face. It's in your face as a song but also kinda indescribably DD feeling in an energetic way that hadn't happened in years by this point. 5/5
Bedroom Toys
I LOVE THIS SONG. Slinky, catchy, silly and funny as hell in a very mocking adult manner that never crosses the line and becomes trashy or overstays its welcome. Easily the most freewheeling song on the album and a necessary breath of air to balance the poppy opening tracks against the darker second half. Before this thread I had no idea people disliked this. 5/5
Nice
Probably the most infectious song on the album. This is also the best blending of the classic 80's feel from the first albums into the modern element at the time and should have been a nice successful single. 5/5

I always wanted a better surround version of this album and of course never got the uber rare SACD. I've only heard a ripped version of the DVD-a lossy mix and it just didn't seem like a very good mix. The stereo mix is much better but suffers from being too cooked in loudness and there is a bass emphasis on certain tracks as if it were a modern pop/dance record. I did find a needledrop of the crazy rare vinyl edition that remedies some of that but I've never found a vinyl copy affordable enough and because it was a limited 2004 pressing I figured it wasn't very good vinyl to begin with.

 

Glad I bought the vinyl when it was released....

About the stereo mix : agree with everything mentioned in the above post.

But listening to the surround yesterday it struck me that this might be The Mix. What I mean by that is that Nick's bells and whistles make more sense on the surround version as they are mostly used as surround effects. Also the overproduced tracks literally have more space to shine and combined with the less agressive mastering are much more pleasant to the ears.

It's almost like the stereo mix is a fold down of the 5.1 ! An afterthought.
It really is a pity that no good rendition (to my ears) of this 5.1 mix is commercially available.

 

Where are we now? "Astronaut"? Good! Just returned from one week in NYC but definitely will be back as regular for "Red Carpet Massacre"!

 

I am really fascinated that we are getting quite divergent on our scoring. Seems like it's getting worse too.

What is it about these songs that we are all walking away with two totally opposite viewpoints? What Duran Duran are we actually looking for in this album? Because some of us seem to be finding it and some are not.


Nice: 2.5/5

I think this song encapsulates what my general feelings are on Astronaut. The musicianship is generally good. It’s modern but also has a hint of the Duran Duran past. As we’ve mostly noted the production on this album is fairly subdued. I can’t help but wonder what their earlier incarnations sounded like when Nile was involved. This song does seem to at least retain some life if Nile was even involved in this track (don’t know). But overall the songwriting in general is frankly getting bland starting with this album. “Nice” on paper seems to have all the right ingredients but just does nothing for me. It’s just average. And what I’m finding on this album starting with this song is a lot of just average or worse.

 

I've spouted off a couple of times about the direness of "Sunrise" and "Want You More!" (ratings yet to come) but I never finished Pop Trash! So...

"Lady Xanax"
This is a gorgeous song; in true old-fashioned Duran Duran style, both the verses and the chorus offer something unique, and I miss that aspect of their songwriting. Duran Duran is very good when they take what almost sounds like two melodies and graft them together, even though they don't sound at all grafted together. Is that right? Actually I think that kind of writing made them lazy around the time of Seven and the Ragged Tiger, but it's that hallmark in their modern songs that draws me back to that time. And Astronaut doesn't do that very much. Anyhow... Lady Xanax, 4/5

"The Sun Doesn't Shine Forever"
Like "Someone Else Not Me" this is a Calculated Ballad™. I don't hear the Bon Jovi as much as you all do, but it doesn't really do anything for me. 3/5

"Kiss Goodbye" / "Last Day on Earth"
I didn't realize this was a would-be Bond theme. I've always liked this; but like "Sinner or Saint" and even "Playing with Uranium" a bit, it has a whiff of metal crunch that may or may not work within Duran Duran. So I really like it, I'd give it a higher rating, but I'm not sure I'd ever call it a classic Duran song. More of a black sheep. 4/5

and

"About a Dozen Random Songs that Didn't Make Astronaut and/or Weren't Released in America"
I can't even recall all the songs that were posted here but I don't like this era enough to hear the things that weren't even officially released from it. That said, I do remember a couple of snippets on the Duran Duran website in the long wait till the album that I thought sounded promising and then didn't materialize on the album proper. Maybe someday deep in the future when I have absolutely nothing else to do and my toenails have already been cut and the house of my dreams has been built, bought, moved into, and decorated, and then the rest of the internet doesn't work, I'll find time to trawl through this stuff and rate it.

 

i have listened to “paper gods” and find it more than enjoyable. some of it is amazing and strange but it’s about as imperfect as “astronaut.” it’s more adventurous even when some tracks fall short, and the lyrics are much more interesting, much more engaging (“dancephobia” not included).

“astronaut” is better than i gave it credit for and it continues to grow on me with time/distance away from the high hopes from the reunion. but past some of the shiny surface duran duran dna, some tracks lack that last unique trait that takes a track from good to great.

 

I think Paper Gods has 2-3 that are among the best of their career, but we'll get there when we get there.

 

Nice- might be the best track on the album.

 

What Happens Tomorrow (Peter Rauhofer Mixes)

Uh, totally out of place here and I've already commented on the main album version of WHT.

Peter was a tribal house legend and super famous for remixing a TON of famous pop artists (Madonna, Janet, Depeche, Kylie, Whitney, Britney, Mariah, Pet Shop Boys). His style is certainly not for everyone, and vividly recall being appalled at how WHT was selected for the remix treatment by this legend.

And then hearing the remixes, appalled at how much he stripped away and truly made them his own dub mixes.

But over time, I truly believe these are some essential mixes. Maybe not in the Duran canon, but as far as dance music goes, these are 5/5.