Sitting on our hotel balcony with a view of Huntington Beach, glassy conditions of peeling breakers that I used to surf in the years following Duran’s heyday, I am reminded of this standout song from their debut. The atmosphere built both organically and mechanically, the funky bass and swirling keys. This is one of my favs made even better because of the summer vibes it brings me. Although I am a fall/winter person, there is something to love in all of the seasons. I wish that were true with all things Duran but for now, this one gets a 5/5.
Anyone Out There ★★★★ This might be the first song I learned to play on guitar, with a little help from Easy Electronic Keyboard Music: the Best of Duran Duran. Four easy chords, if I remember correctly. It probably sounded dreadful. Duran Duran's own version fares better: not quite among their masterpieces, but a very good album track.
anyone out there : As mentioned it was a promo single only in brazil, but i felt it was strong enough to be one also.. also on the b-side of 2 US promos: careless memories, and sound of thunder another excellent song, great lyrics, great beat, and the build up, leading to the great vocalizing at the end. i like simons voice, and the story the lyrics tell. excellent guitars paired with moody keyboards, and frantic drumming. i especially like the ending with the overlapping vocals on the chorus over the bass. ====================== anyone out there : 5/5 later -1
Oh my goodness I was such a huge "Duranie" back in the day but I'm proud of my 12 year old self because I'm still proud to consider myself a fan. They are a great band, and always put on a great show. I saw them last in concert about 4 years ago - they were still great, Nile Rogers opened for them. My favorite side project was Arcadia, I still think that album is awesome, it's so moody and evocative. I liked some of the songs on Power Station but I just don't think it's nearly as creative. I loved the way they were always trying to find ways to evolve and change and be creative. Never could understand "fans" who want their favorite acts to always sound the same. Heck one of my favorite late phase albums is Red Carpet Massacre which so many "fans" hated. I don't think I could even begin to choose a favorite song. I actually think Careless Memories or Night Boat off the first album but it's a hard choice. The Chauffeur and New Religion off Rio. I really have to think about this - it's many years and quite a few albums.
Couple fun Duran Duran fax!! In an early 80s interview I remember Nick Rhodes saying that Careless Memories was his favorite DD song. (Me I like the faster version best) In the same source it was noted that once he said in an interview his favorite food was strawberries tons of teenage girls sent him strawberries in the mail.
That's the cover title of their Rolling Stone cover article was too as I recall. I didn't save the whole magazine but I still have the cover and article in a box someplace.
"Khanada" Getting behind on this thread, but will try to follow thru regularly. This is an alright tune. I had forgotten about it actually but enjoyed it now and then way back then in the 80s. Overall I prefer "Come up and see me make me smile" 3/5. "Is there something I should know?" Likable, but not the best of their singles. Video was well done as most of theirs were. I think it sounded great live. 3/5 "Is There Anyone Out There?" Solid album track. The guitar lick just sticks in my head. Their debut album still holds up well after *nearly* 40 years. 4/5
Interesting. I'd never considered the similarity between GOF and "Love is the Drug." Though it's not as overt as, say, Roxy's "Trash" being turned into "Violence of Summer." Or Roxy's "Same Old Scene" being turned into... well, pretty much the whole Duran sound!
I remember there was a superb BBC documentary on Roxy Music (I can't find it on youtube. It definitely was not the earlier More Than This rockumentary) in the mid to late 2000s where it featured Roxy Music + Brian Eno in the studio together for material that got appropriated to Bryan Ferry's Olympia album; and it featured among the talking heads Nick Rhodes, with his vignette of how John Taylor's bass riff on Girls On Film was inspired by John Gustafson's bassline on Love Is The Drug. Then when they went to work with Nile Rodgers he told the band that Bernard Edwards was inspired by the very same bass riff for Chic's Good Times!
Anyone Out There - One of my two non single highlights from the debut album. This definitely had an Adolescent Sex era Japan influence, but is probably a stronger song than David Sylvian's art rock outfit came up with then. 4.5/5 I've included this live 1981 German performance which highlights how good the band was live even back then, due to how they handled one of the band's instruments going unplugged; and filled in the void superbly.
Anyone Out There Andy's guitar work is the star here...but it also features a great early vocal from Simon.
008 To The Shore "To The Shore" is a song by Duran Duran, released on the band's debut album Duran Duran by Capitol-EMI on the 15 June 1981. The song is slower and more melodic than the other tracks on the Duran Duran album. Simon Le Bon has said, "Whenever I listen to "To The Shore" I am completely nonplussed as to what it is really about. I think I was going through an experimental/impressionistic phase with my lyrics. I didn't really care what the words actually meant; rather, what people read into them was the important factor, like a sort of Rorschach test. I do recall one of the tutors at Birmingham University, where I studied drama, was called Chrissie and I remember being quite fascinated with her, but quite why she figures in the song I have long since forgotten". The song was released as a B-side to the U.S. release of "Planet Earth" in 1981.
To The Shore ★★★★★ I'd owned a copy of the debut album for eight years when in '99 I came across a CD with "To The Shore" as the tenth track. "Cool, a b-side" I thought, and bought it. It would take a few more years before I realised it was an album track. By then, this song was a favourite of mine, and it still is. The music and lyrics create something magical. It sounds like an invitation to some wonderful experience or other, whether it be love, religion, sex or the band's music ("wash away the rusty disease of your brown town days in our silver sea" - "Every Day Is Like Sunday" meets "Mr Tambourine Man"). Or maybe they're just some words that sounded nice.
To The Shore was and still is a favorite. I discovered the song on a Japanese vinyl pressing after realizing the song was jettisoned in favor of ITSISK on the USA reissue. 5/5
To The Shore: 4 out of 5 for me. Guitar work is spectacular. The other instruments try to keep up, which is rare for the album. It works better between Nightboat and Sound of Thunder, to me.
To The Shore is probably my least favourite on the album, but it should be there. I think, like Night Boat and Friends Of Mine, it shows how unique Nick's synth programming is. You can tell where he's getting inspiration from but he did create an original sound for DD, which would be carried forward throughout their career. 4/5.
Anyone Out There 5/5 Strange that this wasn't a single. To The Shore 4/5 Love this track and never understood why it has been left off in the USA. Doesn't make sense. Oh.... and yesterday I received this: "Duran Duran has added 5 additional shows around their KAABOO Del Mar festival date on the West Coast of the US in September: September 7th and 8th: The Chelsea at the Cosmopolitan Hotel Las Vegas, NV September 10th and 11th: Mountain Winery Saratoga, CA September 13th: Lake Tahoe Outdoor Arena at Harvey’s Casino Lake Tahoe, NV" My favourite part was that: "There are three VIP packages available for these 5 concerts. Members can purchase a maximum of two (2) tickets per person for Las Vegas and four (4) tickets per person for Saratoga and Lake Tahoe. 1) The Ultimate Front Row Backstage Tour VIP Package. $600 + Ticket Price - 1 Front Row Ticket - An exclusive “behind the scenes” escorted Backstage Tour - Unforgettable pre-show on-stage photo opportunity - A limited edition autographed Duran Duran photo - A custom designed logo’d tote bag - Commemorative VIP Tour Laminate with Lanyard - An exclusive to Ultimate package stylish logo’d Toiletry Bag - An exclusive to Ultimate package logo’d bluetooth speaker - Logo’d Bluetooth noise reducing re-chargeable headphones - Logo’d stainless steel tumbler - NOTE: There is no meet and greet associated with this package. Details of the backstage tour will be emailed no later than 4 days before the show. The merchandise will be mailed. " $600 plus ticket and one doesn't even get to meet the band. Foking 'ell! (Hopefully my posting of this won't be seen as inappropriate since this is a "track by track" thread but I felt I had to share this....)
Jumping in here so I can follow this thread, as I'm a huge fan of Duran Duran and own pretty much everything they've released. I didn't hear "To the Shore" until a few years after its release. When I started college, I met a new friend who was a huge Duran Duran fanatic, and she had the original UK LP of their first album. Listening to the album in her dorm room, I heard a song I didn't know -- "To the Shore" -- and I began a quest to track down a copy for myself. It took a surprisingly long time. I finally managed to get a used copy of the UK LP at a record show in 1987 or 1988. For me, "To the Shore" fits on the debut album SO much better than "Is There Something I Should Know." "To the Shore" is just a great song.
To the shore : 1/5 I mentioned i didn't even know about this song until much, much later. I totally agree this song fits much better on the album, but to me it will always be that left off track, or the b-side. An early duran track that is a filler that is too slow, and basic to fit the attitude and energy of the rest of the tracks on the album. Maybe i didn't hear it enough to get to like it, or it just doesn't register with me. It definitely changes my rating of the original UK listing for the worse. I'm glad they left it off for the US release. later -1
