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

None Of The Above:

Not especially great. Not completely bad. It's just one of those b-side songs that somehow made it on an album. The break around the three minute mark is great though. And raises the marks. Still, I'm glad DD never made a whole album like this.

3,5/5

Shelter:

And another one. Again it's not bad. Still it's somewhat anonymous. The chorus has vintage DD buried somewhere deep inside of it. Not a big fan though. Do I read you? I fear I do, indeed.

3/5

 

Shelter.

Single worthy? Maybe. It is a solid song. I particularly like the opening of the song with its synthesizer stabs and throughout. Again, having the advance copy of the tape and then listening to the CD was a bit of a jarring experience as the final version on the album is an edited version. It's hard to listen to the released version knowing that a part of the music has been excised - it's a bit like taking a few pages out of a chapter in a book and you know there's some information missing. As you can see below, the pre-release version is :17 sec longer - so that's how much was removed from the song.

4:23 Shelter [Album Version]
4:40 Shelter [Alternate Album Pre-Release Full Version] <from HERE COMES THE BAND a Capitol In-House tape>
4:56 Shelter [Alternate Early Mix]|Shelta <early mix by David Leonard or David Richards>
4:58 Shelter [Four On The Floor Demo 1]|Shelter Of My Heart <recorded on 18 May 1991>
4:27 Shelter [Four On The Floor Demo 2]|Shelter Of My Heart <recorded on 21 October 1991>
4:57 Shelter [Four On The Floor Demo 3]|Shelter Of My Heart <recorded on 19 December 1991>

4/5

 

What I find most disturbing about "Duran Duran" (1993) is how well it is executed. Even the songs I don't really like. This could have been the rest of their career. Adult contemporary pop. Tonight, for the first time ever - I was glad they made "Thank You" next. Well.... almost.

 

I must be in a good mood . I liked both None Of The Above and Shelter. Simon's singing on this record is pretty decent . As I said I've haven't listened to this record in awhile and it's holding up , despite my strong dislike of Drowning Man and Femme Fatale. It's definitely a dance record and maybe that is what whigged us out back in the day. But they always have been a dance band but maybe on this record the rock leanings are put even further back.

 

==
Interesting impression. I always thought of this as their acoustic rock record.

 

“Shelter” is one of the best songs on The Wedding Album, as it has that structural appeal of multiple varieties of the same chorus, featuring different hooks. Its energy is through the roof, and I love how it marries the smooth pop of the verses with the explosive rock punch of the chorus. To me this is exemplary of the new-style Duran Duran succeeding at old-school catchiness and memorability.

I seriously can’t imagine why it’s getting such MOR scores.

Shelter, 4/5

 

I need to listen to the whole album again. Probably more effective than just playing a song each day. I figure there has to be something I have missed so far...

 

I like the song, but the production/sound quality of the recording is a bit tinny and underdeveloped when compared to the majority of the other tracks on album, IMO (kinda similar to the some of the bonus tracks on All You Need Is Now and Paper Gods). With some additional sonic polishing, I would've rated it a 4.

 

Shelter - I still like this song but yes the tinny production dates it and it would be much better if the bass was cranked up a bit. Not a fan of the synth stabs on the intro. 3.5/5

 

Shelter

If ever there was a Duran Duran song I could perfectly describe as "mmmrrhhh". Then "Shelter" is it. It sounds like the band are trying to come up with a classic DD song with an interesting verse and upbeat chorus which they normally excel at. But with this track I feel they fail. Even the production sounds a bit thin & tinny compared to most of the rest of the album. It is certainly not a bad track by any means it is just "mmmrrhhh".

2.5/5

 

You describe the indifference I feel towards some of this 1993 material pretty well: "mmmrrhhh". There's something going on here that I can't put my ear finger on. Yet!

 

Now this could be an interesting track to discuss:

106 To Whom It May Concern


"To Whom It May Concern" is a song by Duran Duran, released on The Wedding Album by Capitol-EMI on 23 February 1993.

Written by Duran Duran, the song has a sound that fitted in with the alternative rock trends that were starting during the early 1990s.

"To Whom It May Concern" was originally called "Mr. Jones", a song written in response to the manipulation the band had encountered from one of their attorneys. The track was recorded, mixed and fully mastered for inclusion on The Wedding Album, however, once learning of the song, the lawyer in question legally forced Duran Duran to discard the recording. With a little creative mixing and overdubbing the song became "To Whom It May Concern" on the final album.

Unusually, the main draft of the lyrics were written by Nick Rhodes. Fergus Gerrand supplies drums on this track.

 

To Whom It May Concern

I guess they had to get it out of their system...and the skip button gets it out of mine.

1/5

 

“To Whom It May Concern” is one of the slinkiest, smartest songs in the Duran Duran catalog. There is a lot here.

- The lyrics are written as a letter. While this is no way unique, I do think it’s the one and only time Duran Duran tries this approach.
- The sentiment mirrors the assault on the media in “Too Much Information”; the sound of an abused animal biting back, perhaps.
- The chorus with its lush call-and-response vocals is reminiscent of “Downtown.”
- Warren’s playing here is light and unusually funky.

All in all, I really enjoy this one, and it greatly showcases the creativity of this iteration of the band.

To Whom It May Concern, 4.5/5

 

To Whom It May Concern. 2/5. Third in the queue of mediocre songs. Well, this song doesn’t concern me at all. My interest in the track lies in the first 20 seconds. After that, I enjoy the skip button.

 

To Whom It May Concern -Skip!
I’ve never liked this track. In fact, to me it’s the worst song on the album. I listened to it again recently and it still doesnt please me. IMHO it’s this album’s Hot Head. 1/5 and that one is for the funky guitar only.

 

To Whom It May Concern

Yep, this is their love letter of sorts to their former lawyer and an interesting insight into some of the shenanigans they've had to deal with, so like Too Much Information, it's nice to see the band punching back at an entity they feel and know has done them wrong. Only a few alternate versions are out there for this song (all unreleased):

4:22 To Whom It May Concern [Album Version]
4:50 To Whom It May Concern [Full Version Instrumental]|Mr. Jones (Instrumental) <Obsession And Corruption - mixed by David Richards>
5:36 To Whom It May Concern [Mr. Jones Rough Mix]|Mr. Jones <Obsession And Corruption - mixed by Duran Duran & John Jones>
5:10 To Whom It May Concern [Four On The Floor Demo]|People <recorded on 18 May 1991>

3.5/5

 

"To Whom It May Concern".
3.0/5.

 

To Whom It May Concern:

"Slinky" just about sums this up. Perfectly. Because it's great. It's one of those songs that makes me want to reconsider this album. Here, everything gels and perfectly blends together. This is not contemporary for contemporary's sake. If only the whole record sounded like that. Or does it?

4/5

 

'To Whom It May Concern"
1/5
It is interesting how differently people react to the same piece of music, as I could have sworn this track would have received universal pans from contributors to this thread. For me, this is the 2nd worst track on the album after "Shotgun"; I like "Shotgun" better b/c it is comparatively brief. I guess the lyrics might be interesting, but since the music does not appeal to me, this is an instant skip. Tuneless and overlong.

 

"To Whom It May Concern"
Well, at least it doesn't sound like the Backstreet Boys.
2/5

 

I've been enjoying Warren's rhythm playing on The Wedding Album more then the wanking parts.

 

To Whom It May Concern- Could have used a little more work . Doesn't totally work, the outro is nice.

 

"Shelter" - 4/5. It has a good shuffle beat to it, and I like the synthetic orchestra hits throughout.

"To Whom It May Concern" - 3/5. Meh, they've done better (they've also done much worse).

 

To Whom It May Concern

OK, it looks like it is virtually just me who likes this track. Nick's sarcastic, cutting lyrics written in the format of a letter, are perfectly matched by the band going into full on INXS slinky funk mode. I can totally imagine Michael Hutchence singing these biting lyrics; alongside the "Some People" call and response backing vocals where the rest of the band join in INXS style. I also love the weird U2 outro.

I'm surprised no one one has brought up or asked about the subject matter of the lyrics? Still it is probably best not to. But DD official timeline for 1990 is somewhat curious:

DURAN DURAN Timeline – 1980 – 1995

4.0/5