Prince is the only one that gets me to the store to buy new music on G.P., everybody else i wait for on used Cd or listen thru other ppl. so i'm JUST now hearing Duran Duran's Red Carpet Massacre. I like the cd so far, esp. The Valley, and the title track. the latter should've been longer, it demands a third verse (or for the beat just to play). These two should've been ext'd singles. I can see techno DJs having a field day with them. Can anyone attest to whether they got any love in the clubs from these singles or if there ARE singles out there?

datdude said:

they are working on a new album as we speak and i believe it will be out in the fall...they are supposed to be going back to their roots on this one

I'm sorry but it has got to be the worst CD that I have heard in a long time. Duran Duran with Timberland, not a good combination with some terrible results....

I love Red Carpet Massacre! It's actually my favorite DD album since the mid-'80s. Do yourself a favor and track down the Japanese bonus track, "Cry Baby Cry." It's my favorite song of the sessions.

The label fucked this album up by releasing the down tempo "Falling Down" as the 1st single.

"Nite Runner" and "Skin Divers" would have gotten more attention, at least at Top 40 and the clubs. Not their best work, but I liked it.

Nick715 said:

I agree on both counts that "Falling Down" should not have been the 1st single. The record company should have milked the Timbaland collaboration alot more with special appearances. It's definitely not their top 5 albums, but it's better than Pop Trash, Liberty, and Big Thing.

funkyslsistah said:

I agree about the singles. OTOH, it's easily in my top 5 of all their albums (and I'm a huge fan).

I had a talk with a guy that runs a record store in NYC a little shop that i have been going to for about 15 years, and he is a huge Duran fan and that store sells tons of DD stuff from around the world and he has had them in the store, but he was saying, while i was talking about the new a-Ha and the last 3 a-Ha's leading to this record, he said as a Duran fan, "at least a-Ha progressed, while others from their time didnt, like Duran Duran", and i never really thought of it like that, but i got what he meant, it wasnt that they are bad, but they have never been able to pull off "skip free" albums that were steady rides where you say "what a record", i mean there is greatness within, but they are almost like a group of Mariah Carey's, alot of promise, alot of letdowns. Another DD fan said, you are never going to get anything more than 80% from them so just dont expect it, because they arent capable of it

funkyslsistah said:

The album was doomed day one just because of the shit surrounding it, you had a member either BOOTED or LEAVING because of the direction, right there, fucked. Then the delays, then the time of year they shipped, in the height of the "Dumping" season, dumping meaning stuff the label just throws out there and hopes it sticks and makes something back, like the last 5 seal albums.

lastdecember said:

i think a lot of old school fans were put off by the Timberlake/Timberland involvement

SteelPanther said:

While their involvement was not great, the material they had to work with, just sucked. DD is one of those bands that have a very distinct sound, why mess with it?

SteelPanther said:

Well, this old school fan didn't mind it. Most of the production was actually done by Danja and I think he knocked it out of the park!

i'm an old school DD fan but not a nostalgic purist. to me the Nate Danja/Timbaland/Timberlake collabs are solid and the haters are doing just that, hating. Its an update of the "sound" or collab (ideologically) with Nile Rodgers. The Valley, and Red Carpet Massacre should've been huge club hits. I find the melodies of Falling Down and Box full o Honey got stuck in my head right away. Skin Divers and Tempted are solid too. Didn't know the first single was Falling Down, definitely a bad choice. They should've come with the title track or The Valley. But btwn the band politics and bad label decisions, i'm still feelin' the music. I'll have to check on the Japanese bonus track.

And WHY does a-Ha have 10 albums! their family can't be THAT big to be still buying their records after their one hit.

I'm with you on the high quality of this record, but you really should check out a-ha. The vast majority of their albums are very good. Before lastdecember comes in with more details, I'll just say that they've had many hits outside the US.

datdude said:

Here is the difference between the DD of old and that "Red Carpet", mess. When Nile was behind the boards, his production was based on the fact that they were playing real instruments. Under the production of Timberland and the gang, production was based on beats made by a computer. This was the case, despite the fact that the members of DD played instruments. There was nothing wrong with their original sound...Still they wanted to fix something that was not broken. The reason why A-ha has 10 albums and is still going strong, is because there sound has NOT changed much. From their debut to their recent release, there is still that A-Ha sound; no gimmicks no tricks. This is more accepting overseas than it is here in the U.S. I think that it is a damn shame.

shorttrini said:

That Nite Runner is hawt. But I know Duran fans can't get with too much in2 the urban dance funk Timb was throwing in a la Human League team with Jimmy & Terry.

i hope u don't mean to say that a-Ha still sounds like Take on Me, if so, 10 albums L8r that's a SHAME. i still think ppl are more prone to hate on what's/who's current and hot and lambaste artists THEY like for working with them. i hear the live instrumentation WITH the beats on Red Carpet, esp. the basswork on The Valley and the guitar work on Falling Down. i think the "politics of nostalgia" are alive and well

datdude said:

They don't.

datdude said:

a-Ha has a huge international following and has had a significant number of hits around the world. They are still going strong and their latest album is terrific. Only in America is a-Ha known as a "one hit wonder." (Although that's not even accurate, as they did in fact have more than 1 hit in America.)

Loved a lot of tracks on this record. Probably more than Astronaut. Nite Runner is one of their best to me.

piepie1976 said:

i like Nite Runner, but for it to have received the hype it did, it wasn't as good as The Valley, RCM or Skin Divers even. but it fits in well.


I'll bet no one in Mexico is checkin' for a-Ha either, so its not an "American" thing

datdude said:

Here you go: http://en.wikipedia.org/w...iscography

datdude said:

I have no idea about Mexico, but in the 90's a-ha played in front of record crowds in Brazil. In 2000 their single "Summer Moved On" hit #1 in 17 countries.

They just recently scored a major hit in Europe from their latest single and album (#1 album in Germany, #3 single), and they just played 3 sold-out shows in Brazil and Chile. They have upcoming dates in Russia and Europe. They've had 31 chart singles internationally.

So yeah, they are still going strong.

lastdecember said:

New a-ha CD is fucking great.

paisleypark4 said:

You cannot possibly compare Jam and Lewis to to Timberland and Timberlake? Those are two different animals. Jam and Lewis, still play live instruments and at The Human League's album, still had the real feel to it...DD's cd and Human League's CD are too different sounds.

wow surprised to hear about all the international chart success of a-ha. i stand corrected. never got into them tho. i even hated take on me, best thing was the vid. don't feel i'm missing out on anything.

but about D double. i like them, and the last album. the comparison of Timberland/Timberlake to Jam & Lewis is not one I made. i think several tracks on the album don't SOUND like Timbaland at all. only 2 of the 12 actually have that FEEL, two others have a remote detectable influence but if i DIDN'T know he had anything to do with the album, i wouldn't make the connection. Hateration is all it is.

datdude said:

Well, you don't like the Beatles either, so it's not a surprise.


Timbaland only co-wrote and produced 3 of the album's tracks ("Nite-Runner," "Skin Divers," and "Zoom In"). His protege Danja was the primary producer.

shorttrini said:

Well Human I Need Your Loving and Love Is All That Matters were done with keyboards and drum machines...and Timbaland does play drums and keyboards too. He may not be as musically elighted as Jimmy and Terry in respect he has not been around since the 70's however I admit the man has talent and created his own unique sound everytime he comes out; They way Jimmy & Terry used to be. Now I can't tell if a song is theirs or not.

paisleypark4 said:

You still cannot compare Jimmy Jam and Terry to Timberland, simply because Jimmy and Terry play real instruments, while Timberland, doesn't. He cannot play a note. He does however know how to use a music program to make beats and that's all he knows.

datdude said:

Oh please dude do some research a-Ha has way more than one hit, just because you are in this USA box that dont mean shit in the big picture, u know one hit so that means you cant progress out of the 80's, deal with it. The thing here is that DD has never been able to put that solid record together, im not talking HITS, you can have 3-4 hits on an album and the album sucks donkey dick. Just because someone doesnt like a record doesnt mean its "hating", i didnt say i hated this album SHOWING that you cant read. To me its a very "cold empty" record, its like the band isnt even there, DD needs a guitar player back, plain and simple, and not that dude that sat in on this album. The band was non existent on almost half this record. But that was there experiment and it failed with alot of fans and some liked it, but it fell between the cracks overall, and worldwide DD needs to get its SHIT back together because those sales are way down for them, and that at the end of the day is the bread and butter, not the fucking USA, the US is not even relevant anymore in music.