Oh well, I was kind of hoping it was coming this year.

Mark Ronson produced it.

http://www.duranduran.com...s/?p=17207

Nick715 said:

Oh well, I was kind of hoping it was coming this year.

Mark Ronson produced it.

http://www.duranduran.com...s/?p=17207

Its a huge record for Duran Duran, once again in a transition mode. And to me its all about limitations within the band, John Taylor spoke recently and said this was a "return to basics" record, a good statement, but again just a statement. They need to put the words into action, they should do what a-ha did on the "Foot of the Mountain" album, totally go into the studio with members only, record together, and do everything the way you did back when u started, dont bring in help, outside musicians etc...do your own programming etc...there are photos of a-ha in the studio together, around the mic, doors closed no one allowed in. Now doing this isnt easy, because you have the ability at this point to do what you want and then you didnt, but this can be done without sounding wrong and retro, just as "foot of the mountain" was a perfect 10track record beginning to end, thats what Duran Duran really needs since its been a long time since they had a solid record

Best Buy has their album "Astronaut" for 5 bucks. Is it that bad?

[Edited 8/28/10 10:48am]

funkycat00 said:

Best Buy has their album "Astronaut" for 5 bucks. Is it that bad?

[Edited 8/28/10 10:48am]

Astronaut is a pretty good record, and the last album wasnt bad either its just that Duran seems to constantly be in transition with changing members and bringing in studio musicians and various outside sources that the central theme of making a strong concise record gets lost, its like they say "too many hands...etc..." thats mainly the issue, to me there has never been a bad duran album but there have been very very few that are top notch strong.

funkycat00 said:

Best Buy has their album "Astronaut" for 5 bucks. Is it that bad?

[Edited 8/28/10 10:48am]

For fuck's sake I can't believe there are people who still believe that "cheap" means "bad" It's a perfectly fine album, their best since The Wedding Album (1993)

You can buy Bob Marley albums by (usually) 5,99 bucks, does that mean they suck?

Thanks for the news. Unlike a lot of people, I really liked Red Carpet Massacre. I don't like how "Back to basics" sounds. To me, that sounds like they are trying to just recreate what they did in the past by copying their old songs. Time moves on. It doesn't work to try to recreate the past.

I'm not too big on Mark Ronson. I find him very overrated.

I don't see anything wrong with them or any band getting an outside opinion from a producer though. If you try to do everything yourself, sometimes it becomes about ego and you lose objectivity. It's good to have input from other people, provided it's the right people.

I'd love to hear them get back to an earlier sound. It's a sound they grew and matured and nurtured, and it still sounded as fresh and it did familiar. I'm just not a fan of the Timbaland/timberlake production stuff. It's all got that heavy beat, which is fine, but sounds like the same beat over and over. Look at how many different sounds Prince got from one drum machine?! And I really don't like hearing Timbaland or JT on every song from every artist. I also don't want to hear Justin say "wiki wiki wiki" like it's beat boxing or something. It's just horrid. I was reminded of this recently because an outtake from Madonna's Hard Candy album shuffled into play on my iPod. I could not get past T/JT stuff on it. It wasn't a Madonna record anymore.

Gotta give it to Justin though. He poses as a "producer", and ends up getting to duet with everyone, so he suddenly has this long ass resume of "look who I've worked with". But if you compile all those duets/collabs together, it's like a fucking EP. Turn it on, leave the room, come back 40 minutes later - sounds like the same song. All that shit is why Andy Taylor left the band again after they all finally reunited for Astronaut. I can't blame him.

I hope Ronson is able to harness their talent and their sound and bring it back to where it should be. Red Carpet Massacre was truly just that, in some ways. A murder of Duran Duran's music.

Red Carpet Massacre, despite all the controversy and the horrid duets with Timba & JT (Nite-Runner, Skin Divers, Tempted, etc. which would have been good songs for a Timba/JT and Simon Le Bon collaboration, but not for a DD LP) features some songs that are not only modern classics for DD, but also some of the best songs of that year (2007):

-The Valley

-Falling Down

-Zoom In

the rest I can live without...

I hope they don't try to stage another comeback with this album. The last couple of releases have been such flops.

Wowugotit said:

I hope they don't try to stage another comeback with this album. The last couple of releases have been such flops.

Astronaut a flop?? a flop?? Almost two years of non-stop TV interviews, a huge promotional campaign (including TV ads) a Top10 hit single all over Europe and a Nº1 Dance single in the US (Sunrise), a sold-out world tour (small arenas), a second single which was a top12 hit in the UK (What Happens Tomorrow), and nearly 2 million copies sold worldwide...are those the symptoms of a flop?

Red Carpet was a flop, mainly because of Andy's betrayal and the lack of support of Sony (the execs basically panicked after the unexpected flop of Falling Down...)

But Astronaut was not a flop, as a comeback, it was pretty successful...

Wowugotit said:

I hope they don't try to stage another comeback with this album. The last couple of releases have been such flops.

Come back? HA. They never went anywhere. They've consistently released music about every 3 years, give or take. Case in point:

• Duran Duran (1981)
• Rio (1982)
• Seven and the Ragged Tiger (1983)
• Arena (1984)
• Notorious (1986)
• Big Thing (1988)
• Liberty (1990)
• Duran Duran (The Wedding Album) (1993)
• Thank You (1995)
• Medazzaland (1997)
• Pop Trash (2000)
• Astronaut (2004)
• Red Carpet Massacre (2007)

As far as "flops", you'd be dead wrong on that. Of course we'll consider the possible fact of you not liking them, but they were far from flops. 2004's Astronaut's special edition CD/DVD set debuted at #1. The first single debuted at #1. Songs were also used in sports promotional ads, and Simon and John appeared in those spots. The subsequent tour for the album was the largest they'd ever done, and sold out around the globe. They're "come back" in 2004 was really the fact that all five original members were back together for the first time since 1985, but the band itself never left to be able to have a come back.

I think the group (especially Simon) want to have a hit again. They want to work with current producers, but I agree that they should do it on their own. The Timbaland/Timberlake thing didn't work. The bulk of the material was good, but no radio airplay. "Falling Down" was not a good single choice.

Mark Ronson supposedly wants to capture the "Rio" sound. Not familiar with his work except for the Amy Winehouse album. At this point they should just make a solid album and not focus on radio airplay. These days veteran artists make their money from touring anyway.

I agree, they haven't made a bad album in their career. 2000's "Pop Trash" was the one that came close for me. Easily their worst in my eyes.

I'm pretty excited for this upcoming album though, it's been talked about a long time now.

ernestsewell said:

Wowugotit said:

I hope they don't try to stage another comeback with this album. The last couple of releases have been such flops.

Come back? HA. They never went anywhere. They've consistently released music about every 3 years, give or take. Case in point:

• Duran Duran (1981)
• Rio (1982)
• Seven and the Ragged Tiger (1983)
• Arena (1984)
• Notorious (1986)
• Big Thing (1988)
• Liberty (1990)
• Duran Duran (The Wedding Album) (1993)
• Thank You (1995)
• Medazzaland (1997)
• Pop Trash (2000)
• Astronaut (2004)
• Red Carpet Massacre (2007)

As far as "flops", you'd be dead wrong on that. Of course we'll consider the possible fact of you not liking them, but they were far from flops. 2004's Astronaut's special edition CD/DVD set debuted at #1. The first single debuted at #1. Songs were also used in sports promotional ads, and Simon and John appeared in those spots. The subsequent tour for the album was the largest they'd ever done, and sold out around the globe. They're "come back" in 2004 was really the fact that all five original members were back together for the first time since 1985, but the band itself never left to be able to have a come back.

Great work there!

JoeTyler said:

Wowugotit said:

I hope they don't try to stage another comeback with this album. The last couple of releases have been such flops.

Astronaut a flop?? a flop?? Almost two years of non-stop TV interviews, a huge promotional campaign (including TV ads) a Top10 hit single all over Europe and a Nº1 Dance single in the US (Sunrise), a sold-out world tour (small arenas), a second single which was a top12 hit in the UK (What Happens Tomorrow), and nearly 2 million copies sold worldwide...are those the symptoms of a flop?

Red Carpet was a flop, mainly because of Andy's betrayal and the lack of support of Sony (the execs basically panicked after the unexpected flop of Falling Down...)

But Astronaut was not a flop, as a comeback, it was pretty successful...

I don't hold Andy responsible for the less-than-great status of RCM on the charts. The band rerecorded the whole album, so it was basically an album fully without Andy. Andy also was dealing with the illness, and subsequent death of his father, and also being diagnosed w/ clincal depression.

He also really disliked having Timbaland in the studio, and he never participated w/ that. The band/management was supposed to secure him a working visa, and did not do that. They expected him to show up, but there was no way for him to do so. All that coupled w/ the depression diagnosis (which lent to the renewed fighting w/ him, Simon and Nick) - he called it quits. I don't think it was a good idea for them to use Timbaland. It was the producer d'jour, instead of someone who could really add something to their sound that would age well.

JoeTyler said:

Red Carpet Massacre, despite all the controversy and the horrid duets with Timba & JT (Nite-Runner, Skin Divers, Tempted, etc. which would have been good songs for a Timba/JT and Simon Le Bon collaboration, but not for a DD LP) features some songs that are not only modern classics for DD, but also some of the best songs of that year (2007):

-The Valley

-Falling Down

-Zoom In

the rest I can live without...

I loved "Zoom In" and "The Valley" too. I actually liked "Nite Runner" and "Skin Divers".

I thought "Falling Down" was kind of boring. It was a horrible single choice, it fucked up the album's course. They never released a 2nd single.

So many upbeat songs and they led with a somber tune.

Nick715 said:

JoeTyler said:

Red Carpet Massacre, despite all the controversy and the horrid duets with Timba & JT (Nite-Runner, Skin Divers, Tempted, etc. which would have been good songs for a Timba/JT and Simon Le Bon collaboration, but not for a DD LP) features some songs that are not only modern classics for DD, but also some of the best songs of that year (2007):

-The Valley

-Falling Down

-Zoom In

the rest I can live without...

I loved "Zoom In" and "The Valley" too. I actually liked "Nite Runner" and "Skin Divers".

I thought "Falling Down" was kind of boring. It was a horrible single choice, it fucked up the album's course. They never released a 2nd single.

So many upbeat songs and they led with a somber tune.

You know there are two ways to look at things, some want DUran and their favorite artists to get outside help, but alot of times it almost seems "desperate" to be "in" at the time, i think the timblaland/jt thing was a wrong step at this stage, Duran has often had wrong steps at certain stages of their career. I mean the best example would be the huge comeback to "mainstream success" with Ordinary World and Come Undone and to follow that with a "Covers" album?? not that it was a bad record, but who was calling the shots on that one?

As for what transpired with RCM people blame Andy, but come on, there was no need to have a guitar player on that record, and what then would have been Andys purpose, you just all got back together as a band and now a producer comes in that eliminates "instruments"? once again bad call and timing, not so much material to blame but just judgement.

I think overall the band want worldwide success, that is where its at, Astronaut was a success, but i think people tend to just compare everything with your peak sales and then call it a Flop to be cool and use the word, but most people that talk Flop dont even know what worldwide is.

As for the "Back to Basics" thing i dont think its a bad idea, its not trying to re-create, that would be doing Hungry Like the Wolf 2011 mix featuring Lil Wayne, that would be bullshit and selling out etc... but going back to how you created music before, cut out all the excess bullshit and just be a band, its not a bad idea.

I really don't know why they're talking about the "Back to Basics" sound if you consider that Astronaut was supposed to be a "back to basics" comeback in the first place!!

In fact, songs like Sunrise, Nice, Taste the Summer or the title-track sounded like a bunch of (very good) B-sides from the Rio era, produced and mixed with a "fresh" 00s sound...

Maybe this new album will rock really hard, featuring freakout synths, hyperactive drums & funky bass lines, and Simon burning his voice in wild excitement like he did in the early 80s, who knows...

JoeTyler said:

I really don't know why they're talking about the "Back to Basics" sound if you consider that Astronaut was supposed to be a "back to basics" comeback in the first place!!

In fact, songs like Sunrise, Nice, Taste the Summer or the title-track sounded like a bunch of (very good) B-sides from the Rio era, produced and mixed with a "fresh" 00s sound...

Maybe this new album will rock really hard, featuring freakout synths, hyperactive drums & funky bass lines, and Simon burning his voice in wild excitement like he did in the early 80s, who knows...

Well honestly i dont like when bands "go out of their way" to explain the new record, especially when its an artist with a catalog of recordings, so when i hear things like "back to basics" "return to a sound" "the 80's feel" that worries me, i was glad when a-ha starting doing interviews for "foot of the mountain" in 2009 they kept knocking down questions about returning to "synths" on that album, they never spoke about the album while recording, it leaked out that Mark Saunders was in the mix at some point, but he is almost non existent on that record, i think Mark Ronson is all over Duran's record, for some reason Duran have been relying a bit more heavily on Production and changing things up, from Nile Rodgers to Dallas Austin to Timbaland etc..

I'm not worried about Mark Ronson being involved. From what i've read he is a HUGE DD fan and he just wants them to make a classic DD sounding record.. CANT WAIT!!!

I'm taking a seriously wait and see mode. I've heard 30 second snippets of a song or two, and it didn't get me pumped or anything. I'm not the only one who felt that way. Hopefully it will be reminiscent of their early sound.

[Edited 8/28/10 19:18pm]

In the meantime, here's a clip of Duran Duran's version of "Boys Keep Swinging".

It's from the new David Bowie tribute CD.

I hate you all for making me go on a Duran Duran Itunes shopping spree.

sosgemini said:

AlexdeParis said:

sosgemini said:

I hate you all for making me go on a Duran Duran Itunes shopping spree.

You should be ashamed for not already having their discography. If you haven't already, you can compile the American version of Rio thanks to the deluxe edition.

I'm the odd duck fan who preferred Big Thing and Notorious to Rio.

And I only had them on cassette.

sosgemini said:

AlexdeParis said:

sosgemini said: You should be ashamed for not already having their discography. If you haven't already, you can compile the American version of Rio thanks to the deluxe edition.

I'm the odd duck fan who preferred Big Thing and Notorious to Rio.

And I only had them on cassette.

Big Thing is one of the best i feel, played that to death, theres a double version out now with mixes and the b sides from it, but mostly stuff that was on the Duran singles box sets. Outside of that DD is not the strongest of album artists but usually average to good

sosgemini said:

AlexdeParis said:

sosgemini said:

I'm the odd duck fan who preferred Big Thing and Notorious to Rio.

And I only had them on cassette.

I enjoy both of those a good deal, but they can't hold a candle to the big 3 (or RCM) IMO. Pop Trash is the only DD album I would actually call bad. I do like the lead single, though.

i actually liked Pop Trash, it was DD in transition once again, knowing Warren was leaving, not knowing what would happen, i think its alot stronger than Liberty which i think outside of 3 or 4 songs is their worst effort, again not horrible, dd is that band that is rarely great but never bad.

This is great! Hear the full song here.

I bought the single on itunes today.