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March 21, 2011

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Duran Duran have said that the making of their 2007 album Red Carpet Massacre - produced largely by Timbaland - was a "fucking nightmare".

The band told The Quietus that the pairing was their record company's idea.

Guitarist John Taylor said: "That whole project was a fucking nightmare. We delivered an album to Sony that was a natural-sounding, almost rock album and they were like, 'We need something a bit pop, do you fancy doing a couple of track with Timbaland?'"

He added: "Around the same time we fell out with Andy [Taylor, the band's former guitarist] so the Timbaland stuff sounded hugely different from what we'd done before."

Keyboardist Nick Rhodes admitted that there was a communication breakdown between the two parties.

"When Timbaland saw the guitar and the bass and the drums come in to the studio, I think he was mortified because everything’s in a box for those guys," he said. "But I'm really glad we made that album, because in time I think it will stand up."

[Edited 3/21/11 9:57am]

some of the songs on there were cool

Identity said:

"When Timbaland saw the guitar and the bass and the drums come in to the studio, I think he was mortified because everything’s in a box for those guys," he said. "But I'm really glad we made that album, because in time I think it will stand up."

[Edited 3/21/11 6:38am]

Embarrassing.

Other than hearing Timbaland's voice on a couple of the songs, I liked the album.

^ Me too.

Because Timbalands hard beats and weird 80's sound at that time suits me best in the type of music I like, I didnt mind the song at all. NIte Runner was tight in my opinion. However it DID NOT go with the rest of the album, so I can see where the controversy begins.

timbaland is shite , all his shit sounds the same

what he did with Chris Cornell was an abomination too

i don't get those sell outs who 'work' with him

[Edited 3/21/11 11:37am]

paisleypark4 said:

Because Timbalands hard beats and weird 80's sound at that time suits me best in the type of music I like, I didnt mind the song at all. NIte Runner was tight in my opinion. However it DID NOT go with the rest of the album, so I can see where the controversy begins.

yeah I love night runner, sky riders was also good

The article title is misleading.

Seems the suggestion and process of the collaboration bore some friction. And I'd buy this, given two very different approaches to music making.

But if Nick Rhodes' comments represent the band's overall sentiment, there appears to be respect from Duran Duran for the artistic outcome.

[Edited 3/22/11 11:28am]

I love DD but these comments anger me. If this album were coming out tomorrow instead of AYNIN they would say "it's an album we're extremely proud of" or something like that.

There were some really good tracks on it, but it bombed. Don't be mad at Timbaland, be mad at the assholes who decided to make "Falling Down" the lead single.

Stevie Nicks has done that too. Why bad mouth something you've done? Let it go and move on to the next album.

Nick715 said:

I love DD but these comments anger me. If this album were coming out tomorrow instead of AYNIN they would say "it's an album we're extremely proud of" or something like that.

There were some really good tracks on it, but it bombed. Don't be mad at Timbaland, be mad at the assholes who decided to make "Falling Down" the lead single.

Stevie Nicks has done that too. Why bad mouth something you've done? Let it go and move on to the next album.

I agree.It's strange the way some artists badmouth their album after it flops...lol...if it had sold 10 million copies,I bet they wouldn't be talking like this,lol.

Nick715 said:

I love DD but these comments anger me. If this album were coming out tomorrow instead of AYNIN they would say "it's an album we're extremely proud of" or something like that.

There were some really good tracks on it, but it bombed. Don't be mad at Timbaland, be mad at the assholes who decided to make "Falling Down" the lead single.

Stevie Nicks has done that too. Why bad mouth something you've done? Let it go and move on to the next album.

Yeah i agree to some extent, i never hated the album but it lost me quite early, which almost has never happend with a DD record. But i dont like the "throwing your work under the bus" shit. I agree on the Timbaland front, he wasnt right for this because of the timing of getting him into the picture, Andy's exit had alot to do with things too, I mean when i heard that Timbaland was doing it i thought it was wrong from the get go, if you are a band why are getting someone that doesnt believe in "bands" who's call was that to get him? was it a commercial decision? was it a label pushing them to do it? Im often suspect of comments like these and their context and who is publishing the comments. As far as the singles choices, nothing on this record stood a chance because it was done on its release, Sony was finished with them, it put the record out the worst time of year to release a record, it fell through the cracks quicker than a new Seal album, and it just didnt have enough (to me) strong material to go with.

^I still think they would've had a moderate hit(s) with "Nite Runner" or "Skin Divers". Remixes and all that shit.

"Falling Down" was so somber as a 1st single. It also didn't represent the album's sound at all!

Nick715 said:

^I still think they would've had a moderate hit(s) with "Nite Runner" or "Skin Divers". Remixes and all that shit.

"Falling Down" was so somber as a 1st single. It also didn't represent the album's sound at all!

I also think the "badmouthing" is very suspect and might be "jacked up" to sell the article more. I think as an artist you will always find imperfections with anything, especially those from back then, now they tend to more praise their work as the best thing ever created, so its a strange thing. DD has on occasion took shots at their albums, "Liberty" being overproduced "Thank You" being a poor timed album, "pop trash" being possibly the end of the line, so i think more with bands you will see this. When i recently read the a-ha book "swing of things" which is about 400 pages in depth track by track interviews etc...of all their work over 25 years, i came away thinking "did these guys like each other ever"? but the more i read it, heard interviews, and got the fuller picture you see things a bit different.

It seems that these 4 members of DD really like each other. Andy is another story.

I liked that album A LOT back in 2007/2008

now I can only listen to The Valley, Falling Down and Zoom In, and even Tempted if I'm in the mood for modern disco/club songs...

the album sounds terribly dated now but I guess that in 2007 it was a good idea. 3/5, a decent album for the 2005-07 years. Dated, but not bad at all...

But there's one thing that pisses me off: John, Nick and Simon were happy with the album, proudly sayin' that Timbaland "updated" the DD sound for the future, that the "rock" album with Andy, Reportage, was uneven and blah blah, but now that RCM has proven to be an ultimate failure without any hope of redemption, they are basically shitting on Timbaland. Whatever

first class example of cynism...

that said, all is forgiven, since their new album sounds like the logical sequel to Astronaut... too bad that Andy couldn't stand so much bullshit...

Timbaland only worked on a couple tracks. It's mostly Danja.

At any rate, it's a fantastic album. It's probably my favorite DD album behind the first 2 and All You Need Is Now. The bonus track was the best thing they'd done in 15 years.

what's the bonus track from RCM? i've heard about Cry Baby Cry, but not sure if that's it. I like RCM a lot and want to know what the "deluxe" version consisted of. (i'm being kinda lazy, but...help!!). i guess i'll give All U Need Is Now a try.

SoulAlive said:

Nick715 said:

I love DD but these comments anger me. If this album were coming out tomorrow instead of AYNIN they would say "it's an album we're extremely proud of" or something like that.

There were some really good tracks on it, but it bombed. Don't be mad at Timbaland, be mad at the assholes who decided to make "Falling Down" the lead single.

Stevie Nicks has done that too. Why bad mouth something you've done? Let it go and move on to the next album.

I agree.It's strange the way some artists badmouth their album after it flops...lol...if it had sold 10 million copies,I bet they wouldn't be talking like this,lol.

Wow what a 180 change of opinion! I don't get the blaming of the record company and miscommunication. For a group who has been in the biz for more than 30 years, it comes across as if they had no say in the project and wasn't even in the studio. That's weak! I still support them, altho my fandom is subdued, but those sentiments make me wonder why they released it, if they weren't truly proud of it. It wasn't that bad, but it didn't seem like a complete project to me. I liked half of it.

[Edited 3/22/11 10:38am]

[Edited 3/22/11 10:39am]

Take it for an artist to blame a label and producer for an album's failure. Uh, you guys are Duran Duran, your career's lasted 30 years by this point, not everything's gonna be a success. But I do plan to see if their album will be out in stores when I go out next week because I will be picking it up if it's there.

datdude said:

How the hell did I overlook this album?

Timmy84 said:

Take it for an artist to blame a label and producer for an album's failure. Uh, you guys are Duran Duran, your career's lasted 30 years by this point, not everything's gonna be a success. But I do plan to see if their album will be out in stores when I go out next week because I will be picking it up if it's there.

Yeah and again im going to quote Paul Wakktaar Savoy, from a-ha, he said in the book "Swing of things" about their 1992 album "Memorial Beach" being their first album to sell under a million worldwide, he said "Everyone always blames the promo or the label or the singles choices, its the natural reaction instead of just saying, that one didnt sell like the others"

lastdecember said:

Timmy84 said:

Take it for an artist to blame a label and producer for an album's failure. Uh, you guys are Duran Duran, your career's lasted 30 years by this point, not everything's gonna be a success. But I do plan to see if their album will be out in stores when I go out next week because I will be picking it up if it's there.

Yeah and again im going to quote Paul Wakktaar Savoy, from a-ha, he said in the book "Swing of things" about their 1992 album "Memorial Beach" being their first album to sell under a million worldwide, he said "Everyone always blames the promo or the label or the singles choices, its the natural reaction instead of just saying, that one didnt sell like the others"

Paul's right.

Nick715 said:

It seems that these 4 members of DD really like each other. Andy is another story.

Oh trust me the guys in a-ha like each other, i mean to go out on that last tour worldwide, you couldnt fake that at all. But their differences were major in just the way they create, strong egos and opinions which is in most bands, but in DD its a little tougher because Nick and SImon tend to supply the most of the work, in a band like a-ha, they all write all do solo albums and all have quite different views of music, so its another form of creative differences, but you cant hate each other and stick with it 30 years, money is good and all, but after awhile i think you might say i cant deal with this person check or no check

lastdecember said:

Nick715 said:

It seems that these 4 members of DD really like each other. Andy is another story.

Oh trust me the guys in a-ha like each other, i mean to go out on that last tour worldwide, you couldnt fake that at all. But their differences were major in just the way they create, strong egos and opinions which is in most bands, but in DD its a little tougher because Nick and SImon tend to supply the most of the work, in a band like a-ha, they all write all do solo albums and all have quite different views of music, so its another form of creative differences, but you cant hate each other and stick with it 30 years, money is good and all, but after awhile i think you might say i cant deal with this person check or no check

Simon and Nick are like brothers. John has clashed with them many times due to musical differences (7&RT, Liberty, Thank You) but I'm sure they are also like brothers. Roger left the band in 1986 due to the "was it all worth it?" syndrome & extreme fatigue but he and the band remained close friends.

Andy is another story, yes. A guy with a huge ego, some nasty family issues and other personal problems... where is he now? I wonder...

JoeTyler said:

lastdecember said:

Oh trust me the guys in a-ha like each other, i mean to go out on that last tour worldwide, you couldnt fake that at all. But their differences were major in just the way they create, strong egos and opinions which is in most bands, but in DD its a little tougher because Nick and SImon tend to supply the most of the work, in a band like a-ha, they all write all do solo albums and all have quite different views of music, so its another form of creative differences, but you cant hate each other and stick with it 30 years, money is good and all, but after awhile i think you might say i cant deal with this person check or no check

Simon and Nick are like brothers. John has clashed with them many times due to musical differences (7&RT, Liberty, Thank You) but I'm sure they are also like brothers. Roger left the band in 1986 due to the "was it all worth it?" syndrome & extreme fatigue but he and the band remained close friends.

Andy is another story, yes. A guy with a huge ego, some nasty family issues and other personal problems... where is he now? I wonder...

yeah those issues have to be there, unless you are just a puppet in a band and have no input, thats not bands from those days, and with careers, you have to fight, some of the best bands ever, clash ALOT, it doesnt mean they dont like each other, its like they say the person who loves you the most also hates you the most.

lastdecember said:

JoeTyler said:

Simon and Nick are like brothers. John has clashed with them many times due to musical differences (7&RT, Liberty, Thank You) but I'm sure they are also like brothers. Roger left the band in 1986 due to the "was it all worth it?" syndrome & extreme fatigue but he and the band remained close friends.

Andy is another story, yes. A guy with a huge ego, some nasty family issues and other personal problems... where is he now? I wonder...

yeah those issues have to be there, unless you are just a puppet in a band and have no input, thats not bands from those days, and with careers, you have to fight, some of the best bands ever, clash ALOT, it doesnt mean they dont like each other, its like they say the person who loves you the most also hates you the most.

the ironic thing is: RCM features a lot of guitar parts (played by that unofficial new guitar player), lol Andy shouldn't have quit.

JoeTyler said:

Andy shouldn't have quit.

According to his autobiography, Andy quit the 2nd time because of problems with the band's management (the last straw having to do with them not getting him a permit to work in the US) and that he doesn't get along well with Nick.