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Post by Horacewimp on May 3, 2016 9:17:38 GMT
Duran Duran are an English new wave/synthpop band formed in Birmingham in 1978, for this weeks …of the week I have selected some of the lesser know songs off their first two albums.
Their debut album “Duran Duran” was released in 1981 and followed by a more commercially successful album “Rio” in 1982, other than the singles these are my prime cuts from these two albums.
Anyone Out There
Careless Memories
Friends of Mine
Sound of Thunder
To the Shore
My Own Way
Lonely In Your Nightmare
The Chauffeur (Nudity in Video May Offend)
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Post by jrmugz on May 3, 2016 20:54:18 GMT
HW, dude, you are so stuck in the 80s man! Ha ha. OK, looking forward to giving these guys a whirl (except for the last one, thanks for the warning!!! ). Will be good to get familiar with some of their non-hits, the same treatment I gave to The Knack, the other week. Jim
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Post by Chippa on May 4, 2016 18:53:53 GMT
I know Duran Duran, but never heard any of these songs. I'll try to get at them ASAP.
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Post by Chippa on May 7, 2016 21:16:01 GMT
Anyone Out There – Wow, this is definitely a blast from the new wave era. The vocals sound like the Duran Duran we all know and love, but the music is like A Flock Of Seagulls or Kajagoogoo….not that that’s a bad thing.
Careless Memories – Very catchy. Even the mechanical sounding drums add to the song, rather than detract from it.
Friends of Mine – Not bad. Sounds like a song that should have been a hit.
Sound of Thunder – They really loved the electronic sound, didn’t they? The song itself doesn’t have enough hooks to make it interesting.
To The Shore – Almost a Bowie-like feel on this one. Probably the most Duran-esque song, so far.
My Own Way – The mechanical drums which were so effective on “Careless Memories”, actually ruin this song.
Lonely In Your Nightmare – Take away the vocals, and this could possibly have been a Pretenders song.
The Chauffeur – Hot girls in the video! Damn, that adds a point or two to the song….heh. The song itself isn’t interesting. But I liked the scantily clad ladies.
Overall, this set of songs gets a 6/10. I prefer Duran Duran’s later work (aka the hits), but these songs were an interesting look into the band’s early years.
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Post by 88keys on May 8, 2016 3:47:35 GMT
A batch of fine songs!
The Great The Chauffeur...LOVE this one! Careless Memories To The Shore
The Good Lonely In Your Nightmare Sound Of Thunder Anyone Out There? My Own Way
The Ok Friends Of Mine
None of these songs are duds. Duran Duran are one of the greatest bands of the 1980's!
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Post by Chippa on May 8, 2016 19:03:56 GMT
Is anybody else getting the feeling that interest in"...Of The Week", is beginning to wane?
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Post by jrmugz on May 9, 2016 2:10:10 GMT
Sorry for the delay, HW. 01. "Anyone Out There" - Instantly catchy. Not the most exciting chorus, but overall the song works pretty good. 02. "Careless Memories" - Solid 80s rocker. 03. "Friends of Mine" - Most engaging track so far, really like the chorus, great stuff! 04. "Sound of Thunder" - Really like the lush keyboards, throughout, makes it the most colorful track so far. 05. "To the Shore" - Best vocal one yet, unique arrangement, good stuff. Like the inspired guitar. 06. "My Own Way" - Nice aggressive musical arrangement, convincing chorus, about leaning on one's own resourcefullness, is the message that I get out of it. 07. "Lonely in Your Nightmare" - Aggressive track, unique lyrics. Nice beat and rhythm. 08. "The Chauffer" - Respectfully refuse not to play, do the the warning, which I appreciate! Star Rating 4.2 out of 5 Prime Cuts: "Sounds of Thunder", "Friends of Mine", "To the Shore", "My Own Way" Bottom Line: Solid basic album, that laid the groundwork for their more famous works. In general, Duran Duran doesn't remind me of Men at Work, but for their debut album tracks, I am reminded of Men at Work's debut album quite a bit. The "Rio" album definitely seems more aggressive than their first. Whatever happened to DD, are they still an active band? What is your personal favorite album of theirs? Thanks for sharing HW, we nice to get more familiar with Duran Duran's stuff! Will mark you down for the next open slot! Jim
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Post by jrmugz on May 9, 2016 2:12:28 GMT
Is anybody else getting the feeling that interest in"...Of The Week", is beginning to wane? Sometimes I get that feeling, but then people come through towards the end of the week. For me personally, with the busy-ness, it seems to be getting harder and harder to be punctual, but I am always happy to play and review the stuff. Guess we can keep the train going and talk about ways to tweak it, etc. Jim
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Post by Horacewimp on May 9, 2016 18:50:23 GMT
Whatever happened to DD, are they still an active band? What is your personal favorite album of theirs? DD are still going Jim, touring (large UK venues) and releasing new material and albums, members have left and then rejoined, they are still a great live act last time I saw them some band called The Scissor Sisters were supporting, what happened to them. My favourite album is their first self titled release, apart from the tracks above it also had on it the hit (UK) singles, Planet Earth and Girls on Film, I saw them live just as they released this album they were great it was a rock type concert with a great audience. Roll on a year later they had released the Rio album and gained massive fame, saw them again live and the audience had completely changed lots of screaming girls, ruined the night. The only funny thing was two of my friends were called Simon and Andy and so when the girls kept screaming Simon (le Bon) and Amdy (Taylor) they kept answering saying yeah what do you want. Another album I like is Dark Circles by The Devils this was released in 2002 it is actually the very original DD line up before Simon Le Bon joined, it consisted of Nick Rhodes, John Taylor and Stephen (TinTin) Duffy on vocals, the album was made after they found an early 1979 concert recording of the songs.
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Post by unomusette on May 9, 2016 18:53:32 GMT
Anyone Out There - Snappy little number with the DD sound all over it. Some interesting guitar work, a cut above the average pop song and totally dance-able in that hilarious New Romantic way we were all guilty of now and again back then Careless Memories - Great stereo effect when it kicks off, it doesn't mess about and I like the aggressive vocals. The bass sound reminds me a bit of something Spandau Ballet might have done, suppose it was more a prevailing effect then. Some neat dramatic drumming too, good 'un. Friends of Mine - Moody intro building up into a meaty stomper. Bit too much keyboard on it for me, I can imagine a video involving robots or clones or something. Goes on longer than it ought to, I feel. Sound of Thunder - Some nice lively bass and drums on this, not keen on the background keyboard sound though. It does grow bigger as it goes along though (oo-er!), it would probably appeal more with repeated plays. Better than Friends of Mine, definitely. To the Shore - Whispery intro and is that backwards drumming? Interesting smoocher. Only just avoids outstaying its welcome though. My Own Way - Back to more classic Duran territory, as the chorus begins I recognise it too. Can imagine it going down a storm at lots of school discos "Clattery" is the word which springs to mind. Lonely in Your Nightmare - Interesting smooth bass sound on this, the whole song is much less noisy than My Own Way. Although it does wind up a bit as it progresses. The Chauffeur - I have feeling that the video is what might have made this song popular. On its own it does drag rather. These early albums are bound to sound hugely of their time, DD were one of the most iconic bands of the '80's and pioneered a lot of the trademark music. It was good to reminisce and recall some of my giddy youth, not that I was ever a huge fan but they were just everywhere in that era. Later they proved they weren't just a flash in the pan and came up with some really good stuff, not to mention they still sell out the enormo-dromes. I'd give this collection 5 out of 10, but would mark their later work probably higher. Thanks for sharing Horacewimp, you Blitz Kid, you
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Post by unomusette on May 9, 2016 18:57:48 GMT
Is anybody else getting the feeling that interest in"...Of The Week", is beginning to wane? I do think it's less popular generally than it was. For me, there is usually some pressure to fit it in but I get there in the end, it does force you to listen to something you might never have heard otherwise.
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Post by jrmugz on May 11, 2016 20:31:27 GMT
Whatever happened to DD, are they still an active band? What is your personal favorite album of theirs? DD are still going Jim, touring (large UK venues) and releasing new material and albums, members have left and then rejoined, they are still a great live act last time I saw them some band called The Scissor Sisters were supporting, what happened to them. My favourite album is their first self titled release, apart from the tracks above it also had on it the hit (UK) singles, Planet Earth and Girls on Film, I saw them live just as they released this album they were great it was a rock type concert with a great audience. Roll on a year later they had released the Rio album and gained massive fame, saw them again live and the audience had completely changed lots of screaming girls, ruined the night. The only funny thing was two of my friends were called Simon and Andy and so when the girls kept screaming Simon (le Bon) and Amdy (Taylor) they kept answering saying yeah what do you want. Another album I like is Dark Circles by The Devils this was released in 2002 it is actually the very original DD line up before Simon Le Bon joined, it consisted of Nick Rhodes, John Taylor and Stephen (TinTin) Duffy on vocals, the album was made after they found an early 1979 concert recording of the songs. Thanks for all of that information HW, interesting stuff. Yeah, I can see where liking the first album best, since a little less flashy. ha ha Jim
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Post by queenofthehours on May 16, 2016 16:26:35 GMT
Careless Memories – Despite liking Duran Duran I don't really know much about their music (other than the big hits) but this sounds just typical of them. You could imagine the kids down at the New Romanic disco dancing to this.
Friends of Mine – This reminds me of Spandau Ballet but more synthy and darker yet the guitars keep it from being a fully synth track.
Sound of Thunder – I like the drums here, this sounds like a proper Duran record
To The Shore – This reminds me a little of Public Image ltd or at least a glossy Depeche Mode. I didn't know Duran could sound so different from themselves.
My Own Way – This sounds more like traditional DD to me though - less cold and detached and more yacht rock.
Lonely In Your Nightmare – This one sounds as if DD are channelling early New Order.
The Chauffeur – Again rather dark and New Order-y and very electro.
I really like DD and have the Rio album on LP but have never listened to it. It's interesting to hear some of their work since I've never got around to hearing anything other than the singles yet. I keep thinking of them alongside Spandau but after hearing these tracks I can now tell they are two quite different bands.
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