cornflakeguy

As a 20 year long Duran Duran fan...and...not much of a fan of their last album...I'm looking forward to this one produced by Mark Ronson.

The clips I've heard sound like they are making an effort to sound 80's new wave. Whether its contrived or genius remains to be seen. But it has to be better than the CD produced by Timbaland.

It's on iTunes Dec 21st, and CD in Feb 2011 with a few more tracks. Woot!

dvduser6

Cool. Always interested to hear what they do with each release. Is Warren back in the band again?

cornflakeguy

Oh, no.

He was kicked out unceremoniously. I'd admit that. But when Andy came back in 2002 there wasn't room for the two. Now Andy quit again, presumably over the Timbaland involvement last album, so they have a fill in.

gmanca

Hmm, are there any samples, perhaps from their site? I did like Night Runner but the CD was awful and so was Astronaut IMO. I do look forward to this one though, for as you mentioned they seem to be intent on bringing back the 80's new wave style.

And yeah, that wasn't cool how they ditched Warren.

brokenhanger

I loved 'Astronaut' but thought that 'Red Carpet Massacre' was possibly the worst album of their career - and there are a few contenders for that title! There are some 30-second clips that Mark Ronson has played on radio shows floating around out there and they sound incredible. The video for the title track should be ready soon according to the band, so we'll know how it turns out soon!

I do love how they're giving us a version early and then the physical later.

statcat

I don't think DD has released an amazing album since Rio. I don't have my hopes high honestly. Red Carpet Massacre was like a desperate attempt to be hip with the new generation.

Didn't Andy leaving have to do with the unreleased album they recorded before RCM?

gmanca

I'd say their last was Notorious; Big Thing was the start of the decline and The Wedding Album was a positive bump on the road. That's not to say they have done some amazing work in spots, like My Antartica and Serious from Liberty or Pop Trash Movie and Lava Lamp from Pop Trash.

I would love to hear that unreleased album; the band was "done" with it but Epic wasn't happy and wanted them to work with Timberlake and Timberland. That's when Andy left or was kicked out, depending on who you believe.

jdslater1

Ronson has said that DD went wrong after Rio! He see's this as the next album after Rio.
I have heard about 30 seconds and while not the perfect way to hear a new song I really like it. Got a very 80s feel and I cannot wait for the new CD.

Numanoid

I guess I'm alone in that I think Red Carpet Massacre was great. Astronaut, however, is absolutely cringe-inducing. Still, excited to hear they're going retro.

gmanca

I think it's two thoughts at work here; if you missed the club-new wave style that was big on the first two albums, tracks like My Own Way and Friends of Mine, then yeah, I could see how the rest of the albums lose their way.

But in general, I don't think they ever forgot what made them as it was always there throughout their albums, just that it diminished at times. They still put out great stuff here and there throughout the years though.

And yeah, the new song sounds pretty good.

I think it was having Timberland produce some tracks, a known grifter of music, and when I heard Falling Down, it sounded just like Another Day in Paradise which turned me off. I really did like Night Runner; that was a very modern way of doing 80's style pop IMO.

statcat

I think they did big time by 1983 at least. They started having a backup band/singers and they were huge especially with teen girls. It wasn't ever the same after that. I missed the early DD circa 1981-82. A kind of similar thing happened with U2 in a way minus the cringe worthy backup group.

Daytripper

WOW!!!! Ronson NAILED it. This sounds VERY promising!

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=jDRlxpfsJaE

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=gTI78szTA_M

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=nsplz...eature=related

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=d3s5k...eature=related

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=cKz_Y...eature=related

jdslater1

I was at a Mark Ronson gig in London in September and they had Nick and Simon on stage for two of his songs from the new album. THEN John and Roger came out and they played Planet Earth and Girls on Film and they sounded great together so I'm really liking where all of this is heading.

I also think it's safe to say that no matter what album you "hate" there will always be 1 or 2 tracks that you will love!

gmanca

Just heard All You Need is Now and I'm enjoying it and disappointed by it simultaneously; the chorus is amazing and I love the atmosphere around it and the last 2:30 of the song is really the key part of the song. It keeps that chorus beat and lushness for a great finale.

But it's the first few verses that are completely incompatible that ruin it IMO. It's all subdued and melody doesn't match the chorus; it's really like two songs put together.

<object width="480" height="385"><param name="movie" value="http://www.youtube.com/v/OemjHPhQRGg?fs=1&hl=en_US"></param><param name="allowFullScreen" value="true"></param><param name="allowscriptaccess" value="always"></param><embed src="http://www.youtube.com/v/OemjHPhQRGg?fs=1&hl=en_US" type="application/x-shockwave-flash" allowscriptaccess="always" allowfullscreen="true" width="480" height="385"></embed></object>

Numanoid

^ Yeah, I don't know. Seems more Astronauty and less Red Carpet Massacrey...which is not a good thing to me.

jdslater1

I had it on repeat and listened to it about 20 times while playing Black Ops!
The chorus is great, really uplifting but you are right. Does feel like 2 songs.

But very cool they released it early and for free. They have my money for the digital and real versions of the new album.

MANBREASTS

This is very good!

cdollaz

The 9-track version of the album is now "out there."

Dan1boy

Yes, it certainly is. And at 320kpbs.

nothingfails

I have not loved a Duran Duran album this much since "Big Thing". I'm not one of those people who hates latter DD as I think every album (yes, Red Carpet Massacre and Pop Trash too) have had moments of brilliance, but this is the Duran I loved as a child.

brokenhanger

On first listen, this sounds fantastic and a great return after the career-low of 'Red Carpet Massacre'. Can't wait for the tour!

edstein

I'll wait for the Amazon mp3 deal of the day for this one.

Numanoid

Listened through the albums a couple of times now. Doesn't "wow" me the way Red Carpet did, but all the songs are at least decent, and several are simply great. I think "The Man Who Stole A Leopard" is not only the best track on the album, but one of the best in Duran's entire catalogue. Very 1981 retro, but oddly much more of a Visage/Ultravox sound than a vintage Duran sound. I also like Being Followed quite a bit. I'll report back after several more listens since with most albums, early favorites tend to get replaced by growers.

nothingfails

I think its cool to meet a DD fan who liked Red Carpet Massacre. I have two friends who have been hardcore Duranies since the early 80's who thought that album was offensively bad.

brokenhanger

Here are some thoughts after spending last night with it:

- 9-tracks is the perfect length for this album. No matter the quality of the remaining 3 ("Mediterranea" is also out there and it's quite good, not sure about the other two), it's going to suffer the same fate as 'Astronaut' and be too long. Shame.
- The opening 3-song run of "All You Need Is Now"/"Blame The Machines"/"Being Followed" is Duran perfection and even though the rest of the album is quite good, it doesn't reach those heights again.
- A bit of borrowing from their past in terms of melodies - "Being Followed" recycles some of the chorus melody from "Shadows On Your Side" while "Before The Rain" is a straight up "Chauffeur" re-write. The former is a clever nod, the latter is a bit distracting.
- "Safe" could be an outtake from Girls Aloud's 'Tangled Up', especially Ana Matronik's rap. I mean that as a compliment.
- While the sound of early Duran is certainly there, "Girl Panic" is the only track that really captures the off-the-handle energy of their early singles - it's very much what I imagine "Girls On Film" or "Planet Earth" would sound like updated for 2010.

Not perfect, but I am very, very happy with it. I truly wish that the CD was only going to be 9-tracks, though - I guess that's what iTunes playlists are for.