Get this limited edition before it's gone!

This reissue of the classic Duran Duran album has arrived in perfect time as all the original group members are back together and touring for the first time in over a decade. Hearing this recording will take you back to your youth or if your younger it will get you familiar with one of the most popular British pop bands of the 80's. This cd has all the great songs you remember, the smash hits, "Reflex", "New Moon on Monday", and "Union of the snake". And even several awesome songs you probably have'nt heard in 15 years like, "Cracks in the Pavement" and "the Seventh Stranger". If your a fan of Duran Duran or of classic 80's rock you MUST get this cd!

Has two really good songs, a few catchy hits and some filler

Great album. Better than I thought it would be. Some poor songs but for the most part, a B+. I've read that the band has had second thoughts about this one, particularly Simon and Nick, and I don't know why they have a problem with New Moon (the video apparently, and I think also the song), but oh well. Simon apparently doesn't know what he was thinking when he came up with the title and the overall concept and Nick has said that he's decided to just call it "the third album". Despite all of this, it's not really a bad album at all.





The Reflex---No, there is no "fle-fle-fle-fle-flex". This is the original, not the remix. I like the remix much better but this one I've gotten used to. I find this song very amusing. I knew what it was about from the very start. I tried to convince myself otherwise, unsuccessfully.



New Moon on Monday---Good song. I like the way it sounds. I like the video even more. Very interesting video. Very interesting title. I love the first verse for some reason.



Cracks in the Pavement---Annoying song that paints the picture of a very disturbed man. Read the lyrics for yourself on the internet. The tune is annoying but the lyrics are funny. It has one of those lines that everyone makes fun of, "I don't want to be in public, my head is full of chopstick, I don't like it". It doesn't make sense but I don't think it's supposed to. And I like it.



I Take the Dice---One of their best upbeat songs, I believe. It's got a real Las Vegas feel to it with the sound of clinking change and "the roll and the crash". For some reason it reminds me of Rio, the attitude not the tune. It's got this sort of desperation to it and it seems to fit with the attitude of the band at that time in their career, the chance and the luck.



Of Crime and Passion---Dark song. I think it's interesting and the tune isn't that bad. The lyrics are very weird.



Union of the Snake---Very simple song that loses some credibility because of the poor verses, however I read that it's about being afraid that your subconscious mind is going to take over and that's the snake. Interesting idea but the lyrics only vaguely give this impression, specifically in the chorus. The video though is brilliant if you keep this interpretation of Simon's in mind.



Shadows on your Side---Another annoying song. I like the second verse the best. The first one I don't like because it's a blatant reference to the band. I like obscure lyrics better. Chorus is kind of annoying too. I love the ending.



Tiger Tiger---Purely instrumental. Very cool. Very jazzy feel, as I see it.



The Seventh Stranger---One of the best songs on this album. It's a ballad and it's a pretty tune (though at times grating for some reason) but the lyrics are very beautiful. Seven is such a meaningful number which the song does make a hint at "Some days are strange to number, some say the seventh sounds a little bit stranger, a year of Sundays seems to have drifted right by, I could have sworn in one evening". Great song. Along with The Reflex, New Moon on Monday, Union of the Snake and I Take the Dice, this song helps make the album.



So the two best songs on here are I Take the Dice and The Seventh Stranger I believe, though The Reflex is quite good two.

The catchy hits are The Reflex (not nearly as good as the remix), New Moon on Monday and Union of the Snake. But don't buy it for the hits because you could just get Decade for that which actually includes the better The Reflex (remix), along with all their greatest hits up till '88, though it excludes New Moon. Greatest is good too (it includes New Moon) but some of the songs are chopped up to fit the time limit (not the hits from this album though, I don't think). Anyway, 3 and a half stars.

Nice artwork, too bad about the record...

Really, I don't like this album much, but the repackaged CD with lyric sheet and photos missing since the original release on vinyl put back in are pretty fun. Buy this version if you're a fan of the band.



My Original Review:



The Third Album was supposed to be the triumphal, world-conquering follow-up to "Rio". Instead it comes across as over-produced smarmy pop with an overblown title and bad cover art to boot. This is the one D2 album I hardly ever listen to. "The Reflex" is a promising start, but fair warning, the album mix is distinctly different from the Nile Rodgers produced single remix that hit #1 on the charts. "New Moon On Monday" is okay, but then the tracks descend into insincere pop inanity. "Cracks in the Pavement" and "I take the Dice" are pure pablum filler. Side one grinds to a close with "Of Crime And Passion", a song trying so hard to be edgy it ultimately spins off the 'ol turntable. "Union of the Snake" is solid chart material, the strongest song with a solid Bowie bass beat, excellent percussion and some good horn work. "Shadows On Your Side" comes off as an overdone uptempo number that seems to get to the chorus inside of 10 seconds and repeat it every 30 seconds thereafter. The band finally take a breath and stretch their creativity on "Tiger Tiger", an evocative instrumental number that leads in to the big finish "The Seventh Stranger", which is one of my favorite ballad/atmospheric numbers from the band, and Andy Taylor's guitar solo theme work is gorgeous. The album ends abruptly, far short of it's intended goal. This album needs a serious "Director's Cut" style updating from Nick and Simon to bring it back to respectability. If they had included the "Is There Something I Should Know" single, the outstanding B-side "Secret Oktober" and the remixed single version of "The Reflex" they might have had something. Buy this version only if you have to have it to complete your collection.

ONE OF THE GREATEST ALBUMS OF ALL TIME

THIS IS ONE OF THE GREATEST ALBUMS OF ALL TIME. ALL THE SONGS ARE GREAT EVERY SINGLE ONE OF THEM. THIS GREAT ALBUM SPAWNED 3 GREAT SINGLES - THE REFLEX, NEW MOON ONMONDAY, AND UNION OF THE SNAKE. ALL OF THE SINGLES WERE MASSIVELY SUCCESSFULL. THIS ALBUM WENT PLATINUM SELLING OVER A MILLION COPIES. THIS IS ONE OF THE GREATEST ALBUMS OF ALL TIME. ANYONE WHO LISTENS TO THIS ALBUM WILL QUICKLY SEE WHY DURAN DURAN ARE ONE OF THE GREATEST BANDS IN HISTORY. DURAN DURAN ARE LEGENDS AND SUPER LEGENDS. THEY ARE TIMELESS WHO ARE GROWING INPOPULARITY YEAR AFTER YEAR, DECADE AFTER DECADE. I HIGHLY RECOMEND THIS GREAT ALBUM. THIS GREAT MASTERPIECE SHOULD BE IN EVERYONES COLLECTION.

the best album of the 1980s!!

I saw Duran Duran live at the Roxy this week, and though they didn't play any songs off this album, they still ROCKED!! "Seven and the Ragged Tiger" is everything you want in a pop album: great vocals, smart lyrics, awesome guitars. This album is even better than the overrated "Born in the USA" by Bruce Springsteen, who isn't anywhere near as talented as Simon LeBon and Nick Rhodes. Duran Duran are awesome and I really love this album!!

Why don't you use it?

This album rocks. Plain and simple. From the catchy "New Moon on Monday" to the mysterious "Seventh Stranger" to the original version of "The Reflex", this album shows Duran Duran's style slightly more matured than the first two albums. By the time this album was released they were riding a wave of global popularity. I wish "Seventh Stranger" had been released as a single, but they chose to go with the more radio-friendly, upbeat songs. I also would have liked to hear "Cracks in the Pavement" as a single, just for the line "Now I'm saying this in private/If I had a car I'd drive it (insane)"!

This album also gets bonus points with me for the eye-candy cover photo, they were certainly looking their finest (and hottest) on this one! :)

This is another must-have for any fan of 80's music!