DD's re-emergence onto the popular scene

It's always funny to read the mainstream reviews for your favorite artists, and how they make not so ancient hits (Big Thing) sound like they happened decades ago. After a short hiatus, the boys returned to the airwaves with yet more proof that they had some staying power.



Just before the album was released, the band performed 'Orindary World' live on NBC's The Today Show, and I was enthralled. After the ho-hum of the single 'Too Much Information', I was blown away by this song's simplicity, and its depth. And the follow up 'Come Undone' was equally beautiful and powerful. So I went out and purchased the album.



Half of the album I flat out don't like - songs like 'Shotgun' and 'Femme Fatale' are just filler, and others are just mainstream pop blather, lacking in real creativity and interest. But then there are songs like 'Love Voodoo' with its pervasive bass and catchy hooks, and the penultimate power track, 'Sin of the City', which, when clustered along side the singles, make this album a must-have for fans of Duran Duran.



Is it as good as previous DD albums? No. And I don't think it's as good as their newest offering, Astronaut. But its an excellent album nonetheless.

I hesitate to use the word "comeback"

As is the case with many Duran Duran albums all of these songs are good. Femme Fatale was annoying but that's the exception. This is why its dangerous for me to listen to their songs, I get hooked.





Too Much Information--The chorus says "Destroyed by MTV, I hate to bite the hand that feeds me". It's about consumerism. Simon says it's about "partners in crime" which I thought was an interesting way of putting it, acknowledging both the pathetic nature of media while also admitting the fact that it boosted their career. Great song. Catchy and full of sharp insight. Well, obvious insight but still, stated in a witty way.





Ordinary World- I think this was even more loved in its time than Come Undone and it is great. Not very catchy or upbeat, and I don't like the tune as much, but the lyrics are beautiful and uplifting.



Love Voodoo---Not as good as some of the others but freaky. A toss-up.



Drowning Man- I actually thought the lyrics of this song were very interesting (and I had a sense of dejavu actually) which is why I got hooked on the song. I believe that if you like the lyrics of a song enough that's really all you need. But that just might be me. Anyway it reminds me of this piece this girl once did for Speech when I was in high school about this guy who made a living by putting on a show each day where he'd pretend to be a "drowned man". I say this because the song is really freaky and includes lots of background vocals that conjure up the image of a man drowning (which is the metaphor of the song, basically anyway but the background vocals in DD's songs are always great). Also, I think I know who the drowning man is and it's interesting.



Shotgun-Not about riding in the passenger seat, which I assumed when I first saw the title. So take a wild guess what its theme is. Only 54 seconds. I like it all right. Sounds Quentin Tarantino-ish to me for some reason.



Come Undone-Classic. One of their best. Great lyrics. Great music that has that sound that makes it seem as if you're hearing it while underwater and this goes along with the video that takes place in one of those aquarium rooms with a woman singing underwater (something I wouldn't actually think you'd want to try). But it's a beautiful song.

It's played on the radio still. It's that song "Who do you need, who do you love when you come undone".





Breath After Breath--Most of it is in another language but the chorus is in English. It's a beautiful song, doesn't sound at all like Duran Duran. The lyrics are great. The words "Alone we live and die, we love and fight. Breath after breath we carry this mortal coil" says it all for me. I don't think it's an attempt to "sound" multi-cultural (people are always claiming about how DD tries to sound sophiscated and tries to deal with topics they couldn't understand and I've heard that in reference to this song) to me when you consider Duran Duran's been drawing in other cultures into their music since the early days. And it really fits the message of the song which seems to me to be the one way in which we are all alike.



UMF---Funny song. I figure I know what the title stands for, the acronym being edgy without going over, I think.



Femme Fatale--Don't like the tune but the lyrics are pretty good. Written by Lou Reed.



None of the Above---Very hopeless feel to the song. About not believing in anything. Tune is passable. Words really stood out for me.



Shelter---Pretty good tune. Lyrics are pretty good too. Average.





To Whom It May Concern--The beginning reminds me of Crank-Yankers with the dial tone and the "Telephone call for Mr. Bones" said in a cartoonish way. But the rest of the song I liked.



Sin of the city----Catchy melody. For some reason I really like if even if it could have been less blatant in getting across its message. My favorite line is "brands happyland hazard, close down but no. No one every paid him no mind" because though this is not the kind of sentence you'd read in a newspaper it conjures up those crazy, incoherent headlines and I think that might be the style DD was shooting for with the verses.





So overall, this is a great collection. It's one of the only albums of Duran Duran that I think people can admit to being a success (even if it's grudgingly). I have read people slam it (critics?), even taking a jab at Come Undone and Ordinary World which pretty much kills their credibility in my mind. That is just not cool. They went overboard there. Even if you don't think either of those two single songs are brilliant, they're still very good. I mean, I don't know how you could expect any more from a song than what you get from those two. You can say you don't care for it (hey, there are lots of songs that could be absolutely brilliant but mean nothing to me) but to knock it just makes no sense to me. I hesitate to call this a comeback album though because though it helped Duran Duran regain success, they'd still been around for years before this and I felt that their earlier albums were very good as well. It helped bring them back in the public's eye (favorably perhaps) so in that way the word "comeback" does fit. I'd call this record "proof" that they have talent.

One of the Most Underrated Albums of the 1990s

As the synth-pop sound began to fade in the 1980s, many artists either reinvented themselves or found the themselves falling into obscurity. Bands such as Tears For Fears were very successful at changing their style. Tears For Fears had incredible success with a synthesizer based sound, but as they entered the 1990s, they successfully produced a more "natural" sound. Duran Duran originally didn't make such a change. Duran Duran were the darlings of MTV and radio in the early and mid 1980s. However, the band began to undergo some lineup changes and they didn't readily make such a change to produce something new and exciting. Duran Duran started the decade like gang-busters but late 80s albums such as "Notorious" and "Big Thing" were mediocre. From a synth-pop angle they weren't nearly as strong as the early 80s work. By 1990 their next album "Liberty" was a flop. This put Duran Duran in an unlikely position in 1993 - having to make a comeback. And boy do they ever make a comeback with "Duran Duran (The Wedding Album)". This album might be one of the most underrated albums of all time and should have even gotten Album of the Year consideration.



What made "The Wedding Album" such a great album? I think you have to go back to the late 80s when Duran Duran was undergoing lineup changes. When drummer Roger Taylor and guitarist Andy Taylor departed, musicians were needed to supplement them for the "Notorious" album. Enter Missing Persons alumni Warren Cuccurillo. Cuccurillo would take guitaring duties for Taylor. He would tour with the band, but played a studio musician role in the band for "Notorious" and "Big Thing". Cuccurillo had played with Frank Zappa and Missing Persons and had a different style - a more experimental and edgy style than the rest of Duran Duran. He became an full fledged member of the band for the "Liberty" album. Duran Duran was still very much out of focus due to business problems with the label, so "Liberty" bombed. The band then took three years to re-focus and put together what could be considered a radical departure from the synth pop days - "The Wedding Album".



It's clear that Cuccurillo's had a big influence on the band with this album. He helped to introduce many different elements that haven't been seen before. This includes a more natural guitar sound, rap and funk elements, and stronger lyrics - all not seen on a Duran Duran album ever. This is also the first where we hear of the very unlikely Duran Duran - Lou Reed connection (again thanks to Cuccurillo via his Frank Zappa Days). There is a terrific cover of Velvet Underground (Lou Reed's band) "Femme Fatale" and Duran Duran would later cover Reed's "Perfect Day" on their "Thank You" collection.



The first two songs "Too Much Information" and "Ordinary World" bring a more natural guitar sound. You wouldn't think this was the synth-pop band from the 1980s. "Too Much Information" starts out with the appropriate words "Destroyed by MTV..." (which seems appropriate by 1993 when they were making a comeback). There are some terrific lyrics that deal with advertising blitz in our society. "Ordinary World" and "Come Undone" show that Simon Le Bon can still belt out a great tune. "Come Undone" features background vocals by one of the best studio vocalists in the business - Tessa Niles.



The fourth track "Drowning Man" has a bit of a fused jazz-rock introduction. The song then progresses into a rap - and it works terrific. The song then has a heavy dance beat. Duran Duran had started out as an underground dance band and now it seems they have come full circle, but now do it with an updated sound. The fifth track has a major funk influnce - "Shotgun". It is less than a minute long, but it sounds almost like a Prince tune. Again, the band pulls this off perfectly. The eighth track is "UMF" is a combination of funk and rock. Again Duran Duran seems to come full circle with their roots - but 90s style.



There are signs of the old Duran Duran. "Love VooDoo" kind of reminds me of the "Notorious" days - not a bad song, but not great. "The song "None of the Above" might be a dark song of despair, but a catchy one. The interesting part is how it opens with some of the classic vocals you've heard from Simon Le Bon - "I am myself Alone.."



Duran Duran does something really different in the song "Breath Under Breath". This song opens with some keyboards and Le Bon's ballady lyrics. The song then has a segue into a Spanish-like guitar sound that is eventually followed by some vocals in Spanish. This is terrific stuff - and again a far cry from the "Hungry Like the Wolf" days.



The last two songs on the collection have a loose segue between them. "To Whom It May Concern" has a sound that easily fits in with the alternative rock trends that were starting during this time. However it is the catchy last song "Sin of the City" which is by far the best track in the album. It wraps the album up beautifully as it incorporates the rock, funk, darker lyrics, and even some of the old Duran Duran sounds into one package. This song could have easily burned up the dance floor in the clubs.



Finally the liner notes are very original. They are arranged to look like a scrapbook and each page is a work of art. It does production credits and some of the lyrics difficult to read, but it is by far one of the most original liner notes I have ever seen. This is one terrific collection. I think the deep Duran Duran fan will appreciate it and I also think Duran Duran gained a new fan base with this new direction. Highly recommended.