On December 21, 2010, Duran Duran dropped their new album entitled All You Need is Now. The last Duran Duran album, Red Carpet Massacre, spawned one of my all time favorite songs Nite-Runner, and the concert was just as fantastic. The concert was full of their classics, songs off the newest album and included a stunning rendition of The Normal’s Warm Leatherette (which Alan Wilder also included in his most recent concert). The fact that it fell on my 38th birthday back in 2008 just added to the overall excitement.
Since I enjoyed Red Carpet Massacre, I definitely had certain expectations for this new album. I was very anxious to hear the evolution of the Duran Duran sound. Are they going to continue on with the RCM sound, or maybe go back a little to Astronaut? I started to read the reviews before I listened to the album myself, and so many out there say that this album really dips far back and recalls the Duran Duran of old. And you know what, they’re right. I think Duran Duran hit the target when they teamed up with producer/DJ Mark Ronson.
“We all wanted to get a little bit more experimental with this record. We wanted to reconnect with fans, on the territory on which the band, and Mark Ronson who is the producer, felt we should own. And that was this kind of modern synth, dance, experimental, pop music,” (Simon) Le Bon told Reuters.
from ABC News article “Duran Duran Goes Forward on New Album by Going Back“
Some reviews say that this new endeavor sounds like the Rio album, but I think it fluctuates between the first self titled white album and Seven and the Ragged Tiger. If there is a song that sounds like it would be taken directly off of the Rio album, it would be Runaway Runaway. It’s so happy and bright that you can almost call it Rio Part 2. I do hear their more current vibe in Leave a Light On, which really reminds me of Falling Down or Ordinary World.
But when I listen to the songs Blame The Machines and Being Followed, I hear twinges of Faster Than Light and Sound of Thunder. I hear I Take the Dice and Crimes of Passion in the title track All You Need is Now and Girl Panic!. I miss this Duran Duran sound. This is what I fell in love with back in the 80’s and I’m glad that they decided to reach back and recapture that sound that they crafted so well.
All in all, I really love this new album. This album will definitely get heavy rotation in my iPod and in my car. Cheers to Duran Duran for knowing that you can still move forward even if you look back a little for inspiration.