RPMbassy | 5 Diamonds and a Dud - Duran Duran

[@theadventuresofjimmycrapol8827]

FACT: Electric Barbarella was the very first song ever to be sold online. Bowie sold a song on line just a week later.

[@TheAstradyne]

I agree fully with your "dud" review of "Seven And The Ragged Tiger". However the album finishes with the superb "Seventh Stranger". A live version of this is included on "Arena".

[@ILSRWY4]

Arena was on CD before 2004... because I got my CD copy (which I still have) in 1989 or 90 without the bonus tracks. It was re-released in 2004 as a REMASTER on CD with bonus tracks.

[@MissNovemberTuesday]

My original copy of Arena came in a longbox.

[@winstontk]

This was very interesting. Some really good comments here. I was glad you mentioned Pop Trash. For me, that album was horribly overlooked. The Wedding Album is pretty classic as well and perhaps should have been given at least a nod. But otherwise, some very good choices indeed. Thank you for this.

[@chathamcrescent]

For me, Rio is their absolute number one! It is one of the most iconic albums of the 80s. The hits you mentioned, plus “Save a Prayer”, are their best works, IMO. I’m surprised you didn’t have on your list of great ones my second favorite, which would be Duran Duran (The Wedding Album) of 1992. “Ordinary World” and “Come Undone” are AMAZING. Definitely one of the best comeback albums in music history! I saw Duran Duran live in 1984-I have always loved them and I always will!

[@johnlopez3996]

There are actually three versions of "Hold Back the Rain" that were released from each remastering. The 2003 remeaster has the song starting with John's bass parts, and the overdubbed bass plucking is higher pitched. The US version has Nick's synthesizer/sequencer parts opening up the song and the overdubbed bass plucking is at a lower pitch. The third version starts with Nick's synthesizers/sequencers, and several lyrics are gone before heading to the chorus. The problem with Arena is that Roger Taylor's hi-hat and cymbal contributions were poorly recorded, and you can't really hear them. There is an alternate version of "Midnight Sun" that is much longer and has Steven Alexander handling the drum duties. It has more of Warren's playing as well.

[@CentraloTagoKiwi]

Wow, Seven is an iconic album. I literally have a "moment" just looking at the cover alone. Love Adam Ant too, would love to sit down and discuss these things with you. The early '80's were so amazing for guys our age.

[@rpmbassy]

Yes would love too

[@DeanWThomas]

This is a great video and I’m glad I stumbled across your channel. I’ll definitely be checking out more of your videos, especially the ones on Duran Duran. I really can’t believe that you don’t like seven and the ragged tiger. I would recommend giving that a couple full spins because you have to be missing something. Just my opinion.

[@andrewswatland4622]

Electric Barbarella is a brilliant track. Nice with the nod to the character from the film that gave the band their name 👍🏻

[@ronfarney6477]

No no no seven is a epic awesome amazing album 🎉🎉🎉 I don't agree luv New moon union the reflex shadows and crime and passion 😮😮😮

[@Juststartingout768]

WHat do you make of the new version of New Moon on Monday?

[@astronaut2005drummer]

Yes, I agree with your top 5. Big fan of DD here, since 1981!

[@wmlau69]

I am on the fence with “7 and The Ragged Tiger”. I love the 3 singles like Reflex, New Moon and Union. There were some songs that seemed just very derivative like “Cracks in the pavement”, “Shadow on Your Side” and “ I take the dice”.

[@andreahomer9434]

Patrick Nagel's artwork is incredible. My Own Way was on the original Rio album. My top five: 5. Notorious 4. Duran Duran (81) 3. Danse Macabre 2. Rio 1. Seven and the Ragged Tiger

[@scotta4527]

yes My Own way was on the original release, I loved it then and still do!

[@andrewswatland4622]

Careless Memory is often overlooked, which is a shame, because it is a great rock track. It really moves down the road. Driven by Andy Taylor 👏🏻👏🏻

[@frankwaria2268]

yes MY OWN WAY was on the RIO album.....but it was a slow versio where as the single version was much faster

[@andrewmacdonald135]

My Own Way was track 2 on side 1 of Rio. Really surprised Notorious was not on the list.

[@italoblu]

Waiting for a Medazzaland remaster.

[@jasonfrye1565]

LOVING the Culture Club T!!! Boy and Club were my favs b4 dD!!

[@jasonfrye1565]

Absolutely love this one!! You gonna be in NYC on Halloween for Duran Duran?? 🎃 would love to say hello!! Cheers 🥂

[@ttwii]

I was expecting the 1992 Wedding album at NO.1 😮. Cant believe the double rio album sold for £10.

[@flyjet787]

Totally agree on your top 2! And 7 & the Ragged Tiger was appalling! I remember as a High Schooler feeling embarrassed for the group. I was also really disappointed as I was a massive fan at the time (and remain one today)!

[@heatherdougan8420]

Is There Something I Should Know is also on the first album . That had big commercial success. I especially like Roger’s drumming.

[@markreville6917]

That was a stand alone single release only not included on any album and released after the single "Rio" and before "Union Of The Snake".

[@mariofrias2227]

@@markreville6917 In the United States, after Rio exploded into the charts, Capitol Records repackaged the first album with a new cover and replacing To The Shore with Is There Something I Should Know? This was done to keep the band active in the American market while they finished Seven and the Ragged Tiger.

[@tatjanapopovic2413]

@@markreville6917

[@tatjanapopovic2413]

Actually, Is There Something I Should Know was added on to the first album’s re-release in Japan. My friend bought a copy in Germany.

[@markreville6917]

@@tatjanapopovic2413 Oh, that's interesting. I wasn't aware of that. Thank you.

[@fenrisulv66]

I'v (got a lot of time on my hands) and made a complete list of every song on KZbin and aranged them afte how many times they have been played. Then I count them from every album to see how the albums would line up. (if an album had 9 songs I would devide by 9, and so on) Here are the top 5: 1: RIO 2: Duran Duran 3: Notorious 4: Seven and the Raged tiger. 5: Papergods Sorry if my spelling is not on point.

[@tad030]

My current top 5 5. Future Past 4. Seven and the Ragged Tiger 3. Notorious 2. Duran Duran '81 1. Rio The Dud: While there are few that I could mention here, I'm going with 'Red Carpet Massacre' I personally don't think that live albums should be considered here; only studio albums. That said, I think that Seven is underrated. It had the impossible task of being the follow up to Rio and it's no surprise that it isn't as good, but there are some great tracks here. I think that 'Crime and Passion' and 'Shadows on Your Side' are both excellent. Shadows should have been a single, and 'The Seventh Stranger' I think would have been a huge hit as well. Furthermore, I think the album features some of Simon's best lyrics. Future Past is the album I've been wanting DD to make for years now. It's just a great record - it straddles the line of being classic Duran and modern at the same time. My only gripe is that there are too many tracks (welcome to the era of deluxe editions) and I don't think that the Moroder tracks really fit with the rest of album. I would have much preferred those tracks be released separately, but I assume that they were contractually obligated to include them. That said, the upside of living in the 'deluxe edition era' is that you can easily parse together your own 9-10 track version of the album and pretend that the other tracks are b-sides. My own 10-track version of the album would put it higher in the rankings if my version had been the official version, but alas, it's not. I think the other 3 albums on my list all speak for themselves. My only gripe with Notorious is that 'Hold Me' should have been a single, and that 'Skin Trade' is not as good as the band think that it is (sorry guys, it's just not a hit in my book!). All of that said, I must comment on Paper Gods. For me, Paper Gods was such a huge letdown after AYNIN. After RCM I had all but given up on Duran Duran. AYNIN was at least an attempt to reinvigorate the band by bringing the band back to their roots. PG, like RCM felt like it was trying too hard to be trendy and I feel like what make Duran special was a bit lost on the record as a result. But again, with the deluxe edition and Target exclusive, one can cobble together a decent 9 track album. Cinderella Ride is also one of the best DD tracks ever and it's a shame it wasn't on the core album.

[@sebastianmalagrino]

I don't really like Notorious because I was very disappointed when it came out. I share your ranking, but mine would be 1- RIO, 2-Seven and the Ragged Tiger 3- Arena, 4-Duran Duran 5- Astronaut 6- Future Past 7- All you need is now

[@kray97]

My top 5: 1. Duran Duran (1981) 2. Seven and the Ragged Tiger 3. Rio 4. So Red the Rose 5. Notorious

[@bassatnight]

A slower remixed version of my own way was on the original 82 UK release.

[@Phovhan]

Props to Medazzaland - not a bad track on it, but quite 'experimental'. But I do like Thank You, I seem to be in a minority! Re the first album - I have to agree, it's brilliant. Their duds for me were Red Carpet Massacre and Pop Trash.

[@markreville6917]

The Arcadia album was what Seven and the...ought to have sounded like. Duran records tend to be over produced like the aforementioned Seven and the latest, Future Past. The most enjoyable records to listen to are Notorious and Liberty, not necessarily because they contain great tunes, but because of the excellent production on both by Nile Rodgers and Chris Kimsey, respectively. Stripped back sound, you can actually hear the instruments clearly. On many Duran recordings the opposite is the case.

[@GeorgiaPapadakis-ug7mr]

Le Bon said the problem with Liberty was that it was so overproduced

[@markreville6917]

@GeorgiaPapadakis-ug7mr I tend to disagree. There's a lot going on but you can hear it all clearly, unlike other material such as "Electric Barbarella".

[@Juststartingout768]

@@markreville6917 Hey don't blame me. Le Bon was the one that said it when he was promoting one of his subsequent albums. When you said you can hear it clearly, isn't that to do with the mastering process and not the production?

[@markreville6917]

@@Juststartingout768 I'm not blaming you.😀 I'm sure the quote is accurate. The overall sound is formed entirely in the production and recording process. I don't really know what mastering is. You see old albums being reissued with the description "remastered" but they sound exactly like the original recordings.

[@Juststartingout768]

@@markreville6917 Mastering in its simplest explanation is ensuring that all the levels are the same. It would not be good to have one song that is at one level and the next song comes on and blows your speakers. Similar to that is mixing. They are the guys that find space in music so that all the instruments can be heard. Here is an example. Have you ever listed to some music that starts with something simple like an accoustic guitar and singing. Then the music comes in and somehow the guitar disappeared. It is all about frequencies. Remember from physics they taught intereference, light plus light equals darkness which is why when someone drives towards you with their full beam, if you put your beam on you can see again. Sound is the same. It is a definite skill. Guitar and vocals often occupy similar low-mid frequency ranges that can lead to muddiness so a good mix will manage the EQ process to create space between the two instruments so that the vocal sits on top of the guitar. But remember there are maybe 20 other tracks all simulataneously vying for space. Election Day, the Arcadia song, took 6 weeks to mix. Hope this helps. Oh, as for the old songs being remastered, there is a logistical reason for that. In the old tapes the songs were recorded on tape. Tape disintegrates over time. Often you have to bake it just to get a reading from it and save the original recordings. This is a good look at how they saved Sgt Pepper. Sometimes they remix it to sound modern. Or for different markets. Hungry Like The Wolf was remixed to suit the American market. Sometimes they are remixed just to release them again. This often happens when the album is 35 years old because that is when the copyright reverts back to the artist. kzbin.info/www/bejne/m2XIXpWXhtmKrrM

[@POPStudioAcademy]

I LOVE Paper Gods big time! It was not milked and marketed well at all! but I think they should have put their faces on the cover and all those sitckets inside, the album may have sold better, to remind audiences, especial new ones who they are and what they look like.

[@robertm8380]

There is another rare album before the original duran duran with Andy Wickett as lead singer and a different version of Girls on Film from two albums Girls on Film 1979 Demo and Dream of Your Cars you can find it on barton and nobles online store or you can find the songs on KZbin

[@rpmbassy]

Thanks for the info. Didn’t know that. Super excited :)

[@christianhelwig]

My Top 5 are: Duran Duran (81), Rio, Duran Duran (93), Medazzaland, All You Need Is Now. The worst? I always struggle between LIberty and RCM. Not a fan of Paper Gods or Future Past.

[@TheNightBadger]

Worth mentioning that Arena was released at the same time as the concept video 'Arena', a making of video of the same, and a tour video 'Sing Blue Silver' featuring some live scenes taken from live shows featured in Arena and aired as a concert on MTV called 'After the Lights Go Down' (and used in 'The Reflex' video). They got _a lot_ of mileage from that tour! I also think there was a noticeable drop between Rio and Seven. At that point they kind of became more of a singles band in the eyes of critics (with good reason). I also don't like 'Union' much - odd choice as their post-US success 'comeback' single, when the previous one 'Is There Something I Should Know' had gone straight in at number one, and was much more overtly poppy. It feels like the album was rushed (as evidence by the had-potential-but-needed-an-overhaul 'Reflex').

[@rpmbassy]

Thanks for the comment and loads of great facts that I can use in the future. :)

[@MrFoxy125]

All you need is now is way better than Paper Gods.

[@ianreidford4602]

BIG DD fan. Dud album by far imo was Thank You. 7 & The Ragged Tiger, Big Thing & Liberty were pretty terrible too, as were the side projects of Arcadia and The Power Station. Thank You was that bad I actually returned it to shop for refund. Only track that was semi decent was the cover of Perfect Day. Strange choice of covers and for me they massacred White Lines. Agree with your #1, #2 choices. Paper Gods is a good album, unsure if its Top 5 for me though. Surprised you put Arena & Meddazaland in Top 5 with better albums like Notorious, Astronaut, Red Carpet Massacre and Future Past to choose from.

[@rpmbassy]

Hey Ian, thanks for the message. I did have a few choices for the worst album but 7 came on top. Totally agree with your other bad album mentions. I wasn’t a fan of notorious or astronaut. A few good songs on each but not albums I would listen to very much at all. The Arena album input into my top 5 as it’s an album I listened to a lot and with meddazaland I loved the direction they were going with the sample heavy tracks. Electric barbarella is an outstanding track. I also do love RCD and Future Past but haven’t listened to them as much as the others. I’m sure over time these two albums will creep up my chart. I should revisit my DD top 5 in the future and see if anything has changed. What do you think?

[@markreville6917]

The original version of "My Own Way" was vastly superior to the re-recording which sounds turgid.

[@mariofrias2227]

I felt Arena was over produced. The band was trying so hard to prove to their critics they actually played their own instruments, it came at the expense of the excitement that comes with a live show. I prefer the audio release of As The Lights Go Down to be the definitive recording of the 1983/1984 tour.

[@GeorgiaPapadakis-ug7mr]

Better revisit it. The band have often said My Own Way. was their worst song ever. It was a single but they dislikednit sp much they remixed it for the album As for your duffer? Go listen to Crimes and Passion! And then revisit John Taylor's duff

[@heatherdougan8420]

I would suggest listening to The Seventh Stranger on Seven and the Ragged Tiger. The lyrics are fantastic.

[@markreville6917]

Couldn't agree less. Le Bon's lyrics tend to be obscure but on that album they were completely impenetrable.

[@heatherdougan8420]

@@markreville6917 I’m only referring to The Seventh Stranger, not the whole album.

[@markreville6917]

@@heatherdougan8420 ...but the lyrical content of that track is typical of the rest of the record. The Reflex, for example. How are we supposed to interpret that? Having said that, he has improved as a lyricist considerably on subsequent recordings. You can now understand and make sense of what he's singing about - for the most part.

[@robingassen9392]

I just stumbled on your page! I love you reviews, however, I have to disagree with your dud on this one. Seven and the Ragged Tiger I thought was superior to Rio (with the exception of Save a Prayer-my all time favorite song). Also, the concert was awesome as well!

[@sebastianmalagrino]

When I saw that your first two favorite albums were Paper God and Meddazzaland, a weak album, and a horrible album, I realized that you were going to destroy one of Duran Duran's best and most successful albums. You can't say it's a Flop because you didn't like it, Meddazaland, Pop Trash, Red Carpet Massacre and Thank You were flops.

[@robertmazzolai5068]

Music is personal and rating Seven and the ragged tiger a dud......,REALLY 😂😂😂😂

[@markreville6917]

It's a dud alright - bar one track, Union Of The Snake. They lost their way creatively around that period although because hugely successful commercially.

[@Speed.Racer.5]

Paper Gods and All You Need is Now are both fantastic albums and underrated IMO. Thank You and RCM are their worst. RCM actually has a few good songs, but the production is awful.

[@sqmilenews7052]

Nice post, but at the end of the day (according to your top one and two) Duran Duran have been getting worse and worse. Interesting.

[@mariofrias2227]

I felt Arena was over produced. The band was trying so hard to prove to their critics they actually played their own instruments, it came at the expense of the excitement that comes with a live show. I prefer the audio release of As The Lights Go Down to be the definitive recording of the 1983/1984 tour.