duran duran RIO

could be the atmosphere sinking
oooo i don't know what you're thinking
i don't even know what you're drinking
but it keeps this heaven alive

https://www.ilxor.com/ILX/FullTextSearchControllerServlet

^^^ greatest quatrain in rock history

i get along fine with them friends of mine but you have to make a choice
singing out of tune but the beat's in time when it's us who makes the noise

A dialogue between ego and alter ego

I'm drinking 7UP! Between 6th and Broadway! 7UP! Between 6th and... Broadway

but seriously it's Lonely in Your Nightmare

the clouds all scatter and we ride the outside lane

boring choice? "Save A Prayer."

pretty looking road i try to hold the rising floods that fill my skin

i've never heard this yes album

it is poised halfway between drama and let's dance

PUBLIC FIG-YAH

Impulse vote is "The Chaffeur" but I'll need to rescreen this one for sure, was in heavy rotation in the Broccoli household ca. 82-83

swim seagull in the sky towards that hollow western isle
my envied lady holds you fast in her gaze

Hmm, this is tricky. Might have to crank up the ol' vinyl copy and see what I'm feeling. Kind of leaning towards the title track.

I was absolutely obsessed with this album and Duran Duran when I was about 8 or 9. My first big rock concert was the 7 and the Ragged Tiger tour in Worcester, MA.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=CW-gdyJJBII

I know this much, Hold Back The Rain is not the correct choice.

went with "The Chaffeur"

but seriously it's Lonely in Your Nightmare

― erry red flag (f. hazel), Thursday, May 3, 2018 6:50 PM (three hours ago) Bookmark Flag Post Permalink

it just might be

though maybe i’ll vote for “new religion”

'Last Chance on the Stairway'

Runners up: all of them apart from 'My Own Way'

Superb album, goes without saying that it's leagues ahead of their debut, but they fell off a cliff just as quickly on the following album.

Hungry like the wolf

Yet another poll that ends in six months.

I love all of these songs. If there is a one true objective answer out there, it's probably The Chauffeur, or Hungry Like The Wolf, or Save A Prayer, or Rio.
But my vote went to Last Chance On The Stairway as it speaks to me the most.

I've seen them only once, in 2008; amazing show, it included an 'electroset' where they all stood next to each other behind synths, playing electro-versions of several songs segueing into another. One of those was Last Chance (others were All She Wants Is, I Don't Want Your Love). Loved, loved loved that segment.

One of the greatest albums ever. Agree with every word of that Turrican post, although I'm slightly torn between Stairway and Rain

Turrican otm

I want to talk about the use of bass and keys on this album

what insane alchemical brilliance did they discover, and why isn't it on any of their other records

it sounds like hearts fluttering

Probably blow Tbh

If you have not heard the isolated bass track from "Rio," go do so immediately.

Among bass players that line is legend; it gets mad respect from people who you wouldn't think would dig DD. (Curiously another song like that is "In a Big Country.")

As a tween I didn't know how much of the song's awesomeness quotient came from the nimbleness of the bass playing. Discovering this was like stumbling across a cargo cult or something.

It isn't hard to hear the isolated bass - I'm listening now and there it is, carrying everything brilliantly. What's harder to work out is how they came up with those keyboard parts

Hell even My Own Way is sounding great today

my own way rules

a fabulous karaoke number

only duran karaoke i’ve done is “girls on film”

surprisingly difficult

I wish "Vertigo (Do the Demolition)" appeared on karaoke lists

Simon otm about the "My Own Way" chorus not "living up to the promise" of the verses.

what insane alchemical brilliance did they discover, and why isn't it on any of their other records

Japan's Quiet Life and Gentlemen Take Polaroids, iirc.

But yeah, I know precisely what you mean, a lot of the things I like about Rio (and even the highlights of the debut) are either dialled down or absent on Seven and the Ragged Tiger. A lot of the Rio tracks are very bass driven, and there's plenty of energy and pleasant keyboard sounds, and there's nothing heavy-handed about the production.

Listening to that oral history with all those Brummie accents (esp. Nick's), I'd forgotten that these guys weren't from London.

april showers get out of my way or save it for the morning after

Simon otm about the "My Own Way" chorus not "living up to the promise" of the verses.

― morning wood truancy (Alfred, Lord Sotosyn), Friday, May 4, 2018 6:21 AM (five hours ago) Bookmark Flag Post Permalink

no you're thinking of "planet earth"

so what are the differences between the various versions of the song "rio"?

Must admit, Turrican is on the button --- Japan is the root, albeit both share a conduit back to Roxy Music. And 6 month polls are a sure way to find somebody trolling their own thread.

"The Chauffeur" was such a striking track for its day,,, that video was one that can still be viewed alone for its artistic presentation,,, and likely so impactful, that its sheer inertia provided a wake for so much other fodder to ride upon.

When i finally got past the initial infatuation and actually started listening to the record, "Lonely in Your Nightmare" became a fast fave.

It's between those 2,,,, Rio, Prayer, and Wolf will vote well but should be tossed to the once-a-decade playlist.

voted the chauffeur as it's the only song on the album I like

great song tbf

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=EON3DnBbflQ

Ordinary World was my introduction to Duran Duran. Just after it came out I the Decade compilation which I played obsessively. When I got round to buying the albums a bit later, it was really exciting to hear the singles that didn't make Decade (Careless Memories, My Own Way, New Moon On Monday). At first My Own Way just seemed so fresh as it was new to me, many years later it's still one of my favorite songs of theirs. I love the single version with the ridiculously over the top strings and the faster tempo too. It's a shame the band don't seem to rate it highly. I wouldn't really change anything about this album. Lonely In Your Nightmare is probably the least essential song here if I was forced to pick.

I voted for Last Chance On The Stairway. I think it's the best thing they ever did. It's such a beautiful summary melody with some really incredible guitar playing from Andy. Obviously, like all the songs here, the bass playing is pretty special too. Even Simon gives a good vocal performance. Would have been a good choice if they'd needed a fifth single.

Even though I can understand why people think they went downhill after the first two albums, I still get a lot from the next two. Some really great album tracks on those albums along with the singles (American Science, Shadows On Your Side, The Seventh Stranger, Winter Marches On). Big Thing and Liberty are where the quality really dips for me.

Whenever I hear the title track, I remember waiting in a car in a McDonald's parking lot in what must have been the summer of 1983 with a 'Return of the Jedi' souvenir glass, and hearing it on the radio and thinking 'how is it possible that music can be this good'?

otm

i think there's a lot to be said for early-years programming; i was raised on this and it is me and i am it

that said i can't listen to it and wonder how the hell Rhodes and Taylor worked out their synth and bass parts; it is extremely amazing & advanced pop composition. was it just loads and loads of cocaine tho

*figure out, not wonder. i always wonder

syncopation between synth and bass on this record is unreal yes. the guitars are also all amazing cf. "my own way"

my brain produces dopamine instantly any time i focus on that synth blinking just beneath the surface of "hungry like the wolf"

yeah the guitars are perfect too, but they're like the adornments on top of this monstrously great architecture

yes like northern lights flaring over a complex arrangement of stars

yes!

"it means SO MUCH TO ME like a birthdayyyyy or a pretty view"

has anyone sung total nonsense more convincingly than le bon on this record

tbf I think that line is intended as sarcasm, cf. "you're about as easy as a nuclear war"

not enough meaning being conveyed for me to read intention into them

This is the greatest album in pop history. Y'all can't believe how uncool it was to proclaim it in 1991.

Don't think coke had entered the picture yet btw

yeah seven and the ragged tiger is a coke album if i've ever heard one, rio considerably less so

iirc rio was no. 1 on britney spears' ballot for vh1's 100 greatest albums of all time countdown, and that is absolutely the reason i bought it

Just read John Taylor's memoir. Though it is light on music detail, it's evident that they took their craft seriously and were working toward a particular sound. That sound was partly in the air (from funk and disco) and partly something they invented.

It was a very particular, irreproducible moment, when the technology and the culture and taste came together to produce a work of almost-nonchalant genius. They look like they're all very handsome and they are having a good time while wearing their girlfriends' blouses, sure.

But the music was, and is, made with care. And it is transcendently awesome. Alfred otm.

The journey from the title track to "Last Chance on the Stairway" is like experiencing The Waves.

This is the greatest album in pop history. Y'all can't believe how uncool it was to proclaim it in 1991.

Well, Big Thing and Liberty were consecutive terrible albums so 1991 was a low point. They got their cred back in 1993 with Ordinary World and Come Undone though!

Don't think coke had entered the picture yet btw

― Patriotic Goiter (Alfred, Lord Sotosyn), Wednesday, 2 December 2020 17:54 (thirty-nine minutes ago) bookmarkflaglink

this explains a few things

iirc rio was no. 1 on britney spears' ballot for vh1's 100 greatest albums of all time countdown, and that is absolutely the reason i bought it

― mellon collie and the infinite bradness (BradNelson), Wednesday, 2 December 2020 17:56 (thirty-seven minutes ago) bookmarkflaglink

so does this

If you put Too Late Marlene on side 2 of Big Thing, that may be my favorite single side of a Duran LP

Liberty I haven't heard apart from "Violence of Summer" and "Serious," the latter of which is good.

iirc rio was no. 1 on britney spears' ballot for vh1's 100 greatest albums of all time countdown, and that is absolutely the reason i bought it

― mellon collie and the infinite bradness (BradNelson), Wednesday, December 2, 2020 10:56 AM (forty-six minutes ago) bookmarkflaglink

on second thought this may have been diva by annie lennox but i believe both were on there. my memory is terrible but i watched that countdown like 1000 times

that said i can't listen to it and wonder how the hell Rhodes and Taylor worked out their synth and bass parts; it is extremely amazing & advanced pop composition.

So true

Spears must've heard her mom's cassette copy of Diva in the station wagon.

Liberty I haven't heard apart from "Violence of Summer" and "Serious," the latter of which is good.

I picked Liberty up for like $2 at a used CD store in the 90s and had never even heard of the album prior to seeing it there. "Serious" and "My Antarctica" are the two songs I remember liking

Pretty great excuse to learn to play bass here
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=mtcLKAGN-II

Taylor might be my favorite bassist. He's done several of those videos.

Britney has excellent taste unsurprisingly. You could probably trace a direct line between LeBon's braying and Britney's cluck

Also those lyrics are amazing, if i was in a band and the singer came in with "catch the mirror way out west" i'd be like 'wtf??? this is genius'

It may be nonsense but it's really colorful, alluring nonsense

Well, the lyricist's last name is Le Bon.

Le Bon Mot

wow John Taylor has aged incredibly well! I hope I look that sharp when I'm 60.

Also is that a bottle of vodka on the floor behind him?

This talk of how great John Taylor is a good excuse to post the Amoeba What's In Your Bag clip from 2009 with him and Simon. I've watched this many times and could listen to John talk about his favourite records for days.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=dMymK9st49M

So Annie Zaleski's 33 1/3 book on the album is out, already literally sold out almost everywhere and going into a second printing. It's a fantastic read, just got it today and burned through it. What an album and what a band.

Ah, thanks for the heads up! Was really looking forward to this, thought I had it pre ordered but can't find a confirmation so ordered it just now, hopefully the 27/5 availability date is correct :)

Hopefully! The book both makes the case for the album and its creation as well as exactly how in America it became the monster that it was -- an interlocking combination of factors that always centers the band's particular drive at making it just that.

The chapter on the album's snail-paced crawl up the charts fascinated me: a peek into changing programming strategies and MTV's rising prominence.

frankly the greatest album ever made

You're not wrong

It could be the atmosphere sinking

yeah the guitars are perfect too, but they're like the adornments on top of this monstrously great architecture

― imago

I so want Graham Coxon to be the guitarist in this band, he pushes even harder against the grain of a song than Andy Taylor and would therefore have been an ideal foil to John. Every time I hear the Chauffer I anticipate a wobbly Coxon anti-solo that never arrives, it is a far better canvas for him than Damon's mockney showtunes.

Interesting. I think Andy could have played more assertively, and either (a) decided not to or (b) was actively discouraged from doing so by producers and engineers. His side projects and solo work display more independence.

I think in DD he understood his role and played it willingly, but I have no way of knowing this. Well do I remember that at the time of Rio, guitar bands were out and glossy Roland and Yamaha synths were in. Had guitars been more prevalent in the mix, D2 would have sounded out of step.

Long digression: That said, it still surprises me in hindsight to see how many New Wave acts were still fundamentally based around a four-piece rock band. I look at videos of Flock of Seagulls, Go-Gos, Devo, Talking Heads, Human League, Bangles, New Order, the Cure, even Depeche Mode sometimes and it looks suspiciously like the 70s template of a "band" - there's an acoustic drum set in the back middle, flanked by amps; cool-looking people holding conventional instruments on either side, somewhere there's a keyboard or two. Even in records that sound almost wholly synthesized, many acts continued to present pretty standard instrumentation when on MTV.

There are exceptions: Eurythmics, Ultravox, Pet Shop Boys,Thompson Twins, Thomas Dolby. If you were trying to form or join a band at this time (as I was), these acts seemed pretty inscrutable because like, where are all the sounds coming from and how are they getting made simultaneously by this one dork with a DX7?

I read somewhere that LeBon attributed DD's success in the States ​to the recruitment of Andy Taylor and the introduction of a hard rock guitar element to their sound. Which both makes sense and seems contrary to the role their dance remixes played in breaking America.

I don't think Coxon fully asserted himself either until Blur's 5th album, at least in terms of his position in the mix. But his sound is leaner and more cutting than Andy Taylor's. The similarity I perceive is that both guitarists play a role of saboteur. They differ more in degree than in kind.

There's defo something a bit "wrong decade" about what i'm suggesting tho. Blur were derivative enough of DD that it's usually easy to envision what GC might have played. I imagine the spiky Hendrix chords from 'Stereotypes' all over 'Union of the Snake', for example. In my head at least, the schizoid artistry of it is a match.

I read somewhere that LeBon attributed DD's success in the States ​to the recruitment of Andy Taylor and the introduction of a hard rock guitar element to their sound. Which both makes sense and seems contrary to the role their dance remixes played in breaking America.

Yeah that's interesting - quite a few of the brit synth/new romantic bands went in either a rock or a soul direction towards the mid-'80s (some did both I guess, like The Human League going from doing 'The Lebanon' to working with Jam & Lewis) and both of these moves seem like obvious attempts at reaching out to a US audience. I didn't know that about Duran's remixes though.

I direct y'all to Annie Zaleski's marvelous 33 1/3 book.

I find Deflatormouse's thought experiment interesting but at the same time, I just can't imagine those bands being different. I know this isn't profound or anything but music history - like all history - has a contingent element. The things happened as they did, and everything contributed.

Philosophically speaking it's a bit sus to imagine that you can change any one variable and keep everything else the same. Like, a John Lennon who didn't abuse any women could exist (and I wish he did). A John Lennon who didn't get shot, ditto. But does everything else stay constant in that alternate universe? I can't imagine (ahem) that it would. The particular circumstances aligned themselves this way, and we have the culture that resulted from those circumstances.

Blur were derivative enough of DD that it's usually easy to envision what GC might have played.

And indeed, Alex James wrote somewhere that when he was tasked with constructing a bassline for 'Girls & Boys', his guiding principle was, "What would John Taylor play?"

My friend is doing a Rio 40th special on twitch tonight at 8:00 PM CST with chat by Annie Zaleski!

https://m.twitch.tv/VJBigSuit

The main DD set starts at 9:00 PM CST, but come early and stay after for choice early MTV-era videos.

What a fucking incredible album, still.