DURAN DURAN’S ALL YOU NEED IS NOW-- AWESOME!

John Taylor  Roger Taylor  Nick Rhodes Simon Le Bon

        

         

          For an 80’s New Wave music enthusiast, a visit to local music stores nowadays can be unrewarding. They hardly sell CDs of New Wave bands/ artists anymore; except for a few, such as the latest releases of Depeche Mode, U2, The Cure and Pet Shop Boys. However unrewarding though it may be, sometimes it still pays to visit your favorite music bars regularly or  at least from time to time. Just like when I chanced upon a lone copy of a locally pressed  Duran Duran’s  All You Need Is Now CD stacked inconspicuously along the indie section CDs…

            First  let me  say that I’m not a big Duran Duran fan, although I like their music. Who wouldn’t? Perhaps only the uncompromising  Spandau Ballet fanatic who’s still living in the 80’s. Any teenager who did not tap their foot to a Duran Duran song in the 80’s probably lived somewhere in the Twilight Zone or the Neverland; but despite their huge popularity here  with their songs being  played ubiquitously  on  FM stations during that era, somehow  I never  gravitated towards  them.

           Until recently,  I have never bought any  Duran Duran  record or cassette tape or CD  at about the time of its release. Before I picked-up All You Need Is Now CD,  I have only three CDs of Duran Duran  and   I purchased them years after their original release. They are namely:  their must-have 1998 Greatest Hits compilation; their excellent 1993 comeback Wedding Album , which I bought mainly because of the song “Femme Fetale” which I love and  couldn’t forget from the cassette tape I borrowed from a classmate in graduate school back in the early 90’s; and their consensus best album Rio. I just got to have it.    

            I learned about this release when I came across  a review by a  local blogger who is a die-hard Duran Duran  fan. The blogger concluded that “the boys are back and they are raising hell.” I am glad they are still swinging but the thought of getting this CD never entered my mind, not even a remote thought, until I found myself standing in front of it ,  holding it with both hands with my instinct  clashing with my conscience. My instinct was saying, “it’s not every day that you see a CD like this; definitely very limited copies were pressed locally; it’s relatively affordable; this may be the last copy available"; "better get this before somebody else does.” On the other hand my conscience was saying, “  you were never interested in their previous releases, why would you be interested in their new cd now?; don’t buy this, buy something else that’s worthwhile or don’t buy at all!”-- Thankfully, my instinct prevailed because this awesome CD blew me away. Here is my take:

            This is an EXCELLENT release! It was advertised as a return-to-roots homage to Duran Duran’s most celebrated musical panache. It was touted as the son of Rio. Yes, it’s everything as advertised! I totally agree with  all those Amazon customers and professional reviewers who praised this album. Expecting nothing special, it was  an ambush when I placed it in my CD player. The opening track, the first single, and the cover title, “All You Need Is Now” began somewhat lackluster with the lazy vocals from  LeBon; however, when it got to the  chorus, where he was singing: “and you sway in the moon the way you did when you were younger"--up to the infectious line --“all you need is now,” there was no turning back. It is truly the son of Rio, somehow the images of LeBon  on  a yacht in the "Rio" music  video kept  on  flashing in my mind as I listened to the CD. The production is great! Clean and smooth.  Every  instruments is sounding crisp and clear. LeBon is sounding so much  better too. 

               In general, this is full of energy, very melodic, funky, groovy with many  memorable hooks and lines; and-- very radio friendly, (Unfortunately, it will not receive any.)  For me every  track  is a winner, including the short semi-instrumental  track no.  7 ("Diamond In The Mind" )and  the instrumental no.13 ("Return To Now").  I’d like to think that the two tracks  were intentionally placed there, in that order, to serve as a respite,  for the listener to catch his  breath and recover his  bearings  after listening to tracks 1-6 and tracks 8-12.  This is the kind of CD you will listen to and enjoy from the beginning to the end. Absolutely a must-have, not only to the die-hard Duran Duran fans but to  casual fans fans as well; and is highly recommended  to all fans of 80’s New Wave Music.     

           

            How would I compare it with my two other Duran Duran studio albums? Well, even  the  perfect song “Ordinary World” cannot save The Wedding Album from the  barrage of 'Pacquiao-like  punches' from this cd-- All You Need Is Now via TKO.  Rio is in a higher weight class though; but still, it will give it a run for the money; but in the end,  its Rio via  a close unanimous decision.

Tracklist:

1.All You Need Is Now

2. Blame The Machines

3. Being Followed

4. Leave A Light On

5. Safe

6. Girl Panic!

7. Diamond In The Mind

8. The Man Who Stole A Leopard

9. Other Peoples Lives

10. Mediterranea

11. Too Bad You're So Beautiful

12. Runway Runaway

13. Return To Now

14. Before The Rain

My Duran Duran Cds: Upper L-R(Clockwise) Rio; Duran Duran( aka The Wedding Album);Greatest Hits; All You Need Is Now