Tracks
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If you we're alive in the 1980's you could not have missed the almost omnipresent, ubiquitous Duran Duran. They were the quintessential 80's super group from there modest beginnings at Birmingham's Rum Runner club to massive stadium gigs and all of the excesses of the pop star lifestyle. Legions of male but mostly female Danes clamoured for glimpses of John Taylor and the androgynous Nick Rhodes but most of all for the strutting preening Simon Le Bon who, whilst never claiming to be the worlds best vocalist had a stage presence and a quality to his voice that cannot be denied.This album represents the archetypal Duran Duran material and Rio was by far their most successful release all the way back in 1992. But Duran Duran were not just froth, as even a cursory listen to this album will demonstrate. They are far more than that and in fact were in many ways pioneers of blending New Wave electronically and rock/pop into a commercial fusion. Lyrically they are sometimes limited but this is not about song writing it is more about conveying an overall feel and the inaccessibility of the lyrics tends to confirm the glamour of the overall product. The eponymous 'Rio' gets the album underway. It is slick and well produced but also seductive and intriguing. 'Last Chance on the Stairway' and 'Hungry Like the Wolf' are also notable tracks showing quite different sides of the band's repertoire, with the haunting qualities of the former being countered with the driving pop of the latter. For me, as a person who grew up in the 1980's the archetypal Duran Duran track has to be 'Lonely in Your Nightmare'- this blends clever production with a lyrical enigma and creating a truly fantastic sound scape. Overall, if you just buy one album to represent the entirety of the 1980,s then buy this one and regress to a time of optimism and endless possibility...