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Duran Duran
The Singles
1986 - 1995
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Ok, I know that I am the resident Duran-fan here at the ‘TAP but sometimes, it must seem like they are the only band that I know how to review! What can I say; since last year, EMI has graced us with 4 high quality remasters and a box set and the band themselves have released a new studio album, “Astronaut”.
In May of 2003, I happily reviewed the Singles ’81 – ’85. At that time I remember thinking of how the band’s excellent late 80’s output was usually ignored by the music press, and thought what the chances were that we might see a second singles collection. Well, I am happy to say that EMI has stepped to the plate once again and delivered us “The Singles 1986 – 1995”. As before, I will break this review down to three sections: the A sides, the B-sides and the Remixes.
We have three songs from 1986’s “Notorious”, “Notorious”, “Skin Trade” and “Meet El Presidente” which have held up rather well 18 years later. The singles, like the album that features them, were a bold move forward into a lean, funk-based sound that still retained the spirit of classic Duran. Never ones to sit still, the band combined the funk styling of “Notorious” with the Manchester-based “House” music of the day for 1988’s cutting edge, and mostly brilliant, “Big Thing”. To this day, “All She Wants Is” has retained its naughty edge and gets my vote for ‘the classic that never was’ while “Do You Believe In Shame?” is another in a long line of gorgeous Duran Duran ballads. The band released a new single for their retrospective (at that time) hits collection, 1989’s “Decade”. Oddly enough, the song was not even on the “Decade” album or any other Duran album; “Burning The Ground” was actually a collage of samples from all of the band’s hits up to that point and arranged in a highly original way to create a grinding, pounding dance-floor anthem that holds up as a song of its own. Duran Duran roared back into action with 1993’s self titled album and the two global hits that it spawned, “Ordinary World” and “Come Undone” as well as the overlooked, sarcastic take on the media, “Too Much Information”. “Ordinary World”, in all of its staggering beauty still manages to give one the chills and “Come Undone” is downright sexy and moody at the same time.
While this collection does not contain as many non-album tracks as the previous set, there are a few notables here starting with the b-side to “Skin Trade”, “We Need You”. A sweet, gentle tune, “We Need You” is a stripped-down, almost jazzy number that resembles nothing the band has ever done. “I Believe/ All I Need To Know” has been a personal favorite since it first backed “All She Wants Is” in 1989. This song is fantastic with it’s moody textures, groovy bass line and striking melody; why it was left off of the album “Big Thing” is anyone’s guess. “Yo Bad Azizi” is a cool rocker thanks to a gargantuan guitar riff from Warren Cuccurullo; just don’t pay attention to those nonsensical lyrics! There are two killer live tracks from the band’s Tower Records in-store appearance during 1993. Both “Come Undone” and “Notorious” are acoustic renditions of their very electric counterparts and feature musically hip, thoroughly ass kicking arrangements!
The remixes are a mixed bag; some are terrific reinventions of their respective A-sides while others are pure, dance floor fodder. “All She Wants Is” gets the royal treatment with two incredible remixes featuring new backing tracks that give the song an entirely different feel. There are three remixes of “Come Undone” and all are stellar reworkings that retain the spirit of the original with new beats. There are also quite a few alternate versions throughout the set that are worth hearing – “911 Is A Joke” is infinitely better than the anemic, wimpy and incredibly lame version that appears on the band’s covers collection “Thank You”. Two great remixes culled from the self-titled album of 1993 are excellent, “Love Voodoo” and the ‘Drizabone Mix’ of “None Of The Above”, which almost surpasses the original album version.
So, why do I only give the set three and a half stars? Well, as with the first singles box, “The Singles 1986 – 1995” features a disc for each single with the appropriate artwork, or at least it is supposed to be. The artwork is supposed to mimic the original 12” artwork but bad fonts are apparent on many of the singles and many have no back cover art whatsoever! The first set also replicated the 12” label on the surface of the CD while this set just uses one label, the SAME label, for every single disc! As a fan, this is a major faux pas since the first set was so well put together. The sound quality for the set is top notch however and all of the tracks benefit greatly from a clean, digital remastering.
There have been many Duran Duran remix collections over the years but it is great to have them presented as the original UK singles were. A large portion of this set is long out of print while some tracks make their CD debut here. This, along with the stunning sound quality, still makes this set a most welcome addition to any Duran fans collection.
