Duran Duran - Astronaut (With Bonus DVD)
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Free Music Notes for Astronaut (With Bonus DVD)
Free Music Review: OMG, the Fab 5 back together!! Duranies Rejoyce!
Hit: 5 Stars
Okay, I'm not in love with all the songs on this CD, but I am so glad that I bought it in the special package of CD and DVD.
If you really know your early 80s Duran Duran music, you can tell that this is the original line up: Simon Le Bon, Nick Rhodes, John Taylor, Roger Taylor, and Andy Taylor. Rogers drums and Andy's guitar have a distinct sound that screams original Duran Duran.
Hailed as the first album by the band in 21 years (even though splintered versions of the band have been doing albums since the late 80's), you can tell they wanted to make this album special.
The first song is "(Reach Up For The) Sunrise", and is a very catchy tune. It's energetic and not as enigmatic as most of Duran Duran's other lyrics.
My favourite track is "What Happens Tomorrow". It's a beautiful song, in spite of Simon singing the refrain in falsetto.
I would definitely suggest going on YouTube and listening to the rest of the songs ("Nice", "Bedroom Toys", "Taste of Summer", and the title track "Astronaut") to make sure you know what the music sounds like. It is not a fall-back to the 80's- it's all new and fresh- and some of it is just weird ("Bedroom Toys").
The DVD is a record of the homecoming for the band. They returned to Wembley, to a more than full house of screaming fans from teenagers to "soccer moms" (women my age who were fans back when we were 12 to 16 years old). The concert footage is wonderful. As John Taylor put it, "We've been trying to teach other drummers to play Roger's parts- and now we finally have him back" (not an exact quote, but that's the gist of what he said). It's true. Having the complete band of five fabulous musicians makes a difference in the live performance. I wish Andy had stayed on with the band after this album, but, sadly, he did not.
As always, the behind the scenes stuff is great. It's awesome to see the band just doing their thing without worry about putting on a show.
The box for this set is the size of a regular DVD box (unlike "Greatest" which put both the CD and DVD in a regular CD sized jewel box). It has all the lyrics to the songs- and some interesting photos of "The Boys".
I definitely recommend this for the Duranies. If given the choice between just the CD or this version with CD and DVD, get the set. It is worth it!
If you're just starting to become acquainted with Duran Duran, you might be better off starting with their earlier albums (1985 and earlier). After listening to those, then come back and get "Astronaut" :3
>^..^<
Free Music Review: Another masterpiece by the ORIGINAL Fab Five!
Hit: 5 Stars
I will admit, if you asked me how I felt about this release a day after listening to this album over and over again, I might've given it 3.5 stars. Nick Rhodes was always my favorite and he's heavily featured on this album using many techno sounds (think along the lines of "All She Wants Is") and I wasn't sure if I cared for it. But the more I listened, the more it really grew on me and now I *LOVE* it and even my husband (a metal head back in the day) will sing along to it!
I'll give you my humble opinion on each track: "Reach Up for the Sunrise" was a smart first release and probably the reason you're reading reviews! "Want You More" has some excellent driving guitar, very danceable; "What Happens Tomorrow" is slated to be the 2nd release from this CD--not sure if that's the best choice but it's adequate; "Astronaut" is a little more quirky but very catchy; "Bedroom Toys" I think could be a massive hit if not for the content but the Durannies of yore will totally appreciate the song; "Nice" is very catchy, very techno and has an excellent bass line; "Taste The Summer" should really be released in the spring to capitolize because it is the perfect wind through your hair song and Simon's crooning is well, dreamy; "Finest Hour" is mellow but good; "Chains" is laid back but not one I think would be released; "One of Those Days" other than Simon chanting "1-2-1-2" at the beginning- I'm not a big fan of this song--another mellow one, "Point of No Return" is a good one even though the harmonizing can be a little tricky in the chorus;"Still Breathing"...what can I say? LOVE this song! Very mellow, almost melancholy for them but very strong.
Listen closely for bass lines and guitar riffs similar to their roots that may remind you of the "Girls on Film" days. I think it's those little touches that ground the album but still allow them to go in this direction.
The bonus DVD is EXCELLENT and will delight Durannies the world over. Particularly the backstage stuff and Simon fans will be overjoyed as well as cursing the pixels during a particular scene. Worth the extra money to have this DVD gem!
Great to have the original line up back and good to know they still rock!
Free Music Review: WELCOME BACK!!!!!
Hit: 5 Stars
WHAT CAN I SAY ABOUT THE BAND THAT MADE ME FALL IN LOVE WITH MUSIC?!?!?! SEVEN AND THE RAGGED TIGER WAS THE FIRST VINYL RECORD I EVER BOUGHT.THIS DURAN DURAN REUNION HAS PUT A TEAR OF JOY IN MY EYE. I HAVE STUCK WITH DURAN THROUGHOUT THE YEARS. I NEVER GAVE UP ON THEM, EVEN DURING THEIR UNEVENTFUL ALBUMS. THATS WHAT A LOYAL FAN DOES. BUT I HONESTLY DIDNT KNOW WHAT TO EXPECT WITH THIS ALBUM. ITS BEEN A LONG TIME IN THE MAKING AND AN EVEN LONGER TIME SINCE THE ORIGINAL FIVE RECORDED TOGETHER. WELL THE VERDICT IS IN--THE MAGIC IS STILL THERE. THAT WAS EVIDENT WITH THE TOUR LAST YEAR, BUT TO HEAR ROGER'S DRUMMING AGAIN GIVES ME GOOSEBUMPS. EACH MEMBER OF THIS BAND HAS GIVEN ALL THEY'VE GOT HERE AND IT IS VERY OBVIOUS. ANY DURAN DURAN FAN FROM THE PAST WILL EMBRACE THIS CD AND I KNOW THAT DURAN DURAN ARE ABOUT TO MAKE A LOT OF NEW FANS WHO MISSED OUT ON THE DD PHENOM TWENTY SOME YEARS AGO. THIS IS NOT AN 80'S REVIVAL --SO LETS FORGET THAT, THIS IS JUST MUSIC GENIOUS AT ITS BEST. I THINK THE WORLD IS READY FOR SOME GREAT MUSIC AGAIN. AND HERE IT IS. "SUNRISE" IS A GREAT SONG, BUT AFTER HEARING THE ENTIRE ALBUM, I DONT KNOW IF THAT WAS THE BEST CHOICE FOR FIRST SINGLE. OUT OF THE TWELVE TRACKS HERE, I CAN HONESTLY SAY THAT 9 OF THEM ARE STAND OUT SONGS. AND I'M SURE THE REMAINING THREE WILL GROW ON ME BECAUSE I FELL IN LOVE WITH THIS CD AFTER THE FIRST LISTEN. "STILL BREATHING" AND "FINEST HOUR" ARE THE BEST BALLADS DURAN HAS RECORDED SINCE "SEVENTH STRANGER" AND "DO YOU BELEIVE IN SHAME" LYRICLY AND MUSICLY THAY ARE STUNNING! "WANT YOU MORE" AND "ASTRONAUT" ARE BEGGING TO BE RELEASED AS SINGLES. THEY ARE RADIO-FRIENDLY DANCE SONGS--VERY HYPNOTIC, CLASSIC DURAN DURAN!! CONSIDERING THEY USED SO MANY DIFFERENT PRODUCERS ON THIS RELEASE, THE SONGS FLOW VERY WELL AND ARE DEFINETLY DURAN DURAN SONGS. BUT WHAT I LOVE MOST ABOUT THIS CD IS THAT IT STILL SOUNDS LIKE CLASSIC DURAN DURAN WITHOUT TRYING TO RECAPTURE THE 80'S SOUND--BUT YET VERY MODERN. I THINK THE WORLD IS ABOUT TO RE-DISCOVER ONE OF THE BEST BANDS OF OUR TIME. AND HOPEFULLY THIS TIME THEY WILL BE TAKEN MORE SERIOUSLY LIKE THEY SHOULD HAVE IN THE FIRST PLACE. NO ONE HAS EVER SOUNDED LIKE DURAN DURAN AND NO ONE EVER WILL.
Free Music Review: Reach out for this album!
Hit: 5 Stars
As an avid fan for years and years, I have followed Duran Duran's work throughout their career and want to bring some of that experience to help you decide about this new album, Astronaut. You can see I've given it my top rating, and I admit I only have reviewed albums that I really felt were exceptional pieces of work, and this album is. First of all the gorgeous packaging and incredible value of the limited edition cd and dvd set are a huge plus right away. I halfway expected that it was too good to be true when I saw it, but let me assure you it is not. The wait for this album was well worth it. It is in a word, REFRESHING. Just a breath of wonderful magic air and creativity that is made even more impressive by the fact that this band has had such incredible longevity. The songs on the album are intoxicating and at times even exhilerating. I simply can't believe that Simon LeBon sounds THIS great after all these years and still has that heart-wrenching soul, melodic originality, and inventiveness that speaks to the bands love of music and talent. Watching TV this morning, I saw MTV dissing the bands return by joking about the glam image of the band, mentioning something to to effect that the band is prettier than ever. That really frustrates me considering that the music scene is more about image than music these days and here is Duran Duran which has both: image and talent----not to mention----- LONGEVITY. Can you say that about most of the bands out today? I don't think so. I only hope that Astronaut will get more people interested in Duran Duran's earlier efforts such as Medazzaland and Pop Trash, two albums that seem to have been largely ignored in the states though being highly creative and wonderful as well. Astronaut does have more of the original band's sound and attitude. Some songs really remind you of earlier work, but with a new edge and with the quality that experience in music-making has earned. I think Astonaut will bring more recruits over to become big fans and future musical space travelors. Enjoy this great album! It will elevate you~
Free Music Review: Brilliant comeback and possibly their best
Hit: 5 Stars
In anticipation of this release, I've had a bit of a Duran Duran year. In addition to dusting off a lot of old tracks for my iPod and iTunes collections (and falling in love with "Planet Earth," "Save a Prayer" and "The Chauffeur" all over again), I've recently purchased the new DVDs recently on the shelf. The Duran Duran video collection is my favorite, but I have to admit that some of the songs don't hold up so well over time. For me, "Union of the Snake" was a joy when it came out, but listening to it today it just sounds wobbly. Ditto the live CD "Arena" and some of the latter day stuff.
That said, I am blown away by how solid this release is. I expected the first single to hold up to scrutiny and there is no doubt that "(Reach Up For The) Sunrise" is a worthy first single. But holy cow, the rest of the disc is full of surprises in that there are tasty grooves, modern sounds, and a Simon LeBon who sounds better than he did in 1984. I don't consider myself all that biased, but is it possible that he's actually developed stronger vocals since then?
As others have mentioned, the guitar work is amazing. Welcome back Andy Taylor, because his sound is totally distinctive. Some familiar sounds brought a smile to my face, and the fresh integration of acoustic guitars into some hard-driving beats turned some songs on their heads (in a cool way). I mean, I really like "Want You More!" from the first note, but I fell in love with it when I hit that acoustic guitar bridge. I think it's fair to say that Duran Duran has made their most consistently strong album of their career.
My vote for surprise ballad hit of 2004-2005 is "Finest Hour," which is easily the band's strongest ballad and a worthy successor to "Ordinary World."
So many bands have reunited and come back with surprisingly strong albums, such as Fleetwood Mac, Heart, the E Street Band, etc. I would never have guessed that Duran Duran would go on that list, but "Astronaut" is just brilliant. I'm just worried that "Rio" won't sound the same after this one.