Duran Duran - Notorious
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Free Music Notes for Notorious
Free Music Review: The Band Changes Up The Groove
Hit: 5 Stars
Coming four years after their previous studio album Seven & The Ragged Tiger guitarist Andy Taylor had gone off to form Power Station with Robert Palmer and Chic drummer Tony Thompson so this left Duran Duran as a trio and with the obvious need for,among other reasons changes on the music scene to retool their sound a bit. Even on their breaktrhough album Rio Duran Duran had evoloved into a very funk oriented band but then again that was often a big part of the British new wave scene anyway. By mid decade the UK R&B/dance/funk/jazz scene was exploding with bands such as Style Council,ABC,Level 42 and Heaven 17-all bands that had come into the picture during the same time as Duran Duran and it seemed they themselves were destined to dive headlong more fully into their R&B/funk side. So it was another former Chic member,famously funky producer Nile Rodgers who really changed things up for them at this time. Even though they'd basically disappeared from the scene and indicated they weren't planning on a comeback this "new" Duran Duran emmerged with a sound radically different than what they'd previously done before. The title song was a much deserved hit and one of the funkiest things to emmerge on the pop scene at that time,as well as serving to introduce this new sound of theirs to the pop world. The bands way with a strong melody and choruses are still at full power but the tempo is lowered to a tighter groove and the presense of Lenny Picket's Borneo Horns adds a whole other dimension to what they were doing musically. The middle area of this album doesn't necessarily follow in the exact same direction but maintains that general musical sensability. "American Science",Skin Trade","Hold Me" and "Vertigo" all possess the same spirit as the opening title song but explore the rhythmic complexity and more of a brooding melodic flavor to an even greater degree. On "A Matter Of Feeling" and "Winter Marches On" the tempo is lowered even further to the pace of a midtempo slow jam with some eerie,sometimes almost jazzy chord progressions. Of course towards the conclusion of the album we're baught back to the same tight,horn packed funk groove that they started with on "Meet El Presidente","Proposition" and the equally potent "So Mislead". In the end this was new abbreviated comeback for Duran Duran. They would not remain in this trio format forever but all the same they managed to fasion a successful return to the pop world by bringing one of their original flavors upfront more and thereby giving their approch a strong and as it turned out long lasting makeover.Free Music Review: This Album is Phenomenal!
Hit: 5 Stars
Notorious is truly one of Duran Duran's best albums of all time. It's funky, upbeat, and perfectly done. A new style gives the boys a more mature, superior sound. Powerful drums, smooth bass, hard-rocking guitars, fantastic synth, and trumpets adding the perfect touch. Simon's vocals are flawless and never disappoint. As for the production, Nile Rodgers is music genius (haven't you noticed everytime DD works with him they do well?) and makes this a masterpiece you'll never forget! Now here's my take on the album:
Notorious- The first single off the album. A clear winner, with all the right beats and lyrics! One of their best singles.
American Science- We take a little time off and slow down with some lighter tracks. A soft, upbeat pop song with catchy lyrics.
Skin Trade- The second single, good pop song with funky beats, but it's not one of my favorites. Can't seem to get into it.
A Matter of Feeling- Beautiful ballad. Almost points in the way of "Ordinary World." Don't miss this one!
Hold Me- Now we get back into the upbeat tracks! Powerful rock track with strong synth. Can easily become a favorite after the first listen.
Vertigo- This should've been a single on its own. Some of Nick's finest synth, rocking guitars, and powerful vocals. The dark lyrics match the mood of this song. Chorus is absolutely catchy and I can say this is my personal favorite from the album!
So Misled- Another track that delivers, a little more rock than "Hold Me." Another powerful track with cool lyrics.
Meet El Presidente- This track is much different from DD's earlier works. Interesting work, a latin-inspired tune. Lots of trumpet playing and female backing vocals. It's a good song, but I wasn't really feeling it.
Winter Marches On- Easily one of the best tracks from the album. A dark song with powerful lyrics.
Proposition- My second best from the album. Another rock track with lyrics that make an argument. Worth the listen!
I recommend this album and I promise you won't be disappointed!
This IS Duran Duran. Drums, guitars, synth, and Simon's vocals. Not one dominates over the other. Everything is in perfect harmony.
Free Music Review: It took a while to like back in the day.
Hit: 5 Stars
When Notorious came out, I didn't know what to think. It was a such big departure from the New Romantic/New Wave/Bubblegum Pop I was such a big fan of in 1984/'85. The boys had gone and split up. Powerstation and Arcadia were formed and then Duran Duran in stunted form regrouped, and I expected at the very least that Notorious would follow in the really HUGE shoes of Arcadia's 'So Red The Rose', but with the exception of a couple of tracks ('Hold Me' and 'Winter Marches On'), it did not.Notorious is a strange album. I used to think it was inconsistent when it was first released. Upon further listening and recent revisiting, I've found that it has what the best Duran Duran albums contain: Cohesiveness. I don't recommend it as a starting place for would be Duranies, but it's more solid than Seven and the Ragged Tiger even if I can't say that this is a must have, based on the relative weakness of its singles. It's a transitional album that is neither as good as the first two Duran Duran albums or the subsequent release, Big Thing, and yet I'm inclined to give it five stars. Maybe because I can't give it ****1/2.
Highlights of the album are the non-singles: 'American Science', 'A Matter of Feeling', 'Hold Me', 'So Misled', 'Winter Marches On', and 'Proposition'. These songs seem to cover somewhat familiar ground soundwise, so the comfort level was never an issue with me. Together these songs could form their own wonderful EP.
The rest of the tracks could be released as a 12" dance club standards EP. That's not to insult them, though. Quite the contrary, actually, as the remixes of Notorious, Skin Trade, Vertigo (Do The Demolition) and 'Meet El Presidente' outclass and outshine their album counterparts. The best of them albumwise is 'Vertigo (Do the Demolition)'. It's quite catchy, and from the assortment of more dance oriented tunes on Notorious, Vertigo probably most closely resembles singles of earlier Duran times, somewhat in the ilk of Wild Boys.
So, Notorious is a solid transitional album, but if you're looking to get into Duran Duran and the Duran Duran sound, start at the beginning so you can more fully recognize and understand what they were trying to accomplish here.
Free Music Review: The 'Mature' Album
Hit: 5 Stars
OK, the era of the skinny white ties and globe-trotting videos was over by 1986 for the most part. Guitarist Andy Taylor jumps ship for a place where he can crank up the chords (I guess that place was the "American Anthem" soundtrack... who knew?) and Drummer Roger Taylor surrendered to exhaustion. So now you essentially have the moody Duranies of Arcadia (Nick Rhodes and Simon Le Bon) with funk and rock bassist John Taylor.
The smartest thing they did here to reinvent their sound was to bring the excellent Nile Rodgers in as producer. He took their best set of songs and provided a sophisticated, mature sound that borrowed heavily from Avalon-era Roxy Music and Tin Drum-era Japan to make what I have always considered to be their best album, period.
The songs are just dead on. No clunkers in the bunch. "Notorious" kicks things up from the start with a funk frenzied pop love fest and surges into the very Roxy-like "American Science." "Skin Trade" is an intellectual and seductive masterpiece far and away beyond anything the band had ever produced to that point (even I would admit that "Come Undone" one ups "Skin Trade," but that's six years later).
"A Matter of Feeling" is one of their best ballads, bar none. The true blueprint for "Ordinary World." "You have a couple of rockers in "Hold Me" and "Proposition" and more funky pop like "Vertigo" and "So Misled." "Meet El Presidente" is a great lost Duran track. One of the best written songs lyrically ever written by Mr. Le Bon. Brilliant! And "Winter Marches On" could be called filler, but really it's something of an Arcadia-like track. Dreamy and beautiful.
As you can tell, I love this album. I think this is the place to start for anyone looking into Duran Duran reguardless of its lack of big time hits. Here is where you know that Duran Duran are not merely a footnote in the pop music of the 1980s. They are true artistic perveyors of popular music. Absolutely stunning album! It's a crime it is sort of a forgetten gem in their catalog.
Free Music Review: AWESOME AWESOME STUFF-don't listen to the haters!!
Hit: 5 Stars
I have no idea why these people below me have wasted their breath to hate on Duran Duran. There are ways to be tactful and discuss an album, even if you DON'T like it. Saying that it sucks, but with nothing to back it up isn't helping anyone!!! :(Back to DD. This album is amazing. Truly. The fans know it-Who can deny 'Notorious' for example? Great keyboarding, and a great hook, this song is one of the best Duran Duran songs ever in my opinion.
OTHER GREAT TRACKS (all of the songs are stellar, but I don't want to go on and on!!!)
-AMERICAN SCIENCE-this song is great. The song starts out with some horns blaring, and a slow creeping shuffling sound. My favorite part of the song is more towards the center where a great guitar riff takes place. This song is one of the best on the album.
-SKIN TRADE-a DD classic in my opinion. Skin Trade is very different than other DD material IMO. Skin Trade is laid back sounding-lots of brass and horns.
-A MATTER OF FEELING-slower, sensitive sounding, very nice, I don't listen to this one as much as other more uptempos, so I don't have alot to say, but it is good!
-HOLD ME-good midtempo song. I usually skip this one to get to..
-VERTIGO (DO THE DEMOLITION)-Sexy, midtempo song, one of my favorite DD songs of all time!
-MEET EL PRESIDENTE-one of the best DD songs out there! Lots of bongo drums, and horn sections. I love the 12" version of MEP better than the album version, but both are very good. MEP has alot of percussion by way of bongo and hand drums, and lots of trumpets and also some female backup singers! GREATTTTT!
Honestly,this record is amazing. I would not give it away for any price, that is for sure. DD has been making great music for a very long time, and with this album, they went in a decidedly funkier direction with awesome results!!!-james