Duran Duran - Notorious
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Free Music Notes for Notorious
Free Music Review: Duran Duran CD
Hit: 5 Stars
Merchandise was delivered as advertised and in a verty timely manner ( actually well before the promised delivery date ). I am very pleased with this seller.Free Music Review: Duran Duran Rocks!
Hit: 5 Stars
Great album, which takes me back to my "younger days". I especially love the opening of "Notorious". It's so catchy that you can't help but sing along!Free Music Review: Gorgeous
Hit: 5 Stars
This is so great. I always loved them and I was so happy to find again the cd. If you like this type of music you'll be in love with this cd.Free Music Review: come on now
Hit: 5 Stars
I'm an 80s' guy~come on now. Who could resist Duran-Duran!? This is a great one from them even when they were a little short on members.Free Music Review: Very, Very Good
Hit: 4 Stars
I know of no other band that changes its style and sound so much from one album to the next and still appear as accomplished and as authoritative on every release. Duran Duran somehow manage it. Although their career does have its odd shocker, by and large the band seems unable to put a foot wrong.On "Notorious", they progressed from the maturing but still dancey and poppy "7 and the Ragged Tiger" to a very good funk/pop creation. Following the loss of the Taylors, Andy and Roger, the remaining three dived headlong into Chic-esque funk (the probable reason for "rocker" Andy's departure).
On the whole, the album takes a few listens. The instant catchiness of "No-No-Notorious" is offset by the harder to grasp "Skin Trade" and "American Science". Once we have reached a state of acceptance with the album, we are rewarded with a smooth, slick and rather menacing collection that darkened the bright, breezy pre '86 Duran.
We all know the title track that hits somewhere between an old style misfit classic and downright irritating. I rate it highly. The song goes very well with the third single from the album, "Meet El Presidente". Again catchy and again a little irritating, this would have people dancing to it if they ever heard it. These two are the funky ones.
We then move back to perhaps ordinary pop. "Hold Me" is one of those should have been absolutley brilliant songs that comes out a little vacuous. I love it, but wish it had a bit more Ummmph! "So Misled" is a kind of soaring fast balled. It neither gets the toe tapping nor gets the heart strings pulling. Its just sort of nice. It kind of happens without being noticed. To finish the pop, we have "Proposition". This is not nice. It is empty, causes no feelings other than a blandness and tries its hardest ruin an almost perfect album to date. Lets hear no more about it.
On to the slower tunes and what feast awaits. "American Science" and "A Matter of Feeling" are really quite beautiful. Either or both fit comfortably with any of Duran's power ballads and either could have made a stab of it as a single. Instead, they chose to release "Skin Trade". Oh Dear. Try as I might, I cannot like this song. I dont like the vocals or the music. The video they brought out with it was almost as bad and did not help in my thoughts on the song. I really cannot see what all the fuss is about. In my opinion, truly one of Duran's wortst ever efforts
And now the coup de grace. Duran like to put out the odd dark tune and have done so throughout their careers, but nothing prepared anyone for the sheer raw menace of "Vertigo (Do The Demolition)" or "Winter Marches On". Winter is a very morbid sounding tune ("Like a death march." my Gran said.) The title says it all really. The song gets you down. Even when you try to sing to it, you are defeated by its slowness. A very good and very atmospheric song. It should not be listened to when you are feeling miserable. It will make you think there is nothing bright left in the World.
And finally "Vertigo". This immense and frightening composition strikes me as a song that may well be about the end of Roger Taylor. Its relentless keyboards and powerful beats are accompanied by words of drug addiction, fear of fame and of destroying the fabric of something. Coincidence? I'm not sure, but it is a damning song that goes someway to explaining the terrible feelings some people must have put themselves through.
So all told we have a strange mixture of songs on this one. A quickie and a slowy stop the album from getting 5 stars, but that should not be looked at too much. This album is packed with gems both beautiful and dark. It is quite a ride and it still sounds as important and as fresh today as it did then.