CD of the Week: Duran Duran

DURAN DURAN
"RED CARPET MASSACRE"
(Epic, 2007)

I'm going to venture a guess that most of my readers are significantly younger than I am, and don't yet know what it's like to experience the ecstatic thrill of witnessing an artist that they've been listening to for 25 years (since I was in middle school -- you can do the math) come out with one of the best albums of their entire career. Duran Duran have been ahead of their time from the beginning -- just pop in one of their early albums and you'll be amazed at how fresh it still sounds -- so when I heard that the guys were collaborating with Timbaland, Danja Hills, and Justin Timberlake for this record, I was intrigued. One of the most cutting-edge pop groups of the '80s coming together with some of the most visionary musician-producers of today? Bring it on!

I may have momentarily wondered if the Danja/Timbaland/Timberlake influence might dominate the proceedings, but for some reason it didn't linger in my mind long enough to become a concern ... and as it turns out, my faith was well placed. This album brings back the classic, innovative techno-dance-pop of Duran Duran that I grew up with, while at the same time updating it for the new century. Pulsating tracks like "Nite Runner" and "Zoom In"; the trippy soundscapes of "Skin Divers", "She's Too Much", and the freaky instrumental "Tricked Out"; and the swaying ambience of "Falling Down" and "Last Man Standing" -- every track is a winner, and it's often hard to tell where Duran Duran end and Danja/Timbaland begin. (Justin Timberlake's involvement is mostly limited to the lead single, "Falling Down".) And, of course, it wouldn't be Duran Duran without the stellar voice of Simon LeBon, which is still every bit as spry and vivid as it was 25 years ago.

After the band's initial split following their third album, it seemed inevitable that they would quickly fade into history, but they made an unexpected comeback with the excellent self-titled 1992 album (a.k.a. "The Wedding Album"). As it turns out, Duran Duran have had as many peaks and valleys in their career as Madonna, and that they can and should be a chart-worthy act for many years to come. Anyone who doubts that should take a listen to this album. Their age may keep them from appreciating it for the same reasons that I do, but on its own merits the music should make them react the same way I did: with a quietly awestruck "Wow."