Description
Duran Duran – Duran Duran (1981 Debut) – Compact Disc
“Girls on Film” opens Duran Duran’s debut with a sound that lets the bass and drums do a remarkable amount of the talking. The group already knew how to make a danceable arrangement carry a distinctive guitar and keyboard sound. There’s a sense of the musicians making room for each other even as several things are competing for attention.
“Planet Earth” follows, with Nick Rhodes’s keyboards and John Taylor’s bass particularly easy to pick out. Its chorus has a directness that can obscure the amount of detail underneath. Hearing it immediately after “Girls on Film” gives the listener two clear examples of how quickly the band could establish a groove and then make it part of a song’s character.
“Anyone Out There” and “To the Shore” open up a different part of the album. “To the Shore” is especially useful for identifying this edition, since some versions of the debut use a different sequence. Its placement after the brisker early tracks gives the first half more space before “Careless Memories” brings the guitar back to the foreground.
“Night Boat” takes more time to establish its atmosphere. The space around Simon Le Bon’s singing is part of the performance, with Rhodes’s textures helping hold the listener in place until the rest of the group enters more forcefully. It’s one of the clearest examples here of how the album’s sense of drama can extend well beyond the singles.
“Sound of Thunder” and “Friends of Mine” carry that interest in atmosphere into the last part of the program. “Friends of Mine” in particular gives the band enough time to set up a mood before the instrumental “Tel Aviv” takes over. Ending that way leaves the listener with a sense of what these players could do when the voice was no longer the main point of reference.
Brand new, never played and still sealed in the factory plastic
Track Listing
- 1. Girls on Film
- 2. Planet Earth
- 3. Anyone Out There
- 4. To the Shore
- 5. Careless Memories
- 6. Night Boat
- 7. Sound of Thunder
- 8. Friends of Mine
- 9. Tel Aviv
