PopSyndicate.com

A superb DVD, a new album, a world tour & a look at Rio

I remember being a teenager in Arkansas about a year after MTV first came out.  There weren’t a ton of videos out at that time, so the rotation of certain bands like Michael Jackson (when he had his real nose), The Buggles, Berlin, The Clash, Def Leppard & Duran Duran were heavily played. Duran Duran was one of the forerunners of the medium with their second album, Rio, and the lush jungles and sandy beach locations where their music videos were shot. The young quintet from Birmingham, England had emerged from the shadow of a city known for Black Sabbath and tantalized young girls around the world while causing groups of guys to jump on the New Wave/Techno bandwagon.

It caused others, like myself, to hide away my Rio cassette tape so my Southern Rock and Heavy Metal buddies (which I played in various bands with at the time) wouldn’t keep picking a fight because I was listening to music by a group of pretty boys. I didn’t care how they looked. The music was fun, showed some talent and the videos were saucy.

Many of those New Wave and Techno bands died out after an album or two and maybe having a hit (two, if the were lucky) under their belt before thankfully dissipating into obscurity. But Duran Duran could write songs. Rio was proof that they had staying power after they had a couple of hits from their eponymous debut, which spawned “Girls On Film” and “Planet Earth.” Rio hit the States with the sexy and wild imagery of “Hungry Like the Wolf,” “Rio,” “Save A Prayer” and a couple of more Top 40 tunes.

Classic Albums: Duran Duran - Rio is probably one of the best Classic Album collections, yet. I have viewed and reviewed quite a few of the DVDs in this collection. The series is well done to begin with, but the Duran Duran disc seems to go a bit further than previous productions. Maybe because other DVDs in the series interview one or two members of the band and then they speak a lot with the producers and engineers. Because keyboardist, Nick Rhodes, helped to mix the album, he and other band members sit predominantly, one at a time in most cases, in front of the mixing board and break down the various elements of each song, the design and/or influence behind the elements, etc. Unfortunately, Colin Thurston, the recording engineer who helped Duran Duran achieve a better sound, died at the beginning of 2007 and wasn’t interviewed, although the band speaks highly of his talent and Thurston as a great person throughout the DVD.

One part of the band’s original management, Paul Berrow; magazine journalist, Betty Page; a very old looking Bob Geldof; video director, Russell Mulcahy (who directed 11 videos for the group); designer, Antony Glick and a few others all chime in with 4 of the 5 members of the band: Rhodes, Roger Taylor (drums), John Taylor (Bass) & Simon Le Bon (vocals).

Guitarist Andy Taylor has been in and out of the picture throughout the band’s history and isn’t present on the program, which is a real shame. Not only would it have been nice to hear Andy’s point of view, but in the Special Features section, beyond extra interviews that didn’t appear on the TV version of the show and a handful of music videos, the 4 bandmates along with a backup singer, sax player and a guitarist perform live in a nice studio in Boston, MA. Nothing against the guitarist they are using, because he does a fine job, but it would’ve been cool with all of the original members once again. Especially as they promote their new disc, Red Carpet Massacre and are on a world tour celebrating 30 years believe it or not.

With Classic Albums: Duran Duran- Rio containing over 2 hours of footage, 75 minutes of it within the Special Features section, the great interviews and performances, this DVD should belong in about any Synth Pop/New Wave/Techno/Pop Rock music fan’s collection. Just one word of warning - the music videos that were banned in the UK and heavily censored in the US are totally uncensored on this disc. That’s right, all of the sexy women that you saw in the videos that were originally covered up with black bars to blur out the body parts are Full Monty. The music speaks for itself, but the band was always about fun and part of the “me” generation. The DVD “reveals” all of that.

The disc is widescreen, has English, French and Spanish subtitles and is in Dolby Digital Stereo. Just look for that famous Nagel artwork on the cover of the DVD and you’ll have a couple of hours of great entertainment in your hands.

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