Duran Duran: Duran Duran (The Wedding Album) : Music Reviews : Rolling Stone

Album Reviews

"Destroyed by MTV/I hate to bite the hand that feeds me," chants Simon LeBon on "Too Much Information," the opening track of Duran Duran's ninth album. Once the jewel of the music-video generation, this quintet was known for its chic wardrobe and hairstyles as much as for its synthesized dance hits. Following an identity crisis in 1985 that split the band into separate projects -- the Power Station and Arcadia -- Duran Duran reemerged as a trio, prepared to shed its poster-boy image. LeBon, keyboardist Nick Rhodes and bassist John Taylor picked up Missing Persons guitarist Warren Cuccurullo and proceeded to blend earthier textures with sounds for the changing dance floor.

Duran Duran captures the group much further along in its evolution than its other post-teen-idol efforts. Gone are the computerized lustfulness of Big Thing (1988) and most of the generic soulfulness of Liberty (1990). The dreamy first single, "Ordinary World," achieves the almost spiritual effects of Duran's earlier "Save a Prayer." "Love Voodoo" couples a slinky rhythm with a sharp rhyme scheme, a mesmerizing combination duplicated in "Come Undone." Taylor's penetrating bass lines play an integral part in the sensual sound of these tracks, reminding the listener of the style at which the band has always excelled.

Unfortunately, Duran Duran doesn't rely solely on its own strengths; the members keep up with the times -- mainly, it seems, by listening to Prince. Rhodes, Taylor and Cuccurullo mimic the calculated groove of the Funky One on "UMF," while LeBon practices the appropriate vocal nuances. Similarly, "Shotgun" employs a brief, unmistakably Prince-inspired riff. Shifting tactics, Duran turns to the thud and repetitive keyboards of techno on "Drowning Man." It's an inevitable move for a group that used to pride itself on being trendy. But these wild boys are now men -- and more appealing when exploring their own territory.