Post by KittyKat - RIP Luciano on Oct 17, 2003 10:45:13 GMT -5
[glow=red,2,300]RIO[/glow] by Duran Duran
From its Nagel cover to the band’s style and their cutting edge videos and of course the music –Rio is as representative of the eighties as it gets. Its fusion of style and substance ensures that even two decades after its release it remains as listenable and danceable as ever. From start to finish, a great album that has outlasted its era.
The band quickly followed their first album that didn’t see much play in the US with Rio in the spring of 1982. Rio entered the charts at number 2, and many of its singles became Top 10 hits. Their exposure in the US was helped greatly by the emergence of MTV, who put the group's stylish videos into heavy rotation. In my opinion Rio remains Duran Duran's best total album. The songs are well-crafted and well-performed, and the production manages to sound modern even now, escaping an early-80s time warp. Duran Duran showed the industry how effective multimedia tactics could be in pop music. Everything was brilliantly fused by the band into one mass-consumable product.
The tracks:
Rio – Right from the first tinkling of Nick Rhodes synth, you’re taken to another place. You can’t help but associate this song with the video for it. Everyone frolicking on a yacht and in the water.
My Own Way – This song is all about John and Roger Taylor’s rhythm section. The bass and drums make this song. It remains one of my favorite songs from the 1980s.
Lonely In Your Nightmare – A very good example of that “New Romantic” synth pop sound that was beginning to permeate the music of the time. No one did it better than these guys. I love the chorus of this song. “…because there’s heat beneath your winter, let me in.” Just gorgeous.
Hungry Like The Wolf – Probably the most successful track off the album is actually my least favorite. Don’t get me wrong, it’s still a great song and it still sounds as fresh today as it did in late 1982. Andy Taylor’s guitar and Nick’s synth drive this song. Lovely harmony by John and Andy on those “doo doo du du du du”s in the chorus.
Hold Back The Rain – This song was huge for me in junior highschool. It reminds me of hanging out with friends in the quad outside of school and blasting it from a tape in someone’s boombox.
New Religion – This song has an almost eerie sound to it. It’s also quite funky. The quintet really fuses their musical abilities nicely on this track. Simon’s uninflected vocals are awesome. I love cranking this one in the car.
Last Chance On The Stairway – Roger’s drumming is superb on this track. Nick’s backing vocal compliments Simon’s nicely too.
Save A Prayer – Boy, did I love this song when I was 13. Nick plays the pan flute on this people! And his synthesizer is sublime. I would play this song over and over again in my room and dream of John Taylor coming to take me away with him to some exotic distant land. This is truly a brilliant ballad.
The Chauffer – Talk about haunting…this song is almost chilling. Simon’s voice is amazing. And Nick’s simple notes on the synth, work perfectly with the flute he plays, and John’s bass line.
The thing I associate most with this song is the video. Most of you probably have never seen it because it was banned from MTV. When most people think of risqué Duran videos they usually go with “Girls On Film”. This video had sexy almost naked ladies making out on the hood of a car in a deserted parking garage. My best friend and I got a copy of the video (on BetaMax!
) and we secretly watched it in the basement of her house so nervous that her mother would catch us that we had the volume down so low that you couldn’t hear anything. I haven’t seen the video in years but I bet it’s tame compared to what’s out there now.
From its Nagel cover to the band’s style and their cutting edge videos and of course the music –Rio is as representative of the eighties as it gets. Its fusion of style and substance ensures that even two decades after its release it remains as listenable and danceable as ever. From start to finish, a great album that has outlasted its era.
The band quickly followed their first album that didn’t see much play in the US with Rio in the spring of 1982. Rio entered the charts at number 2, and many of its singles became Top 10 hits. Their exposure in the US was helped greatly by the emergence of MTV, who put the group's stylish videos into heavy rotation. In my opinion Rio remains Duran Duran's best total album. The songs are well-crafted and well-performed, and the production manages to sound modern even now, escaping an early-80s time warp. Duran Duran showed the industry how effective multimedia tactics could be in pop music. Everything was brilliantly fused by the band into one mass-consumable product.
The tracks:
Rio – Right from the first tinkling of Nick Rhodes synth, you’re taken to another place. You can’t help but associate this song with the video for it. Everyone frolicking on a yacht and in the water.
My Own Way – This song is all about John and Roger Taylor’s rhythm section. The bass and drums make this song. It remains one of my favorite songs from the 1980s.
Lonely In Your Nightmare – A very good example of that “New Romantic” synth pop sound that was beginning to permeate the music of the time. No one did it better than these guys. I love the chorus of this song. “…because there’s heat beneath your winter, let me in.” Just gorgeous.
Hungry Like The Wolf – Probably the most successful track off the album is actually my least favorite. Don’t get me wrong, it’s still a great song and it still sounds as fresh today as it did in late 1982. Andy Taylor’s guitar and Nick’s synth drive this song. Lovely harmony by John and Andy on those “doo doo du du du du”s in the chorus.
Hold Back The Rain – This song was huge for me in junior highschool. It reminds me of hanging out with friends in the quad outside of school and blasting it from a tape in someone’s boombox.
New Religion – This song has an almost eerie sound to it. It’s also quite funky. The quintet really fuses their musical abilities nicely on this track. Simon’s uninflected vocals are awesome. I love cranking this one in the car.
Last Chance On The Stairway – Roger’s drumming is superb on this track. Nick’s backing vocal compliments Simon’s nicely too.
Save A Prayer – Boy, did I love this song when I was 13. Nick plays the pan flute on this people! And his synthesizer is sublime. I would play this song over and over again in my room and dream of John Taylor coming to take me away with him to some exotic distant land. This is truly a brilliant ballad.
The Chauffer – Talk about haunting…this song is almost chilling. Simon’s voice is amazing. And Nick’s simple notes on the synth, work perfectly with the flute he plays, and John’s bass line.
The thing I associate most with this song is the video. Most of you probably have never seen it because it was banned from MTV. When most people think of risqué Duran videos they usually go with “Girls On Film”. This video had sexy almost naked ladies making out on the hood of a car in a deserted parking garage. My best friend and I got a copy of the video (on BetaMax!
) and we secretly watched it in the basement of her house so nervous that her mother would catch us that we had the volume down so low that you couldn’t hear anything. I haven’t seen the video in years but I bet it’s tame compared to what’s out there now.
