Duran Duran re-release the first five albums has them sounding (mostly) shiny again…
Duran Duran ★★★★★
Rio ★★★★★
Seven And The Ragged Tiger ★★★☆☆
Notorious ★★★★☆
Big Thing ★★★★☆
More of an admin exercise rather than a full-on reissue campaign, getting the first five Duran Duran albums back out properly on vinyl and CD follows the successful and similarly low-key strategy that made the band’s post-EMI LPs from Medazzaland to All You Need Is Now readily available.
Once that was completed with Pop Trash a year ago, Duran realised that fans couldn’t buy their landmark first five LPs – that felt remiss, especially as the remastered versions from 2010 had never been available outside of their deluxe reissues at the time.
Treat Yourself
So, with a minimum of fuss, you can now get each album again, with the CDs housed in eco-friendly card sleeves rather than jewel cases. That’s welcome, especially considering Big Thing is hard to find on vinyl, whereas the other four albums are possibly too easy to buy cheaply second-hand.
With the artwork transfers overseen by original designer Malcolm Garrett, treat yourself to Rio looking as shiny as it should.
While the band still tease the arrival of the Duranthology boxset they’ve promised since roughly the Astronaut reunion, it’s no surprise that the remasters haven’t been updated. It means the version of Drug (It’s Just A State Of Mind) on Big Thing is the one the band finally fixed in 2010, rather than the botched mix of its 1988 release that caused John Taylor to nearly quit on the spot. However, it also means the overly trebly mixing in vogue at the time – before vinyl came back into fashion – is still in place. The debut LP in particular suffers from John’s bass being too low in the mix.
Pristine Again
Whether the band will remaster the LPs again for Duranthology or another project, who knows? More importantly, if Duran are talking to their old label Warner again, can we please finally have The Wedding Album and Thank You back out on vinyl, and in proper 2LP editions, so fans don’t have to spend £250 on Discogs for a copy of the covers LP that sounds like it was pressed on leftover flexidiscs?
By now, Classic Pop readers have surely made their minds up on the albums themselves. Either you recognise Duran’s first two albums are among mankind’s greatest achievements, or you’re a clot.
Even Duran think that Seven And The Ragged Tiger is a bit of an addled mess, before they somehow pulled Notorious together, thanks in large part to Nile Rodgers. And Big Thing is far more than the ‘Duran go rave’ claims it’s become stereotyped as, partly thanks to its artwork. An adventurous, diverse work, it’s closer to Arcadia than Adamski. That’s the album most in need of these reissues – but it’s great just to have Duran’s early years looking pristine again.
These iconic albums are out now via Warner Music click here
Read More – Words & Pictures: Duran Duran dip into the archives
The post Review: Duran Duran re-release first five albums appeared first on Classic Pop Magazine.