Next I'm going to take a look at the dvd that came with the "All You Need is Now" deluxe package. There are 6 different parts to the DVD, not including the extra songs (which I will review seperately at another time). Here we go...
The Making of All You Need is Now - They interviewed the four main members of the band, and asked them about the single and the recording process for it and the album in general. I love having this little peek inside of their minds. They talked about how a lot of this album was written just jamming as a band. Roger said they, "drew on themselves" and were able to be who they are. I think both of those things are key to the great sound of this album. They were able to be themselves and not worry about the outside influences. I think this allowed them to gel as a group and let their natural talent shine through. Roger also called the new songs, "new Duran classics." I like the sound of that and I totally agree. I think many of the songs on this album will become Duran classics that get played in concert over and over, even after the album has aged. John and Roger both talk about what it was like to work on the new album together, compared to years ago and one of John's comments stood out to me. He said, "We never stopped believing that around the corner was the solution." I really like the sound of that and think it's yet another reason the album sounds so great. Simon talks about how AYNIN is a message, "to us from us and to the fans. It's about the long road we've been on. It doesn't matter how far you've come; the only bit that matters is the one you're on at the moment." It's a great summary of the theme behind the single as well as a smart way to look at things. Don't fret over yesterday and don't worry about tomorrow; live in the now. I know that personally this is something I should definitely take to heart. And finally, to end this section of the dvd, Nick talks about the positives of this album. He wraps it up by calling the album, "poptastic" and I whole-heartedly agree, as it is both pop music and fantastic.
All You Need is...Mark Ronson - Simon talks about how Mark was their first natural choice since Mark is a fan of theirs. I truly believe that this was an excellent choice. I really do think it took Mark nudging them in the right direction for them to get back to the sound that made them popular in the first place. Nick talks about how Mark can play almost any instrument, has great ideas, and immaculate taste. He also mentions Mark's vision, energy, and remarkable work ethic. To me, this explains why Mark was able to get the band to do what they do so well. They needed his vision and energy and work ethic to inspire them. Roger talks about how Mark comes from a similar place musically and how his DJ background helps him out in overseeing the recording process. That makes complete sense to me. I can see how his knowledge of making a playlist for his DJ sets would carry over to picking song order on the CD. Because Roger is also a DJ on the side, it's possible that Mark earned some brownie points with Roger. John mentions how Mark brought an authenticity to the music that has been missing. I like that. I think John hits the nail on the head there. Nick talks about how Mark is able to sift through the music and find the diamonds. Again, I think that may go back to his DJ background and his ability to build a stellar playlist. My favorite quote from Mark Ronson himself in this section is when talking about the new album, "Where were these songs for the past 20 years?" To me it really shows how much of a fan he is himself and how he knew the band had it in them, but just needed that little push. Simon mentions that Mark told him he (Mark) wanted to make the record the fans want to hear and I personally think he succeeded with that goal. I think the album has been very well accepted and loved by the fans. Sure, some people will disagree, but I think on the whole, the majority of fans love it.
The Art of Clunie Reid - This section of the DVD basically explains how they came to know about Clunie Reid and asked her to do the artwork. It shows her working with some of the pictures and she explains some of her processes. I found it interesting to see how she got some of the effects. I also enjoyed finding out that Nick Rhodes provided the images she used from his own personal collection. Party scenes and lots of girls...yep, that's Nick all right! I really like that they did this though. I mean, all Duran Duran fans know of Nick's love of photography, so I think this brought the album full circle, truly making it their own, even with using the help and talents of others to add some extra spark.
On Set at the Photoshoot - This was images from a photoshoot for promo shots and such set to, "Blame the Machines". It was way, way too short! My favorite moments were the shot of the HUGE amount of shoes they had available to use for the shoot and Roger running in slow motion with camera flashes going off. There was just something cool about both of those shots.
"All You Need is Now" Video - The first thing that catches my eye is the fact that the majority of the video is shot in black and white. I like the use of words on the screen, flashing up every now and again (Now, VIP, Play, etc.). There's also a "secondary story"; the "primary" being the band themselves of course. The "secondary story" (in color) is a group of kids in 80's dress going out to the clubs, but you can tell it's set in present time as they have modern cellphones. I like this mixture of old and new, blurring the 80's with now. The majority of the shots of the band are of them performing the song (all in black and white) until towards the end where they show shots of band over the past few years, some in color and some in black and white. There's lots of smiling and laughter throughout the whole thing, giving you the feeling that everyone is happy and doing well and helps bring additional warmth to the video. There are also lots of "outtake" moments with the guys goofing around (Roger fake punching the camera, John getting cracked up, the boys chatting, hanging out in the recording studio) which I think adds to the warmth and overall positive feeling of the video. I like how the whole band (including Dom) is together at the end, smiling, side by side; a show of unity.
Behind the Scenes at the Video Shoot - Much like the behind the scenes at the photoshoot section, this was way too short! I happen to be a huge fan of behind the scenes stuff, so I would have loved to have had the chance to watch more of it on this DVD. Mostly it is just clips from the video plus a few other behind the scene shots.
Track by Track - The Band Discusses the Creative Process - I loved getting a little insight into what the guys themselves thought about the songs and how they each came about. They go through 12 of the songs (AYNIN, Blame the Machines, Being Followed, Leave a Light On, Safe, Girl Panic, Man Whole Stole a Leopard, Other People's Lives, Mediterranea, Too Bad You're So Beautiful, Runway Runaway, and Before the Rain). Even though the guys were all interviewed individually and all had different things to say about each song, their comments were completely on the same page with each other. I think that's a great sign that things are going well and hopefully will continue to go well for them for a long time to come.
Next up will be a review of the extra songs found on the Best Buy deluxe release, and then a review of Brian Wright's concert that I attended the other night.
Wednesday, April 13, 2011
Sunday, March 27, 2011
Partial CD Review - Duran Duran - "All You Need is Now"
Ok, so for my first real blog entry, I wanted to review my brand spankin' new copy of Duran Duran's "All You Need is Now". Only problem is...it still hasn't arrived. :( Ugh! But I'm going to go ahead with a partial review because most of the physical album is the same as the digital release album from December, which I have. Then I can review the "extras" when my actual CD gets here. So, without further ado...my take on the new album:
AYNIN - The title track was released as a free download on iTunes just shortly before the digital release of the rest of the album. Now I'll be totally honest: I've been a Duran Duran fan since I was seven or eight years old and that was a long time ago, trust me. LOL I've never quit liking them; I just haven't followed them as closely as a lot of fans have. But shortly before the single was released, I caught wind that they had a new album coming out and between that and starting to follow John Taylor and Simon Le Bon on Twitter, my love of the band was totally renewed back to the level of those early days. I downloaded AYNIN the day it came out and immediately started listening to it on repeat. At first I wasn't totally sure about it. It was so good to hear them doing new stuff again, especially since I had missed out on some of their more recent stuff. But, I wasn't totally sold at first. After a couple of replays though, it quickly grew on me and the thing I was most unsure about in the beginning (Nick's sharp, catchy, synth groove) had become my favorite thing about the song. I love the meaning behind the lyrics...that we need to live in the moment. I think my favorite line is, "We told everybody all you need is now." It sums up the vibe of the song as well as making me think back to their earlier songs. In particular, it makes me think of a personal favorite of theirs from before, "Save a Prayer", since it carried the live in the moment message as well. Anyway, I really enjoy the energy of this song as well. It makes me want to get up and move every time I hear it. Shortly after the single came out, they released the video. I won't go into it too much at this point except to say I really do love it and it definitely helped increase my love of this song even more. It's certainly one of my favorites on this album and I think has the potential to become a Duran Duran classic.
Blame the Machines - Again, another song with great energy. I love the female part of this song, done beautifully by British newscaster Nina Hossain. There are more sharp synth riffs from Nick and strong vocals from Simon, both of which stand out for me. I also love the "woah" in the background as it keeps the song moving quickly.
Being Followed - Another energetic track. I love how they hold true to their reputation as the band to party to. However, their slow songs are just as good as the more energetic ones, but we'll get into that later. I love Simon whistling on this track as well as the police siren sounds, which gives it that little something extra to me. There is some great drumming from Roger and kicking guitar from Dom as well.
Leave a Light On - Time to slow it down a little. This track brings to mind, for me at least, "Ordinary World" and "What Happens Tomorrow" and even to some degree, "Save a Prayer". Simon's vocals and lyrics are once again very strong. This song gives me an overall warm and fuzzy feeling, almost kind of dream-like; just like I get with the three previously mentioned favorites.
Safe (In the Heat of the Moment)- John's bass...what can I say but, “I love it!” Not that I don't always love John's grooves, because I do, but I particularly love it when you can hear him clear and strong. Sometimes the bass, at least for me, gets muddied and buried to some degree in the background. So I'm always glad for songs like this where his talent is clearly on display. There is more great drumming by Roger as well as rocking guitar from Dom. The addition of Ana Matronic on this song was brilliant and gives it quite a funky twist. I also love how they muted Simon's vocals at one point. It almost sounds like he's in a cave, giving it a very cool sound.
Girl Panic! - Another high energy song with lots of clear, strong bass from John as well as tight drumming from Roger and lovely guitar from Dom. This song very quickly became one of my favorites on the album. I've heard it's going to be the next single and I believe I remember hearing that there was a video to be released for it at some point as well. I can't wait to see what visuals they came up with to go along with this song.
The Man Who Stole a Leopard - The first thing I notice, of course, is Nick's sharp synth bits, which perfectly set the tone for the story we are about to listen to. I'm immediately reminded of "The Chauffeur"; however the addition of Kelis and British news presenter Nina Hossain turns this into something totally different. I find this one quite intriguing.
Runway Runaway - Another one brilliantly driven by Roger's drums, Dom's guitar, and John's bass. The guitar sticks out the most to me in this one and I have to admit, I'm really pro-Dom at this point. I know that's kind of a hot topic within the fandom, but he just appeals to me much more than either Andy or Warren ever did. Not that they aren't amazing guitar players in their own right, because they certainly are, but for me personally, I just like the whole package of Dom much better than I did either of them.
Before the Rain - This one makes me think of "Come Undone" in a way. Also the title itself brings to mind their earlier song "Hold Back the Rain". I wonder if this connection is intentional or merely a coincidence? I love the layering of Simon's vocals in a slightly muted way as well as more lovely synth work from Nick. I was listening to this through my daughter's iDog speaker and I'm not sure why but it's off somehow and had the muted, almost echo layer of Simon's vocal coming through above everything else. I have to admit though, I kind of liked it, as it gave it a haunted, spooky quality.
All in all, I loved the CD. Sure, there were some songs I liked more than others, but there wasn't a single one that I didn't enjoy. This is truly an album that I can listen to from one end to the other and that's quite a rarity for me. I'm a bit ADD when it comes to music. I LOVE music very much, but I tend to love a lot of different music, so back in the days of tapes, CDs, and radio only, I fast forwarded through songs just to get to the ones I wanted and flipped radio channels continuously; just ask my annoyed husband. Ha! iPods were a stroke of genius for a person like me because I could put my favorite songs on a playlist and hit shuffle and be happy with whatever came on. But there are the few rare CDs (not counting greatest hits compilations) that I will listen to continuously and enjoy every moment of it. This is certainly one of those CDs. Do I think it will stand the test of time and become a Duran Duran classic? Yep, I truly do.
Huge kudos to Mark Ronson for producing this and relighting the fire under one of the best pop bands ever! Also huge kudos go to Simon, John, Nick, Roger, and Dom for bringing their A-game. Everyone just seems to be at their best on this album and it all gels together perfectly!
So that's it for this part of the review. I'll finish it up once my physical CD finally gets here. Ugh! This is the last time I pre-order something from Best Buy!!
AYNIN - The title track was released as a free download on iTunes just shortly before the digital release of the rest of the album. Now I'll be totally honest: I've been a Duran Duran fan since I was seven or eight years old and that was a long time ago, trust me. LOL I've never quit liking them; I just haven't followed them as closely as a lot of fans have. But shortly before the single was released, I caught wind that they had a new album coming out and between that and starting to follow John Taylor and Simon Le Bon on Twitter, my love of the band was totally renewed back to the level of those early days. I downloaded AYNIN the day it came out and immediately started listening to it on repeat. At first I wasn't totally sure about it. It was so good to hear them doing new stuff again, especially since I had missed out on some of their more recent stuff. But, I wasn't totally sold at first. After a couple of replays though, it quickly grew on me and the thing I was most unsure about in the beginning (Nick's sharp, catchy, synth groove) had become my favorite thing about the song. I love the meaning behind the lyrics...that we need to live in the moment. I think my favorite line is, "We told everybody all you need is now." It sums up the vibe of the song as well as making me think back to their earlier songs. In particular, it makes me think of a personal favorite of theirs from before, "Save a Prayer", since it carried the live in the moment message as well. Anyway, I really enjoy the energy of this song as well. It makes me want to get up and move every time I hear it. Shortly after the single came out, they released the video. I won't go into it too much at this point except to say I really do love it and it definitely helped increase my love of this song even more. It's certainly one of my favorites on this album and I think has the potential to become a Duran Duran classic.
Blame the Machines - Again, another song with great energy. I love the female part of this song, done beautifully by British newscaster Nina Hossain. There are more sharp synth riffs from Nick and strong vocals from Simon, both of which stand out for me. I also love the "woah" in the background as it keeps the song moving quickly.
Being Followed - Another energetic track. I love how they hold true to their reputation as the band to party to. However, their slow songs are just as good as the more energetic ones, but we'll get into that later. I love Simon whistling on this track as well as the police siren sounds, which gives it that little something extra to me. There is some great drumming from Roger and kicking guitar from Dom as well.
Leave a Light On - Time to slow it down a little. This track brings to mind, for me at least, "Ordinary World" and "What Happens Tomorrow" and even to some degree, "Save a Prayer". Simon's vocals and lyrics are once again very strong. This song gives me an overall warm and fuzzy feeling, almost kind of dream-like; just like I get with the three previously mentioned favorites.
Safe (In the Heat of the Moment)- John's bass...what can I say but, “I love it!” Not that I don't always love John's grooves, because I do, but I particularly love it when you can hear him clear and strong. Sometimes the bass, at least for me, gets muddied and buried to some degree in the background. So I'm always glad for songs like this where his talent is clearly on display. There is more great drumming by Roger as well as rocking guitar from Dom. The addition of Ana Matronic on this song was brilliant and gives it quite a funky twist. I also love how they muted Simon's vocals at one point. It almost sounds like he's in a cave, giving it a very cool sound.
Girl Panic! - Another high energy song with lots of clear, strong bass from John as well as tight drumming from Roger and lovely guitar from Dom. This song very quickly became one of my favorites on the album. I've heard it's going to be the next single and I believe I remember hearing that there was a video to be released for it at some point as well. I can't wait to see what visuals they came up with to go along with this song.
The Man Who Stole a Leopard - The first thing I notice, of course, is Nick's sharp synth bits, which perfectly set the tone for the story we are about to listen to. I'm immediately reminded of "The Chauffeur"; however the addition of Kelis and British news presenter Nina Hossain turns this into something totally different. I find this one quite intriguing.
Runway Runaway - Another one brilliantly driven by Roger's drums, Dom's guitar, and John's bass. The guitar sticks out the most to me in this one and I have to admit, I'm really pro-Dom at this point. I know that's kind of a hot topic within the fandom, but he just appeals to me much more than either Andy or Warren ever did. Not that they aren't amazing guitar players in their own right, because they certainly are, but for me personally, I just like the whole package of Dom much better than I did either of them.
Before the Rain - This one makes me think of "Come Undone" in a way. Also the title itself brings to mind their earlier song "Hold Back the Rain". I wonder if this connection is intentional or merely a coincidence? I love the layering of Simon's vocals in a slightly muted way as well as more lovely synth work from Nick. I was listening to this through my daughter's iDog speaker and I'm not sure why but it's off somehow and had the muted, almost echo layer of Simon's vocal coming through above everything else. I have to admit though, I kind of liked it, as it gave it a haunted, spooky quality.
All in all, I loved the CD. Sure, there were some songs I liked more than others, but there wasn't a single one that I didn't enjoy. This is truly an album that I can listen to from one end to the other and that's quite a rarity for me. I'm a bit ADD when it comes to music. I LOVE music very much, but I tend to love a lot of different music, so back in the days of tapes, CDs, and radio only, I fast forwarded through songs just to get to the ones I wanted and flipped radio channels continuously; just ask my annoyed husband. Ha! iPods were a stroke of genius for a person like me because I could put my favorite songs on a playlist and hit shuffle and be happy with whatever came on. But there are the few rare CDs (not counting greatest hits compilations) that I will listen to continuously and enjoy every moment of it. This is certainly one of those CDs. Do I think it will stand the test of time and become a Duran Duran classic? Yep, I truly do.
Huge kudos to Mark Ronson for producing this and relighting the fire under one of the best pop bands ever! Also huge kudos go to Simon, John, Nick, Roger, and Dom for bringing their A-game. Everyone just seems to be at their best on this album and it all gels together perfectly!
So that's it for this part of the review. I'll finish it up once my physical CD finally gets here. Ugh! This is the last time I pre-order something from Best Buy!!
Thursday, March 24, 2011
Hello *waves*
Just a quick post to say hello and introduce myself. I've been contemplating starting a blog and with an ever growing list of concerts I'm going to/hoping to go to in the future, I figured this was the time. There's so much going on with the music I like right now. It's an exciting time. So I think this blog will mostly be for music/concerts/record reviews/etc, but there may be the odd this and that thrown in as well. Hope you'll join me for the ride. I'll start working on my first real post tomorrow.
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