So why is Duran Duran on this best 1,000 albums ever thing?
What an incredible 1981 debut album from a band who would help shape the pop music, style, and popular culture of the 1980s.
The self-titled Duran Duran came out ever so slightly before “my time,” and what I mean by that is that when “The Reflex,” off of Seven and the Ragged Tiger, dominated MTV and the airwaves two years later in 1983, I was fully aware of them as neon belted new wave gods at the ripe age of nine-years old or so.
Duran Duran kicks off with a one-two combination of “Girls on Film” and “Planet Earth.” Both songs show off incredible confidence and a sound that fuses new wave and bright and shiny synth pop. And then the key is delightfully catchy hooks and spectacular vocals by Simon Le Bon and the rest of the fellas as well.
Over the years I’ve become super enamored of the relative deep cut, “Careless Memories.” Fair warning that if you’re not down with the very ‘80s-ness of this kind of music, this ain’t the track for you. But for me, the keyboards and syncopated electronic drum pads and relentless energy of this one all completely works.
One of the reasons that Duran Duran remains an enduringly popular band with a pretty huge catalog at this point is the fact that they have always been adept at changing up the tempo and vibe of their best songs just enough to give a true feeling of range and variety. My Exhibit A for their debut album is the excellent “Anyone Out There,” which slows things down into the mid-tempo range while dialing up the harmonies for maximum effect.
Pop Thruster stuff that has something to do with Duran Duran
Duran Duran the album ranked as the “best” of the five band’s five albums that made the best 1,000 albums ever (#350). Here are the others:
- Rio (#376)
- All You Need Is Now (#391)
- Seven and the Ragged Tiger (#650)
- Duran Duran (The Wedding Album) (#662)
Some stats & info about Duran Duran
- What kind of musical stylings does this album represent? British Bands, New Wave, Synh Pop, Pop Music, Dance Music
- Rolling Stone’s greatest 500 albums ranking – not ranked!
- All Music’s rating – 4 out of 5 stars
- When was Duran Duran released? 1981
- My ranking, the one you’re reading right now – #350 out of 1,000
Duran Duran on Spotify
A lyrical snippet from Duran Duran that’s evocative of the album in some way, maybe
Look now, look all around, there’s no sign of life. Voices, another sound, can you hear me now?
What does the “best 1,000 albums ever” mean and why are you doing this?
Yeah, I know it’s audacious, a little crazy (okay, maybe a lot cray cray), bordering on criminal nerdery.
But here’s what it’s NOT: a definitive list of the Greatest Albums of All-Time. This is 100% my own personal super biased, incredibly subjective review of what my top 1,000 albums are, ranked in painstaking order over the course of doing research for nearly a year, Rob from High Fidelity style. Find out more about why I embarked on a best 1,000 albums ever project.