Opis zdjęcia

over a year, Duran Duran and producer Mark Ronson have compared the recording of the music that is about to hit iTunes as All You Need Is Now to the band 80s early 80s output. Whether theyve done the job really depends upon how you interpret all that pre-game prattle. But more on that in a moment, because when a bands been around for more than 30 years, a little perspective can go a very long way. The members of Duran Duran have so much tonsorial-based ozone depletion in their collective histories, it may seem odd to compare their career trajectory to that of a gritty, woozy prize fighter. But the truth is, Duran Duran have had their asses handed to them time and again by critics and an often disinterested public when it comes to their recorded works since the first few albums. Every now and again an Ordinary World pops up and makes everyone take notice, but for the most part Duran Duran has fought the battle for contemporary relevancy to exponentially smaller crowds. Its to their great credit that Duran Duran havent just taken their lumps and simply allowed themselves to become a greatest hits touring act, with maybe a stretch run in Vegas or Reno or some other place where Hungry Like the Wolf could be used to cross-market a casino buffet. They;ve certainly got the back catalogue to support the notion, and their concerts often reflect the struggle between knowing the greatest hits is what got them to where they are and new songs half the crowd doesnt seem to know quite what to make of. Now, Duran Duran have returned looking way better than theyve got any right to, and theyre still as stubborn as ever, still refusing to sit down and shut up and stop making new music. And theyve still got a nasty left hook, apparently, and a dancers gait a young Muhammad Ali would have been proud of. But first, the single, which arrives nearly two weeks before the album which bears its name on December 8: All You Need Is Now is an odd choice for an introductory, or at least it seems that way during the plodding verse, which comes on like a pair of mid-period Duran singles that sunk like a stone, Violence of Summer (Loves Taking Over) and Out of My Mind But the chorus, for the first time in a thousand albums, really does feel like that Duran Duran from days of yore, hints of ;New Moon on Monday buried deep within its DNA. Blame the Machines does recall the 80s, but not Duran Durans 80s. Its 21st century electro-pop, but with little debt to the band own history. Its a forgivable misstep, primarily because its such good fun. And perhaps thats where Ronsons really earned his pay (or points or whatever.) Though it certainly cant have hurt that hes gotten Messrs. Le Bon, Rhodes, Taylor and Taylor to dig their old timey instruments from the backs of their impossibly deep closets, but the real magic the producer and self-avowed superfan has wrought is not the sound of the old Duran Duran, but rather the spirit. For the first time in a very long time, Duran Duran sounds like theyhaving fun, like they remember what it means to actually be Duran Duran. It certainly wasnt this apparent on Astronaut, the 2004 reunionalbum recorded with Fab Five guitarist Andy Taylor temporarily returning to the fold alongside John (bass) and Roger (drums) Taylor, who if youve misplaced your copies of Star Hits arent actually related. It wasnt there in 2007, when the quartet teamed up with Timbaland and Justin Timberlake on the underrated but ultimately misguided Red Carpet Massacre. But its here, and maybe all you really do need is now. Make no mistake, the gentlemen involved in the making of All You Need Is Now do their level best to remind you of Duran Duran earliest works: Man Who Stole a Leoparda grandiose and stunning number which features guest vocals by a reserved, milkshake-free Kelis evokes elements of The Chauffeur Tel Avivand the original single version of My Own Way while Leave a Light On; recalls ;Save a Prayer; if for no other reason than its the first time in three decades the band has put together a ballad nearly as good. ;Runway Runaway; feels a bit like Last Chance on the Stairway by way of an early Charlatans album cut, and if youve no idea what any of these references mean, the months of often repetitive hyperbole from Ronson and the members of Duran Duran probably didnt mean anything to you anyway. Kelis isnt the only guest star pitching in; Ana Matronic (Scissor Sisters) comes on all Debbie Harry with a downtown white girl rap on the disco-funk of Safeand Owen Pallett (Final Fantasy) throws some indie cred into the mix with string arrangements. But even with all the party inclusive bells and whistles, and even with Ronson (and possibly keyboardist Nick Rhodes) getting cute with with samples and special whiz-bang effects, none of it sounds forced or out of place. Its also a relief to find that most of the tracks here;especially throbbing dance numbers like Girl Panic; are; err; Taylor-made for the stage. They;ll fit comfortably alongside those golden oldies and probably wont lead to too many exasperated bathroom breaks from the peripheral fans who only came to hear The Reflex or ;that one that goes doo-doo-doo-doo All You Need Is Now isn;t Son of Rio, but its the best album Duran Duran has released since then, a collection that manages what their best material always has, blending art with grand gestures and popcraft. Its nine songs full of the promise and thrill of 1981-83. But even more than Ronson and Duran Duran have let on, its also an album clearly in debt to the future, a sleek and sexy future where a guy in his early 50;s driving up the Autobahn; is still the same superhero who wrestled hot chicks in a Sri Lankan swamp all those years ago. This is the sound of time stood still, of a feeling of reckless and sophisticated abandon launched decades forward without skipping a beat.