Duran Duran - Duran Duran

In 1981 New Wave was on the horizon,the disco freeze out was in full force and in the middle of this environment Duran Duran showed up with this,their debut album. The best way to define their music would be some type of cross between Talking Heads,Chic and Roxy Music and on this first album the band were working their way through a collection of songs quite different than what one might expect from them. One of the qualities that made this band so popular and respected was their way with rhythm and melody,not to mention their visual style. They had their image worked out just fine here but there sound was another story. While you could tell on songs such as "Girls On Film",the big hit this album is remembered most for as well as "Anyone Out There" and "To The Shore" that the band were still working through their rhythms and their guitar sound is more oriented around direct solos at this point as opposed to accompanying the rhythms. Duran Duran always had strong grooves and a heavy funk oriented direction to their sound but even on these songs,as with most of the rest of the album their direction here is much more toward the conventional and rockier side of new wave. Some songs such as "Careless Memories" and "Sound Of Thunder" basically sound like post punk records and some of the melodic ideas aren't as developed as they could be. The swelling,poetic and passionate lyrics the band also made a trademark here have a very searching quality. It's typical of what one might expect any artists debut album to be: the basic concept is there but at times the connective thread that gives an artist a distinctive voice hasn't quite come together fully. This music is mostly tenative that way without finding it's own cohesive flavor. Songs such as "Night Boat" and the instrumental "Tel Aviv" actually point to the more electronica aspect of this album with a strong level of neo psychedelia as well. On the latter song their are actually swirling strings and odd chord signitures that would almost qualify it as a form of art rock. It's the new wave genre in a transition from a rather obscure offshoot from punk onto a more popular style that integrated with disco-funk to a degree to create something totally different. This is an earlier,very different Duran Duran. Not what you'd expect from what was to come but more of a launching point than a defining statement.

All I can say is,this is their best album.Simple to the point.I like and have most of their albums,but for me,their first is their best.Mix pop,funk,disco,beats,new romantics,shake it up,there you go!Too bad they didn't stay somewhat towards that,(Power Station anyone)?

I love love love this album. Total perfection to my ears. I love 80's music especially the early 80s where there were still hints of disco in the music. Sound Of Thunder, Girls on Film, Planet Home are all amazing pieces of perfection. This album is simply amazing new wave pop.

When it comes to early 80's music, (Synth-pop, Electro-rock, Alternative and New Wave) you can't go past Duran Duran's first self-titled album...what a gem. Back in 1981 when I was a young lad, and still finding my own musical ears so-to-speak, I heard on the radio a song called `Planet Earth'. I thought it was brilliant, I couldn't hear enough of it. For me `Planet Earth' was my song for 1981, it was a great sound (and still is after all these years).

The album only has 9 songs, as opposed to nowadays where CD's can be between 17-24 songs (depending on their length). Listening to the album really takes me back to those years in the early 1980's (as opposed to now), it has that feel and flavour untouched by today's standards of music-and rightly so.

The whole album can be said to be a time capsule of the then `Romantic Movement' in music (Duran Duran were generally considered part of this new music genre, with other like-style bands such as Spandau Ballet, Japan, ABC and the Human League which come to mind). The album reached number 3 in the UK Top 20, and its music is freshly innocent, with great synthesizer sounds and drum beats with a touch of ambience (listen to Tel Aviv) to break the difference.

My favourite songs and no surprise here are: `Sound of Thunder', `Planet Earth' their first single that climbed the UK charts Top 20 at number 12, `Careless Memories', their second single which only managed to stay at number 37, (I don't know why? Depending on your mood, it is a dark song) and that notorious song `Girls on Film', their third single which was the one that caused a real sensation, (what an understatement) the song went to number 5 in the UK charts, before that infamous video of the song was even filmed. Featuring in the video were various topless women doing their thing in different situations in a boxing-type kind of arena, you need to see the video to understand what I mean (enough said).

From this album onwards Duran Duran have matured in mind and music their second album `Rio' I feel is a transitional phase for their future musical endeavours and influences-and that shows. The group have proven they are versatile with the changing tides and time, and that's why they are still around today.

Duran Duran were one of the most commercially successful of the New Wave bands of the day, if you are a fan or want to be, this first album is a must to start you off on a journey that can take you around the `Planet Earth' and back again for another spin. If there is `Anyone Out There' head `To the Shore' and catch the `Night Boat' to `Tel Aviv', grab that camera and get those `Girls on Film' for some `Careless Memories' and then head on to meet me and some `Friends of Mine' at the café Le Bon to discuss life, love, leisure, hearing in the clouds the `Sound of Thunder' in the distant sky above over a cappuccino.

Trust me you won't be disappointed, give it a listen and let your ears be the judge.

Special thanks to Wikipedia for additional information for compiling this review.

When I heard this album in 1982 it changed my life. Seriously. Here were a bunch of kids who decided they were going to be rich and famous. And with this batch of tunes they succeeded fabulously. That was a revelation to me as I started my teen years. I immediately bleached my hair and put up w/a ton of "pansy" comments.
With the benefit of 20 yrs hindsight, the debut is fairly keyboard heavy, but they sound very warm and tasteful and the basslines are still fantastic. The band sounds like a complete unit start to finish on this one. The textures and arrangements are great. The version I cut my teeth on had the long version of Planet Earth to start side one and no "To the shore". That track, while definitely not essential, is a good indication of what they were trying to accomplish as a band. "Wash away the rusty disease of your brown town days in our silver seas" might well be Duran Duran's enduring mission statement.

Ground breaking?
Yes.
Has this album aged well?
Not!!!
One can't help but go back and listen to this disc and start laughing.
It's just not even in the same league as Rio.
"This is Planet Earth.............no s^&& Sherlock!!!"
Still, if you're new to DD, I suggest you start with Rio, and then proceed directly to the Wedding Album.
If you fall in love THAT much with those two discs then you may want to check out the rest of the bands catalog.
This may have been DD's first but it's hardly their finest.
What songs on this disc are keepers?
Night Boat is really the only one that still sounds good, nice creepy keyboards.
The direction DD went in with the eternal Rio, less of a pop album and more of a prog. pop direction.
Too bad they sound like a bunch of disco rejects nowadays.
Still, it was DD's debut and is worth a listen.........and a chuckle.
Enjoy.........

This is one of the best albums of all times! I already had the U.S. release, but I had to have this UK release with "To the Shore." Overall, either version is a classic that you can listen to from beginning to end and enjoy every second!

I had 2 different version LPs, both purchased 1984/1985
the major different is
the 1980 edition (this one) has "To The Shore" (#4), one of my very favorite
the 1983 edition: replaced "To The Shore" with "Is There Something I Should Know" (#5)
I personally perfer this one, it represents their first time, they played real band once till "Notorious" (most of ingredients is synthesizers)
this album they used alot of "click" on "Planet Earth", "Careless Memories", that catch my ears
but my favorites are: "To The Shore", "Sound Of Thunder", "TEL AVIV", they're pretty like "Save a Prayer" (on Rio)
LeBon, Taylor, Rhodes, you brought me a lot of good music memory, even this one
if you like Duran, I recommend this one (not 1983 edition)

At the time in 1981, this was quite revolutionary. Take one part of the smooth, Flesh and Blood-era Roxy Music, one part electronic glam via Tin Drum-era Japan, dance beats courtesy of Chic, and add a large dose of pop sense and fashion via, maybe say, David Bowie and you have the first Duran Duran album. The sound was new and when you listen to this, you can sense that feeling of new-ness. The band knew this was an original sound born of former ideas with an eye on the Top 40.

It's all here... Dance pop ("Planet Earth"), rock-influenced pop ("Careless Memories," "Is Anyone Out There"), moody experiementalism ("Night Boat," "Tele Viv") all wrapped in suggestive pseudo-intellect (check "To The Shore").

It's pop but it's pop-art reguardless how shallow and popular they became. This album is very good. It sounds good, the writing is sharp, the playing is spot on and the melodies sublime. You can not like it, but you can't really criticize the craft and the work that went into creating it.

If you are the least bit curious, buy it and transport yourself to the days of large, spray-molded hair, puffy shirts and cherry lipstick. Great stuff!

Along with the improved sound, this updated version of "Duran Duran" also features the previously missing (but not earth-shattering) "To the Shore," which fits right in with the rest of these songs. "To the Shore" is a mellow, synth-laden tune with a swooshing percussion sound and subtle but competant guitar work.

Despite their image, Duran Duran were very much a thinking person's band. They also had a dark side to their lyrics and sound, which comes across on this album. What's impressive about this debut is Duran Duran's direct approach and non-naivety within the songs, as if the band knew exactly what it wanted from the start. Unfortunately, that also translates to a record that lacks excitement in parts. Nonetheless, though Duran Duran would expand their sound in a big way on future releases, there's a focused innocence to this record that's endearing.

All these songs are tightly constructed and tuneful. "Girls on Film" has a cryptic, indifferent vibe, but it's catchy as all get-out. In fact, the first several songs on this CD are radio-ready with an earnest vibe, but they might have benefitted from a bit more of a rock-oriented spunk. To its credit, much of this album features a mystical synth sound, a direction the band would perfect on the classic Rio album just one year later.

Musically, the guys in Duran Duran seemed wise and mature beyond their years when they put this out, and were perhaps even prematurely bored with what they were doing. Though "Night Boat" and "Tel Aviv" are more than a bit drab, the band wrote premier dance tunes -- mixed with sing-along pop -- in "Sound of Thunder" and "Friends of Mine," both of which indicated a special harbinger of things to come.

John Taylor: "[Around] 1978, the whole punk thing started to lose its color."

Nick Rhodes: "We grew up in the 70's with glam rock; I suppose that's where our influences are, our stylistic influences, and so we wanted to move more back towards that."

John Taylor: "But at the same time there was this new wave of bands, like Japan, and Simple Minds that were kind of embracing that glam thing, but there was a little bit of funk coming into it, and that just seemed like, `Yeah, this is where we belong.' "

Nick Rhodes: "We found Simon [Le Bon] in 1979 and then we knew we had the full line up."

John Taylor: "We had a piece of music that had a start, a finish, a middle...it had, actually, a verse section and a chorus section and we said [to Simon], `Hey, you got any words for this?' "

Simon Le Bon: "...and I had some words that I tweaked a little bit and found that I could fit them and we had a melody that worked, and within 30 minutes we had pretty much 70% of the song called Sound Of Thunder. When you find something that works that easily and that quickly, you know you're onto a good thing."

John Taylor: "I knew we were doing something new because Andy kinda got the feel for this disco, four-on-the-floor kind of dance beat, and we wanted to somehow throw that into the equation of what was happening."

Nick Rhodes: "We were termed `New Romantics,' or `Futurists'. Actually, I preferred `Futurists' because it sounds a bit more like an art movement."

Simon Le Bon: "And I think we let ourselves become part of that scene, and be thought of as part of that because it helped us. There was a lot of interest in it. And we realized that if we could get into it that it would all spiral and it would help us take off. If you look at the music that the groups were making at that time, it wasn't that similar, really. But, there was a common feeling, a feeling of being part of something new, and this being our time, [that this was] the chance for us to go straight out there and have hits and to grab people by the throat and go, `We're here; we have arrived!' "

I swear the album never sounded this good before. And - now we in the US get the full, real, official album with "To The Shore." Amazing!

The now infamous five's debut album remains one of my favourites. It was released at the just the right time for me - 13 years-old and desperate for quality music with an image to boot. Too young for punk but just about framed for New Wave - Duran took all those seventies influences and packaged them perfectly for an audience just about to come of age. The fact this album co-incided with "New Romanticism" is largely irrelevant. Visage, Classix and even Spandau summed up the contrived nature of some of the NR acts. The first DD album is edgy enough to stand apart from the rest. And this is the important point. Tracks such as "Friends of Mine", "Sound of Thunder" and "Planet Earth" have stood the test of time. Proof was there for all to see during the band's recent UK tour. Many of this album's songs featured during the set with "Friends" elevated to the opening number. This would not have been possible without the excellent work of producer Colin Thurston. Colin was also responsible for the production of "Rio". Undoubtedly the band's best two works. Don't believe me? Listen, if you can, to the dirge that is "Seven and the Ragged Tiger" for which CT had been replaced.
Anyway, back to the band's eponymous first album. My favourite track remains the basket case single - Careless Memories. Punk, funk and rock and roll. It reached number 37 - Britain, you should be ashamed of yourself.
Buy this album. It's of its time but it's not dated in the same way its contemporaries did.

Duran Duran's debut album lacks the feel of consistency & feel of overall concept/plot which works a lot better on their next two albums (none of them are concept albums, but it takes some time before you notice that Seven & The Ragged Tiger isn't!). But this album is still up there on the same level as those two masterpieces, mainly because of the outstanding quality of the songs & the wonderfull production. Truly, the intro to 'Planet Earth' is NEW ROMANTIC, nothing less...

'Girls On Film' is a perfect fashion/narcissism anthem, complete with camera sounds & disordered lyrics. 'Planet Earth', arguably even better &, if so, the best song on the album, wraps up everything in an immaculate classic, sounding like a cross between the former song, & Bowie's 'Starman'.

After these two, the songs lose some quality, but not much, and especially 'Careless Memories', 'Night Boat' & 'Anyone Out There' are classics. On some versions of the album, the 'Is There Something I Should Know' single is also included, a song not as majestic as the band's two first singles, but still a fully deserved classic & smash hit. It also fits well on the album, but the album is perfect even without it, & as anybody just dabbling in Duran Duran must have their first three albums & a best-of anyway (to obtain 'The Wild Boys' & 'A View To A Kill'), tracking down a version of this album containing isn't worth the bother, as it'll be on the best-of...

The s/t debut is a landmark recording. Yeaha, it sounds like the 1980's...the best for part of the early 80's. Anyone Out There, Friends Of Mine, Careless Memories, Friends Of Mine and of course Girls On Film define the New Romantic era way past what Japan or Roxy Music could have ever done. I am not really a huge Duran Duran fan, but this album opened the gates for newer bands like VHS or BETA, The Killers, and The Bravery - all bands that have made splashes some 20 years later. If Duran Duran's career started at Rio, their success would have been quite different to a lot of people. A+ Recording.

One of the best debut albums from one of the most criticized bands in pop/rock history. A lot of old school guitar rock purists like to trash DD, but if you play Planet Earth I guarantee that those same people will at least start to tap their fingers or toes to the song's beat once it kicks in. This is one of the most danceable rock albums of all time. A terrific blend of post-punk, disco, synth-pop and dance rock. On some songs it's easy to detect the Bowie, Blondie, Donna Summer and Roxy Music influence (Girls On Film, Sound Of Thunder, Planet Earth, Friends of Mine) and more subtle influences like Pink Floyd, Velvet Underground, The Clash and Brian Eno on other songs (To The Shore, Careless Memories, Night Boat, Tel Aviv)

In short, forget what the critics say, if your a serious fan of either rock, dance, or mainstream pop at least own this one Duran Duran album.

I received the Cd soon and in good condition. I would do business again with the same comapny

Taking their name from a campy 70's B-movie sci-fi film featuring Jane Fonda as a heroine named Barbarella, the five guys from Birmingham burst onto the UK music scene. Originally released in 1981, the album would be re-released in America with a change in the song lineup in 1983 after the success of Rio. I'm only going to review the original, as "Is There Something I should Know?" appears on several other greatest compilations. I can say that single made me a solid fan of the band. Track 1- GIRLS ON FILM, even the new all video music channel found the video for this tune a little too sexy for an American audiences. It would finally be seen here in a very edited form. The song is rock with a synth-dance sound. Moreoverly, the band would pursue creating dance like remixes of their material pioneering the technique into a marketing bonanza. Love this song. #2 Planet Earth, breakthrough for sure. It would be the first video glimpse of an upcoming dynamic group. Catchy and lyrically sweet! #3 ANYONE OUT THERE- a new sound, a new way of approaching a theme. Simon expresses his vocal talents in this one. #4 TO THE SHORE, here is the song cut from the '83 re-release. Strange, it is the one song on the album that clearly embodies DD'd unique writing style. Infused with sound effects at just the right moment added to the theatrical vocal performance by Simon. You feel like your really on the water somewhere. #5 CARELESS MEMORIES, an angry song about DD's favorite topic-relationships. A classic rock tune. #6 NIGHTBOAT, this might be the reason To The Shore was cut, but the 2 songs are very different in delivery. Nightboat might have also labeled Simon as a bad vocalist. I dare say many times he might sound off key, but he is right on the money. Truly a stretch vocally for any male singer. #7 SOUND OF THUNDER, this song more or less represents the current trend in music at the time... a little talk with a little singing. This should of been the song that was cut. #8 FRIENDS OF MINE- Truly British sounding, I like this song, especially the references to current goings on over seas. #9 TEL AVIV- would be the first time I ever heard this band on the radio. Although never released as a single, a morning classical station I listened to used to play this song during the modern song hour. It probably is the best intrumental ever created by the band. I would suggest picking up the original instead of the re-released version simply to get To The Shore. A solid debut for the only band compared to The Beatles (even though the guys themselves don't agree with the analogy- but who could deny the hysteria that would follow?)