All You Need Is Now

Duran Duran’s beautiful present to the world

The news of Duran Duran’s coming thirteenth album announced around the world late last year has proved to be far from just plain words for millions of its fans. The British New Wave band existing for more than thirty-three years has released both successful and failure albums, and lately the tendency does not seem to be very consolatory. The 2007’s collaboration with Timbaland and Justin Timberlake Red Carpet Massacre 2007 was the last studio creation which was received quite coldly both by the critics and the audience. Naturally the old fans are happy to learn about any experiments possible the original collective decides to carry out, even they were looking rather disturbingly into their idols’ future. Luckily the musicians have managed to mobilize their forces and they have given the world a most beautiful present. Even though the album All You Need Is Now is the British’s first work not released on a major label but on Tapemodern, Duran Duran’s own child, it has exceeded all expectations. It was produced by nobody but the Grammy winner Mark Ronson (Lily Allen, Nas, Christina Aguilera, Adele and many others), and due to their joint effort Duran Duran’s best album in at least a decade has been recorded.

Returning to roots and modernity on All You Need Is Now

The album opens with the first single All You Need Is Now, released not long before the New Year and promising that Duran Duran’s new album would be its returning to roots and quite a contemporary collection all in one. It is especially true about its bright memorable chorus with a very positive call to live, sound, be – as always the British band manages to unite words and music into an important, elevated message. The same spirit is spread over the album’s remaining thirteen tracks. The heavy penetrating Blame The Machines coincides quite well with its title, whereas some great electronic elements appear in the accompaniment on Being Followed. The beautiful lyrical number Leave A Light On is memorable for stylish guitars and Simon LeBon’s soulful vocals, it is followed by Safe, Duran Duran’s collaboration with Scissor Sisters’ vocalist Ana Matronik. It is one of the best disco tracks that you have heard lately, contagious, bold, sparkling, and irreplaceable at any party. This mood continues on Girl Panic!, but it offers more rock guitars and more penetrating vocals. The instrumental composition A Diamond In The Mind lasts a bit longer than a minute and prepares the listeners for another amazing collaboration, this time with Kelis – The Man Who Stole A Leopard. No doubt this is one of the album’s highlights closing with a stylish retro news report. Some marvelous ethnic drums and see noise open another mid-tempo masterpiece Mediterranea, while the expressive and more rhythmic song Too Bad You're So Beautiful is most similar to the band’s early works. Another instrumental composition Return To Now is followed by the final sad ballad Before The Rain, a great nostalgic track to close the album.

The album we all have been waiting for

Great dozen: many consider this number not the happiest one, but it has definitely brought luck to Duran Duran. The album All You Need Is Now has collected all the hopes the band’s fans have been laying on it for such a long time that it has proved enough to wake the band up. In the end, the new songs do not offer anything dramatically new – these are the same guitars, drums, powerful expressive vocals, strings, synthesizer, as thirty years ago. Yet what the British band has been missing for a long time is the feeling of delight with every single note – the entire album All You Need Is Now is literarily filled with this feeling, as if each musician and the vocalist were doing everything with a radiant smile. Perhaps the reason for that is the collaboration with the ever-creative Mark Ronson, or the album’s ordinal number, or the band is simply tired of being bored. The reasons might be a few as well as none. The most important thing is that All You Need Is Now is the album we all have been waiting for, with most of songs being potential hits, colorful, full of deep thoughts, hiding among interesting metaphors, original tangible melodies and the instruments’ splendid playing. Even if this is where Duran Duran decides to put a full stop it will be the best way to do it ever imaginable.