Duran Duran
BLACK MOONLIGHT

LA RECENSIONE

Black Moonlight is the second unreleased track - released on September 21, 2023 (today) - of the three that will be included in the cover album set to see the light on October 27. Duran Duran return to making their music without the lofty flights and noir shades of the equally pretentious and awful Danse Macabre title track from the aforementioned album.

Nile Rodgers, the 6th member of the group as he loves to refer to himself (Andy Taylor seems that he will be rejoining the band), starts playing the guitar in a funky/pop way from the first few seconds as few can, alongside him. It's evident that he supports Nick Rhodes & Co. in the writing phase, which gives the track a rhythm that seems directly out of New York's late '70s Studio 54. Simon Le Bon at times sings in falsetto like one of the Gibb brothers, John Taylor now plays the bass like the late Bernard Edwards, and all that's missing is a chorus by Grace Jones to hit the dance floor in bell-bottom pants alongside Travolta.

I'm not a musician but the song seems a bit light to me; sure, it's catchy, danceable, and, why not, beautiful but it gives me the sense of being part of a "rushed" project.

Roger Taylor beats hard on the drums and perfectly accompanies John Taylor's bass; here, upon the nth listen, I notice that Black Moonlight has a significant merit: you can distinctly hear the guitar, bass, drums, vocals, and synth in a dance piece and that's no small feat.