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Rating: With this review, I want to focus on the Duran Duran historical period from 1995 to 2000, and specifically I would like to do justice to the much-maligned and misunderstood, in its intentions, trilogy:
Thank You - Medazzaland - Pop Trash.
After the unexpected success of the singles Ordinary World and Come Undone from the 1993 self-titled album, Duran Duran decided to release a cover album as a tribute to their musical inspirations.
Misunderstandings with the record label EMI were the reason for the delayed release, and the band's intentions lost that initial genuineness in the eyes of critics.
Thank You was (and still is) considered the worst album of all time.
Now, I don't know about you, but when Lou Reed and Bob Dylan, when interviewed, stated that the covers of Perfect Day and Lay Lady Lay were sublime, I wonder how these so-called reviewers chose that definition for the record.
Reduced to a trio, Le Bon with Rhodes and Cuccurullo composed what I consider their most daring work: Medazzaland.
Electronic experimentation in full nineties style with nods to the past (Electric Barbarella is essentially a Planet Earth in a slightly more ironic and sensual way).
Out Of My Mind, also included in the soundtrack of the film The Saint, showcases a quest for sound perhaps never exploited to such a level in their production, and the "Perfecto Mix" makes it seem like a track taken from Ultra by Depeche Mode (listen to believe).
Pieces like Be My Icon and So Long Suicide find a right balance between force and elegance.
But the real gem, Michael You've Got A Lot To Answer For, dedicated to the leader of INXS, suppresses any doubt about Mr. Le Bon's ability to move. He sang it only once, bursting into tears following the friend's passing.
The evolution that Warren Cuccurullo brought to the band unfortunately was not well received by the usual ones, and Capitol decided to sell the album only in Japan, Argentina, and North America.
My personal and understandable opinion is unnecessary.
All of this led to a misstep: signing with Hollywood Records.
Pop Trash, which featured a more rock and guitar-driven style similar to its predecessor, was ignored by the music circuit also due to the lack of publicity and the label's lack of interest in promoting it.
Even though I consider Someone Else Not Me a track of absolute beauty.
In the new millennium, Duran reformed with their old members, returning to the classic lineup, and since then, the revival of their style has brought them to new generations and a new chapter in their history.
Tracklist Lyrics and Videos
03 Electric Barbarella (05:19)
I knew when I first saw you on the showroom floor
You were made for me
I took you home and dressed you up in polyester
Princess of my dreams
Emotionless and cold as ice
All of the things I like
The way you look
The way you move
The sound you're makin'
In ultra-chrome, latex and steel
I plug you in
Dim the lights
Electric Barbarella
Your perfect skin
Plastic kiss
Electric Barbarella
Try to resist
Then we touch
Hallucinate and tranquilize
(she's so fine)
(she's all mine)
Our private life is subject to investigation
No time to waste
People say they heard about our deviation
But you never looked so good
Wear the fake fur and fake pearls for me
And put on your mystery
The way I feel you know
I'll never keep you waiting
In ultra-chrome, latex and steel
I plug you in
Dim the lights
Electric Barbarella
Your perfect skin
Plastic kiss
Electric Barbarella
Try to resist
Then we touch
Hallucinate and tranquilize
Princess of my dreams
Princess of my dreams
Major domo plasticomo Barbarella
(She's so fine)
Pro-genetic you Electric Barbarella
(She's all mine)
My pretty pretty pretty pretty Barbarella
04 Out of My Mind (04:20)
Light a candle
Lay flowers at the door
For those who were left behind
And the ones who've gone before
But here it comes now
Sure as silence follows rain
The taste of you upon my lips
The fingers in my brain
Ever gentle as it kills me where I lay
Who am I to resist?
Who are you to fail?
Got to get you out of my mind
But I can't escape from the feeling
As I try to leave the memory behind
Without you what's left to believe in?
And I could be so sorry
For the way it had to go
But now I feel your presence
In a way I could not know
And I wonder
Do you ever feel the same
In whispering darkness
Do you ever hear my name?
Got to get you out of my mind
But I can't escape from the feeling
As I try to leave the memory behind
Without you, what's left to believe in?
How could you dare
To become so real
When you're just a ghost in me
And I've got to get you out of my mind
But I can't escape from the feeling
As I try to leave the memory behind
Without you, what's left to believe in?
Here in the back of my mind
Deep in the back of my mind
05 Who Do You Think You Are (03:27)
I'm giving you the news
Your domination's through
You gave the best you've got
Now I'm out on top
If you're in any doubt
Listen to me
I've got a right to say
If you know what it's all about
Who do you think you are?
Don't want to be your enemy
If I'm not the one you want me to be
And I've got to do things the way that I do
Always trying to control me
Who do you think you are?
Our time on earth is running through
(This is not a question of my pride)
Sometimes I think it's a game to you
(Ever wonder how I feel inside?)
And sometimes I play along
But man I've got a mind!
You've got to live with yourself
For the rest of you life
Do you understand?
Everybody asks themselves the question
Who do you think you are?
Why do you feel ashamed
When you can't explain the things I say
To other people
It's just occurred to me
A possibility
The thought that you might really want to be me?
08 Buried in the Sand (04:19)
Can't say that I was surprised
When you broke the ties
They were hanging by a thread
But now I have realized
It couldn't be the same
Cause everything has changed
And still I held out my hand
Tried to pull you back
But you were buried in the sand
I'm glad that you came along
But here our journey ends
I say goodbye to you
My very dear friend
You were buried in the sand
Head buried in the sand
You were buried in the sand
Head buried in the sand
You are buried in the sand
09 Michael You've Got a Lot to Answer For (04:09)
I came over your place today
In a roundabout sort of way
Nothing holding me
Just the company
Gentle giving the afternoon
Don't ever try to be any more
Michael, you've got a lot to answer for
You unlocked some of the doors
To my soul
And I don't see you for awhile
Thinkin of you will make me smile
You never bother me with responsibility
Misbehaving in candlelight
Don't ever try to give any more
Michael, you've got a lot to answer for
You got me wakin up wise to the world
Trust you to get caught up in somebody's war
You'll come out of it all in time, I'm sure
Just remember what friends were put here for
Michael, you've got a lot to answer for
And I know that you're gonna call
If you need me
When you need me
If you need me
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Other reviews
By Ale87
"Medazzaland is the classic album to be played as a penalty to the unlucky one who loses in a board game."
"I realize I’ve been too kind in this review... otherwise they would have censored the article if I had freely expressed everything I thought."
