Duran Duran
Notorious

THE REVIEW

By 1986, it was clear that the New Romantics music scene was fading. The groups that were part of it had reached, willingly or not, more mature and suitable sounds, but no less refined for that. For Spandau Ballet, it was time for Through The Barricades, for Talk Talk The Colour of Spring. For Duran Duran, Notorious. Along with the next one, the album of maturity indeed.

Nevertheless, Notorious (UK#16, US#12) was ignored or at worst maliciously judged, an easy target for criticism. But that the band's latest work could not enjoy the exemplariness of the debut or of Rio was predictable and perfectly acceptable in hindsight. I rather consider it an attempt to renew and rejuvenate, especially during a difficult time like the one following the '84 tour. Out went Roger and Andy, with previous managers and producers also dropped, Nick, John, and Simon presented themselves as a trio, wisely accompanied by Warren Cuccurullo on guitars in the recording studio and Nile Rodgers in production. The result was an album out of space and time, precious and homogeneous, which made elegance its hallmark. In the overall vision, new lyrics, partially inspired by Hitchcock's filmography, and a resoundingly funky sound made the band's image still desirable and inviting five years after their debut.

When the album was released in November '86, the opening, self-titled track was already a hit single. Despite being one of the last songs recorded, Notorious (UK#7, US#2) aims to be the manifesto of the new musical direction, finding strength in guitar interplays and the pulsing bass of the chorus. Crowning it all, an ambiguous and sly lyric that brings a smile between Simon's verses and the No-No-Notorious; it couldn't have been otherwise, with such a title. American Science moves in the same territory but entrusts the lead to Nick's keyboards and percussion for a gently flowing song. A rarefied atmosphere surrounds an innocent satire of American consumerism. To enliven it, and greatly so, come horn incursions and a nice outburst from Warren (or Andy?). A pity it wasn’t chosen as a single at the time, but its appeal did not go unnoticed by the record company, which commissioned an interesting remix. The third track, Skin Trade (UK#22, US#39) would deserve a review of its own, a lesson in style that manages to combine Le Bon's falsetto, the horn section dominating the scene, keyboard, and bass in great form and lyrics about the commodification of the human body. It is all enriched by a couple of impressive instrumental breaks, where the track progressively welcomes other instruments until the final crescendo with Simon's voice and choruses alternating the chorus lines. According to the band, Skin Trade is still the pride of the album, if not their career. Yet, launched as the second single, it was then misunderstood. Let's say its overly libertine cover didn’t help. A Matter of Feeling keeps the album's quality high with a soft and delicate ballad, with very light keyboards and guitars caressing the love verses. The song clearly harks back to Save a Prayer, but making such a comparison would be inappropriate; they share the same blood but the ancestor is nevertheless of a completely different caliber. Closing the first side of the vinyl, we find Hold Me, a track that bridges to the old pop-rock Duran Duran. Aside from a curious musical interlude, it has little extraordinary, even Simon's singing struggles to take off here. While still pleasantly listenable, it thus represents the first drop in tone. Vertigo (Do The Demolition) already foretells with the title a squared and hypnotic progression, hammering if you like, with a nice guitar and keyboard work marking the song’s course. Where the previous track lacked power, here the voice remains at remarkable levels, alternating pressing verses with "angelic" choruses. The seventh track So Misled brings back the trumpets to color the scene in a number inspired by the '60s Soul. The track flows pleasantly and has a good refrain, but listening to the guitars one gets the impression it’s an (avoidable) attempt to reproduce the formula of the title track, without as much luck. Meet El Presidente (UK#24, US#70) looks to the same years, but instead recalls funk, in a track with a danceable soul. Overall, the alchemy works and draws a compelling and openly "black" rhythm, lovely precisely because unusual for Duran Duran. The disengaged lyrics and catchy melody made it the third and last single released, nothing exceptional but still a tasty little song. The subsequent Winter Marches On is the only disappointment on the record. A mystery, truly, why they included it, when it wouldn’t have looked out of place in an album like So Red The Rose from the parallel Arcadia project. Not that it’s ugly, but it inevitably clashes with its funk sisters, in a winter march with little Notoriousness. We Need You (relegated to the b-side of Skin Trade), a sincere declaration to Andy Taylor, would have deserved its place, being more in line with the album’s sound.Proposition closes side B, with a decidedly rock feel, not displeasing because well-balanced by the usual horns and John’s bass, galvanized by the Power Station experience. This time the bridge isn’t quite as appreciated as the previous ones, indeed it proves somewhat predictable and confusing, but doesn’t compromise what is, overall, an excellent closure.

In conclusion, an album that, unlike many contemporaries, has aged well, and has the merit of still sounding fresh, such that listening to it gives the impression of sipping a good cocktail, catapulted into its elegant atmosphere right from the cover. I have purposely chosen an album I grew up with for my first review, and I hope you’ll appreciate it. But if instead we have managed to bore you, believe me, it wasn’t done on purpose.