If whatever goes around does indeed come around, Duran Duran are about to come back in a big way....again....for the third time. After dominating EVERYTHING (the charts, the airwaves, MTV) in the early to mid 80's, Duran Duran finished the 80's rather quietly with the slow-selling hits compilation, "Decade". While serving as a bookend to the decade that launched them and showing their growth over those years, many critics saw "Decade" as a convenient way of locking the band in the eighties and writing them off for good.

The dawning of the 90's brought much change; a new marketplace, a new musical horizon and a new Duran Duran. After a few line-up changes, the band, now a four piece, returned in 1993 with another self-titled album. The album was a huge world-wide smash placing the band back in the top 5 next to the likes of Dr Dre and Nirvana. Unfortunately, the band were not able to capitalise on their success and disappeared from the public eye....again. Despite the fact that they still released new music and toured heavily, the band ended ANOTHER decade rather quietly and with another hits compilation entitled "Greatest". As their history has repeated itself before; will lightning strike a third time?

The original 'Fab Five' line-up of Simon Le Bon, Nick Rhodes and the three unrelated Taylors; John, Andy and Roger have reformed with a new album due later this year, which has been drawing a huge buzz throughout the music industry. In an effort to finally capitalize on the band's back catalogue, EMI has begun (thankfully) to remaster the older CDs and graced us with this 13 CD behemoth, "The Singles 81-85", a collection of 13 singles from the 'Fab Five' days.

Because of the nature of this set; I'll divide my review into 4 parts to comment on The A-sides, The Mixes, The B-sides and packaging.

Not much needs to be said about the A-sides; "Rio", "Girls on Film", "Hungry Like The Wolf" and "The Reflex" are all present and prove to be a jolt of energetic pop perfection. The arrangements, the musicianship and the overall presentaion of the songs are gleefully left of center without descending into pompous 'art school' musings. And these were chart topping singles! "Union Of The Snake" is one bizarre song and yet it was chosen as the lead off single from their highly anticipated third album "Seven And The Ragged Tiger". Even more bizarre is the fact that they made it a number one smash around the globe. One thing that hits you when listening to the A-sides is how modern they sound in todays musical climate; their influence is being felt all over alternative radio nowadays. The mix of sequencers and distorted guitars (Careless Memories or Hungry Like The Wolf) is all over the place - I can go to any of the Lower East Side rock clubs here in NYC on any given night and hear at least two bands doing this!

The Mixes are extended or sometimes reworked versions of the A-sides that range from dance floor nirvana to four on the floor monotony. During the early 1980's, extend"d mixes of songs were done by just splicing the tape to lengthen tracks and keep the dance floor moving. This usually meant that four minutes would fly by before the vocals made their appearance while other sections or riffs would be repeated ad nauseum. A few of the extended mixes (Night Versions as Duran used to call them) presented here suffer from this formula. "My Own Way", "Is There Something I Should Know?", "The Reflex" and "The Wild Boys" are trying, to say the least. Its not all irksome listening however, "Hungry Like The Wolf" is perfection and "Hold Back The Rain (12" Re-Mix)" is potential realized as it provides a kick in the pants that the anemic-sounding album version never had.

The most succesful Night Versions of the batch are the first two; "Planet Earth" and "Girls On Film". Instead of extending the songs via tape splicing, the band actually re-arranged and then re-recorded them, transferring them into dance floor classics. "Girls On Film" takes on a life of its own and arguably surpasses the original version. This was also the version used for the infamous R-rated cut of the video. "Planet Earth" sounds like a long-lost disco hit with its horn section and funkified bass line. One thing that will keep your head boppin' while listening to these mixes is John Taylor's wicked, unorthodox bass parts. He was one of the finest, most original bassists to emerge from the New Wave movement, hands down.

As most are making their official CD debut here (I've had my bootleg B-side disc since 1996!), the B-sides are the real trump card of this set for they show the band veering off into mostly experimental territory. "Late Bar" and "Faster Than Light" are dark, yet danceable, New Romantic anthems that will lodge themselves into your mind and not be forgotten. "Khanada" is quite surprising in that it sounds very little like what we associate with the band as it has an almost middle eastern flavour running through it and a highly exotic vocal melody; terrific performance from Simon Le Bon. "Like An Angel" is a sweet, spanish-sounding pop ditty featuring sophisticated rhythm and lead guitar work from Andy Taylor. We will forgive them for the whistling solo!

"The Chauffeur (Blue Silver)" could not be more different sonically from the ethereal, synth-driven album version. This organic arrangement gathers its ambience from acoustic guitars and a lovely fretless bassline without the use of any electronics to create its eerie textures. "Rio (Part two)" is a mostly intrumental version of the famous track but with the original, post-fade ending. This song fades out as the band plays but for this version we get to hear the band end all at once giving it a more 'live' feeling. "My Own Way" is a different version from the 1981 single on Disc 4; basically it's a remix of the re-recording! The band disliked the single version so they re-recorded it for the Rio album. Then it was remixed (along with 3 others) for the re-released Rio album in the US. This is the definitive version of the song as the guitar, bass and drums are pumped up and more agressive sounding than the previous two takes. "Faith In This Colour" is another high point that finds keyboardist Nick Rhodes proving he was far more than a poster child for Maybellene. Over an unobtrusive drum groove and sparse guitar work, this instrumental features layer upon layer of synthesizers that show Nick's mastery of sound, textures and programming. Two versions are present here; an alternate slower (and rarely heard) version from the earliest pressings of "Is There Something I Should Know?" and the quicker take which appeared on all subsequent copies of the single.

"Secret Oktober" is absolutely fantastic; beautiful lyrics, stellar synth work and a haunting melody. Once again Nick Rhodes dominates (no guitar or bass present) with a vast array of synth layers, giving the song its ethereal feel. This is the best of the B-sides and a fan favourite to such an extent that the band actually started playing it in concert in 1997/99. "Tiger Tiger" is a slightly remixed version of the moody instrumental from the "Seven And The Ragged Tiger" album. Many bands use cover versions as their B-sides and we get two from the band here. The first is a rocking spin on the David Bowie classic "Fame". A bit more raucous than Bowie's and louder than one might expect from Duran Duran. The best way to pay homage to the artist whose influence is so clearly evident on much of their early work. Next, is a live cover of Steve Harley and Cockney Rebel's glam anthem "Make Me Smile (Come Up And See Me)". Recorded at the famed Hammersmith Odeon this version finds the group starting off like a ballad for the first verse and chorus before lauching into a rock/pop direction with very LOUD guitar and a stellar solo from Andy Taylor. This version is much more true to the glam rock era than the original version - and the original is supposedly a glam rock classic!

The packaging for the set is very elegant; a simple black gloss box containing sparse graphics and a flip top lid. The 13 discs are cardboard reproductions of the original 12" single artwork that look fantastic. There is also a nice fold out poster with credit listings on the reverse. The poster is a classic shot from 1981 that looks awfully cool when framed.

This is a wonderful set on many levels and EMI did a fantastic job with it. The music is ample proof, once again, that Duran Duran are a much better band than they have been given credit for. The buzz on them these past two years has been amazing with many musicians mentioning them as an influence with more positive press than ever before. Thanks to EMI's remastering project, the band's catalogue is being revisited with loving detail giving longtime fans superior sound quality and the chance to own many rarities on CD for the first time. They are also allowing casual and future fans to hear different sides of the group that they have not heard before.

The reader will have noticed that I placed two ratings in the sidebar. As a longtime fan I can only say that this is a most welcome release and I love every note contained within. For me, it is essential and I look forward to the other remasters (which are due this August) and the new album. As the band once said during comeback number one in 1993; "Styles change, Style doesn't".

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Duran Duran
The Singles
1981-1985

Fan Rating

Released: June 10, 2003
Origination Year: 2003
Time: Are you kidding?
Tracks: 40
Produced by: Duran Duran and Various
Engineered by: Various
Project Coordinator:Nigel Reeve
& Jo Brooks
Mastered by: Nick Webb
Style: Studio
Format: 13CD Box Set
Enhancement: None
Label: EMI/Capitol Records
Website:
www.duranduran.com

Careless Memories
Khanada
Fame

Girls on Film
Faster Than Light
Girls on Film (Night Version)

My Own Way (Single Version)
Like an Angel
My Own Way (Night Version)

Hungry Like The Wolf
Careless Memories (Live)
Hungry Like The Wolf (Night Version)

Save a Prayer (7" Edit)
Hold Back the Rain (Re-Mix)
Hold Back the Rain (12" Remix)

Rio (Part One)
The Chauffeur (Blue Silver)
Rio (Part Two)
My Own Way

Is There Something I Should Know?
Faith In This Colour
Is There Something I Should Know? (Monster Mix)
Faith in This Colour (Alternate Slow Mix)

Union of the Snake
Secret Oktober
Union of the Snake (The Monkey Mix)

New Moon on Monday
Tiger Tiger
New Moon on Monday (Dance Mix)