Red
Carpet Massacre was the much-anticipated 2007
return of 80’s rockers Duran Duran. On first listen the sound of Simon Le Bon’s
familiar whine is present, although the sound is surprisingly different.
For fans expecting Mach II of ‘Hungry LikeA Wolf’, and ‘Girls or Film’, think
again. While the first two tracks get as close to the old Duran Duran as
possible, the rest of the album takes a different turn.
Fans of the band may be scratching their
heads at ‘Nite Runner’ and wonder if they bought a Justin Timberlake album
instead of a Duran Duran one. That’s not surprising since he wrote, produced
and featured on ‘Nite Runner’ and ‘Falling Down’.
The same can be said for Timbaland with
‘Skin Divers’ and ‘Zoom in’, two songs he wrote, produced and featured on.
The truth is, adding these two brilliant artists to a Duran Duran album was not particularly a savvy idea by the band, as their strong dominance complete overshadow Duran Duran.
Duran Duran seemed more concerned with
being a hit with the younger generation, which may be one of the reasons they
have brought in Timberlake and Timbaland. They definitely have some catchy club
tunes, and replacing Andy Taylor with electronic beats is an interesting decision
That’s not to say I don’t like this album,
I do…as long as I listen to it without thinking of classic Duran Duran. That,
or concentrate too hard on it.
For those who are die-hard fans just take
away the tracks Timbaland and Timberlake contribute to, and the distinct vocals
of Le Bon are loud and clear. The only
difference is that these days Le Bon’s whiny vocals have been altered
electronically on some tracks, and on others left well alone.
Personally, I’d say, to most Duran Duran
fans and newcomers, save your money. Red
Carpet Massacre is not worthy it, and certainly a huge disappointment for
such a highly anticipated comeback.
The core of the songs on the album is pretty good but the production is god-awful. The only exception is "Falling Down". Songs like "Skin Divers" and "Box Full O'Honey" with the right production could have been fantastic. What a lost opportunity! Working with Timbaland was a BAD idea!
ReplyDeleteI agree. They could have done so much better but unfortunately they paid too much attention to the hype of the collaborating artists and not enough attention to the music.
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