Duran Duran "All You Need Is Now"

     The longer a band makes music the more…I would like to say hits they have, but that is not always the case; it is often the more misses they have, either commercial or critical, and I know they would prefer the latter, in regards to an album or a single. I have not listened to many full-lengths from this band prior to this review, but I have listened to enough. I like to focus on the current album instead of always comparing to previous trials. This was said to be the best album from this band since their sophomore album released about thirty years ago, and fans will say that I don’t know what I’m missing; if it is as good then, I must absolutely try it out. But let me say that the last few records of the nineties and the first of the millenium had caused the band to orbit around the atmosphere of success and praise like an Astronaut until that album was released; the level was not as high as previous levels of either, but was a step up from that dark period. The next record was an interesting collaboration between Duran Duran, Timberlake and Timbaland, but did not seem to garner enough success and recognition to avoid a Red Carpet Massacre.                                              The slight cacophony of the opening notes in this modern dance-rock funker has you worried about the future, but then leads into the type of memorable harmonies the band is known for, and why worry when “All You Need is Now.” It is good to live for the future, as long as you do more than just prepare for it, but live in the present simultaneously. I think of Daft Punk, for the first few seconds, but with this techno-trance induced brit-pop sleeper you can “Blame The Machines” (hit machines, that is) for its addictive nature. The next song was written to document a service offered pro-bono once fame has “graced” or “cursed” (depending on your point of view) someone with its presence. Either I am full of all this nervous energy because I’m “Being Followed,” or it is the fact that this song captures the nervous energy so well that the music causes a sense of paranoia and felicity simultaneously. The cowbell, modern dance-rock, Ana Matronic spoken-word breakdown, bass funker makes me feel “Safe (In The Heat of the Moment).” Girls sometimes spin me around ( like a record), and I get in this “Girl Panic!” thinking “holy s***, how can this girl be this gorgeous? I don’t wanna mess this up! Just smile and breathe.” I don’t bother saying anything because usually I just flub it up, but I try to smile, and that doesn’t always work either, but this song’s funky flare that sounds like  reinterpolation of the latter does. “A Diamond in the Mind” is worth more than one you may buy in a store. The orchestration just lays on the grandiosity it’s made for, but the person who may disagree with my first statement is a gold-digging w****. The thrill of the hunt, or the kill, the hunger of a wolf, or its mass appeal, may not deter from a cop and feel. The location is not in a rainforest, but more so the concrete jungle, and Kelis must be the poor victim of “The Man Who Stole A Leopard.” The ending is in the viewpoint of a newscaster who reports on this incidence as an expose. Some people focus too much on “Other People’s Lives,” and this song calls out the celebrity-obsessed, egocentric culture of a large part of the world. It is commendable to care about more than just yourself, but this comments on that infatuation with the rich and famous; which is vapid, pointless, and will never fill that hole left by broken dreams. This vivacious dance-funker reveals a vexation that both genders face. You meet this girl who seems to have a winning personality, and you want to say “Too Bad You’re Too Beautiful” and avoid lovelorn servitude, but “I’m a hostage to that face of yours.”They tell a tale of this girl full of ambition, aware of the struggle, but prefers to be labeled a “Runway Runaway” than a victim of broken-dream stagnate; while I prefer to listen to this energetic percussion under the waves of bloopy synth. The next track is another short musical interlude to help us “Return to Now.”  I could say there was a drought “Before the Rain,” but practically every track was good before this, and the final one reminds me of Pink Floyd? Loosely.  This record was much better than I had expected it would be, and was a fantastic surprise; a shame it did not get more recognition. I highly recommend listening to this record.