Duran Duran proves classic sound is new again
By: Nancy Dunham | 10/15/11 8:05 PM
Examiner Correspondent

When you've hit the top rung of fame, it's sometimes difficult to just be yourself.

That was something of the case for Duran Duran, which was one of the most iconic bands of the 1980s and a mainstay on MTV's heavy rotation video list for songs such as "Hungry Like the Wolf" and "Rio." Not only did the group sell more than 100 million albums, but Princess Diana declared Duran Duran her favorite band.

"Mark kind of made us unafraid to be who we are as musicians," said drummer Roger Taylor of the latest recording the band made with Grammy Award-winning producer Mark Ronson. "We spent a lot of time chasing other bands and other sounds. He said, 'You guys are great. Don't be afraid to sound like you do. A lot of younger bands try to sound like you. Sound like yourselves.' That gave us a lot of confidence."

The result is "All You Need Now," which hit the No. 1 slot on the iTunes Album Chart when it was released earlier this year and won the group plenty of critical kudos. It's also powered the band on perhaps it's most anticipated concert tour in decades.

Now that the band has arguably gotten its groove back, the members seem to be playing their back catalog with a new energy and even remaking the popular "Girls on Film" video with the same supermodels who were in the original.

"It was great to see that bunch of girls back together again," Taylor said. "They are kind of like the Rolling Stones, with that type of legendary status not many people outside of [internationally celebrated] bands have."

It's also great to see Duran Duran back together in every sense of the wold. Although they have recorded several albums during the past few years, "All You Need Now" is the first one that arguably brings their sound back together.

"We kind of went off place a little with [the past] albums," Taylor said. "We knew this was a very, very important album to us, a do-or-die album."

Although the album advances the band's sound it also recalls much of the band's early work and sound. Rogers credits Ronson, who they bet almost by happenstance, with reigniting the band's musical spark.

"He's a great guy and we were really on the same wavelength," said Rogers, noting the multi-instrumentalist was something of a student of the band's catalog. "He knew every B-side, really everything we ever made and he brought all of this great knowledge to the table. ... It's great to be back, playing the songs our fans want to hear."

Read more at the Washington Examiner: http://washingtonexaminer.com/entertainment/music/2011/10/duran-duran-proves-classic-sound-new-again#ixzz1b02iHhMN