got duran?

You know the hits, Hungry Like the Wolf, Rio, The Reflex, Girls on Film, Planet Earth, Ordinary World…at least you should recognize these, if not by name definitely when you hear one.

I’m a huge Duran Duran fan, one of the biggest I know, though luckily not alone. I’ve traveled all over the country (hopefully the world soon) to see them live, I have hundreds of songs including live tracks, b-sides and demos. My collection consists of almost 600 tracks in my iTunes library. And I only have a fraction of what’s out there. And yes I have a poster from the height of the 80’s. Duran had many hits and great singles, but the album tracks, ah the album tracks.

Why do I like them so much? How about a couple of questions for you? What is that one song that you hear that just takes you back to a certain time and place? Why that song? What is it that we so connect with a unique string of tones, thumps and clicks? A pop hit has one or more qualities; a rhythm that makes you subconsciously move to the beat, a catchy hook that repeats over and over in your head, meaningful poetry put to a rhythm and melody. I’m not sure why it is, but many of their songs just hit me.

Their career has been a bit of a roller coaster in and out of the spotlight. Sometimes they hit at just the right time, no bigger than the first half of the eighties, the hitting again in the mid-ninties. A comeback? They’re always “coming back” in the press. The truth is that they have never quit making music since the late seventies. They have crossed 30 years. Duran has 12 studio albums (13 if you count the one of covers, I don’t). I’d like to introduce you to some other Duran Duran songs, ones other than the hits.

I’ve picked out a favorite from each album along with another track, after all, two is better than one. (You can’t pick just one, can you?) I started writing this as one whole piece, but found I cannot finish now. So Twelve parts it is!! Stay tuned for part one…