Today on their website Duran Duran announced an all-encompassing repackaging of Arcadia’s 1985 So Red The Rose, arguably the best Duran Duran album never made. Nick Rhodes had hinted towards this release several months ago and I was eager to see if it would come to see the light.

History: Arcadia was one of the DD splinter groups in 1985, at the height of their fame, being comprised of Simon Le Bon, Nick Rhodes and Roger Taylor. The other remaining DD members joined up with Robert Palmer and Tony Thompson to form Power Station.

This re-release includes the original album as-is and all 20 remixes of the five released singles from the album, plus the soundtrack-only rarity “Say The Word”. Also included is the über-rare long form version of “Rose Arcana”. The shorter (0:51) version, according to legend, ended up on the original lease due to length of tape and vinyl allowed to be released at that time. I don’t know if that is necessarily true, but it does make for good folklore. Also included are all five videos and making-of documentaries for each video.

This project would also mark the last use of graphic designer Malcolm Garrett of Assorted Images for any of their packaging or branding related efforts.

Just for kicks, here’s video of 80s stalwart Max Headroom giving Simon and Nick a hard time:

From the Duran Duran press release, the complete track listing for the re-release is below:

Read the rest of this entry »

More on Nitevisions, the Duran offspring band and some speculation of a Spandau Ballet offspring band and a new battle that could reign supreme on the UK pop charts can be found here and their Twitter feed is here. In America maybe the closest pop battle we’ve had would maybe be Madonna vs Michael Jackson in the 80s? Unlike the Brit counterparts of the early 80s and mid 90s (Blur and Oasis battling it out for Britpop) there wasn’t a lot of public mudslinging, just a race to see how could sell more albums. Maybe a Britney vs Christina battle comes to mind? Possibly. I guess times have changed now and they let others do their mudslinging for them.

Here’s the infamous battle on Pop Quiz between Duran and Spandau:

Yesterday EMI released a two-CD (also available on LP, but with limited content) Limited Edition of Duran Duran’s seminal 1982 album, Rio. Of course, I already have my copy that I purchased pre-release during last weekend’s trip to New York.

This release contains the original UK album version, the US album mixes, Manchester Square demos (recorded 28th August 1981), non-album singles and B-sides, and Night Version & Carnival remixes and a 56-page booklet.

This is the first time the US album mixes have been published in different formats other than vinyl and cassette from back in the day. There is also an unconfirmed rumor of an actual reel-to-reel release. When Rio was released on CD the UK version was pressed so while it was nice to have the UK version, this meant saying goodbye to the US version once those cassettes went kaput.

Why the different album versions between the UK and the US? While DD was trying to break into America, EMI felt the album needed to be released to appeal more to the American market at the time. From the booklet, written by Daryl Easlea:

“Guitarist Andy Taylor, writing in his autobiography, ‘Wild Boy’ knew the and should listen to their American record company Capitol and remix the album if they were to make it there. “It gave the album a smoother, cleaner sound that went down better with US audiences. We understood that we needed to change our sound for the States, where the music industry spends far more time and money on mixing material” before cutting to the bottom line. “Not that we had much choice: ‘Remix it and we’ll support you, don’t do it and we won’t,’ said Capitol.” It was remixed under established producer David Kershenbaum’s expert ear. The US market’s appetite had been whetted by the Carnival EP in September 1982 (the mini-album including ‘Hungry Like The Wolf’), before the full Kershenbaum version of the album came out, propelling them into the US Top 10 in early 1983.”

So is the difference in these mixes audible? Yes and no. You can tell the difference listening on headphones; maybe at a party over speakers you wouldn’t be able to distinguish which mix it actually is. Still worth the price though, particularly for the demos and the US version of Lonely In Your Nightmare, which contains extra chorus which has never been available anywhere in the post-vinyl era.

If you want to learn everything you’d ever want to know about the many versions of the nine tracks on Rio, check this out. It even makes my head swim.

So while DD is getting 27-year-old albums re-released, two of the Duran offspring are going to take their turn on the stage. Sons of Taylor’s Andy and Roger have formed their own band, “Nite Visions”, in a clever wordplay of their dad’s moniker for their 12″ single recordings, “Night Versions”. Naturally, they have an 80s electronic dance feel to it. You can find out more about them, including a track sampling, here.

10:30-ish // Eddy’s awake before I am, something that never happened at the beach. Now is groggy-sleep time, the TV is on am I’ve opened the curtains to reveal the brightness outside. The city looks bright but a little hazy and looks warm enough to wear shorts outside.

12:11 // Time to leave the hotel. The bits are at Astro having diner food and after a nice long shower, it’s time to join them. Maybe we’ll check out the High Line today?

12:16 // Ah, the sidewalks.

1:16 // After a brief walk thru the park, we’re now at Tavern On The Green, having bloodys/screwdrivers. Feels good.

3:49 // We’ve walked and walked. Now we’re thru The Bowery, thru Chinatown and down near (what I believe is) City Hall and to the Brooklyn Bridge. We’re going to walk halfway across the bridge and then back. Then back to Canal and then I need to drop by and see John at Record Runner. He’s got the new a-ha and a video bootleg of DD’s Songbook sessions they did last year (?). Also on order for (unfortunately) next week of the Rio release that contains all original 1982 mixes and demos, an the 1981 Hammerstein concert DVD. I wish they would have cone out this week so they’d be waiting but oh well.

10:30 // Record Runner purchases secured! I’ve put two more upcoming DD purchases: the Rio Masters DVD which came out in the spring and the Hammerstein DVD. John was able to give me the advance copy of the Rio re-release which isn’t officially available until Tuesday.

We reconvened at Gym Bar with Scott & Mikey who drove up from DC today. Dinner reservations were secured at Landmarc in Tribeca. Back to the hotel for another street gyro (nothing to eat all day) and then a nap and showers.

12:33 // Grilled skirt steak salad on watercress with roasted peppers, gorgonzola cheese and chimichuri vinaigrette.

4:27 // Back at the hotel room now. After dinner we went to Rawhide which was boring. Between us all there was a battle to where we’re going to go next. Half of us wanted to The Eagle and half wanted to go to double-headed Disco at Nowhere. It was raining and cans were sparse so once we made a commitment we needed to stick to it. Instead, we looked in a guide and found that Barracuda was only a couple of blocks away so we walked there and spent the remainder of the evening there. Logan Hardcore was performing in the back and we had a fun time having cocktails and hanging there, meeting people and watching the show. No street-vendor gyros tonight, time for sleep!

5:09 // Goodnight.

It’s been a bizarre week. Nine dead on the Metro crash. Farrah loses her battle with Cancer. Michael Jackson unexpectedly dies. Distant deaths of people I didn’t know but have had some sort of impact or memory in my life. Thursday I found out I’m separated by one degree to the driver of the Metro train that crashed.

In 1977 I had “the poster” iron-on on a yellow tshirt, and wore it to school. My principal made me turn my tshirt inside out for the remainder of the day. Apparently the teeth or the boobs (or the nipple) was too much. Some people didn’t know how to handle Farrah’s sex appeal. I also had a puzzle of the poster image, too. Her teeth was perfectly centered onto one of the pieces and I always thought that was cool. Maybe if that piece had not been cut so, if her teeth had been divided between pieces, I might never have remembered even owning that puzzle.

There are many more memories and associations with Michael Jackson. The first was back in 1972 or so. On my Cub Scouts handbook (Wolf? Bear? I can’t remember.) I had affixed a Michael Jackson plastic 3-dimensional sticker, which I probably got at the bottom of a cereal box. And also I remember watching the Jackson 5 cartoon series, with its groovy warm colors and animated videos to their songs. And singing Rockin’ Robin in music class.

Later, as an adolescent, I can remember the singles from Off The Wall on heavy rotation on both radio and at the skating rink. My favorite was always Workin’ Day & Night, maybe because it was the most frenetic of the singles from that album, maybe because all the staccato of the percussion. This, of course, was setting the stage for my fascination with the sequencer-laden pop from the early 80s and in particular one Mr. Nick Rhodes.

Then, right after high school, Thriller dropped. The sleeper first hit, The Girl Is Mine, was pretty much under my radar but then Billie Jean showed up on the radio and MTV, and I swear that bassline is still the hottest to date. I watched, live (at broadcast date) the Motown 25 special, where he first moonwalked and really declared his independence from his brothers, who had performed with him minutes earlier but then left the stage once the bass from Billie Jean started. Soon everybody was talking about the Beat It video and had I seen it yet or not. And you probably know the rest of the story from there: the Pepsi spot, the premiere of the Thriller video, super-hyper-mega-stardom, etc.

My interest in MJ waned over the years, but it was always obvious when a new album was coming out and there was no escaping the publicity about his personal life. Wacko? Guilty? Perv? I guess it really doesn’t matter now. The talk on the news is what he will be remembered for, will it be the music or will it be the oddities and scandals? I presume it will be both. No one speaks of Marilyn without mentioning JFK; nobody mentions Elvis without referencing the gaudiness of Vegas shows and dying on a toilet. And it’s probably better that we do remember both sides of Michael, the great music and the perverse plastic oddity he had become.

Today I found out a friend’s cat also passed away, the cute and friendly Kosmo that I spent some time with back in April. Friend’s pets passing is always sad for me, having The Twins™ pass away and knowing what those feelings entail. So RIP to all, even Mr. McMahon.

Duran Duran’s twice-departed axeman Andy Taylor has rerecorded the band’s 1984 hit The Wild Boys. Not to disparage the original recording, but Andy’s The Wild Boys [reprise 09] sounds nothing like the original, which is nice. I hate when covers result in nothing but a new vocal over the same music. I hope Andy makes this avail for download or on iTunes.

I had the tune widget inserted here but, since the auto_play=true was embedded and could not be change to =false, I’ve removed it. I hate pages that autoplay sounds (usually loud) that you’re trying to find the mute or the volume or that makes you wanna pull the plug out of the wall. You can find the track here (it will autoplay).

DD’s The Wild Boys was the sole studio track on their first live album, Arena. It charted #1 in Canada and Germany and #2 in the U.S., the U.K., Ireland, Italy, Austria and Switzerland.

I know I’ve written about this minor fact before, but know it’s hitting me with reality right now. It’s minor, no need to worry, no need to be upset.

Six years ago, when I accepted a new contract assignment with an old company, when I went to a newly reunited Duran Duran concert wearing the most makeup I had worn since 1985, when I put my much-historied VW out to pasture, when I was dating the Millionaire, I thought it in my best interest to redirect my Netflix delivery address to a different address.

I had just embarked on a new contract with Gee, where you probably already know was where I always was meant to be. I was determined to become a full-time employee again, and one of the things I purposefully did was to immerse myself back in to the company’s culture. It wasn’t difficult since I still pretty much knew everybody that worked there still. But I did take it to an extreme by fully decorating my office with plants, posters and mementos both current and reminiscent of my past tenure.

One of my infiltration secrets was to have my Neflix discs sent to my workplace, both to extablish rapport with the new admin staff and to give me reasons for circulating throughout the studio (checking for my discs in the mailroom).

Now, I’m finding myself running (not really) across Horseshoe Park at 2:45am just to get a disc put in tomorrow’s mailbox in order to get another one kicked back to me before the weekend. I’ll bet Netflix is making a killing in today’s “economic crisis” because it’s easier to rent instead of paying $15 for a seeing a movie in a theater.

After playing North America, Europe, Asia, Australia and in November South America on their recent world tour, John, Nick, Simon and Roger of Duran Duran are soon to be headed to their respective homes. But not without once more wiping through central and eastern seaboard of America with a couple of shows in Canada to boot. Playing intimate venus for the world tour finale, they are hitting some of the places they were not able to play earlier this year.

And I’ve never been to Atlantic City…

December 1 / San Antonio, TX / San Majestic Theatre
December 2 / Grand Prairie, TX / Nokia Theatre
December 4 / Tulsa, OK / Brady Theater
December 5 / Houston, TX / Verizon Wireless Theater
December 6 / Biloxi, MS / Beau Rivage Theatre
December 8 / Columbus, OH / Schottenstein Center
December 9 / Toronto, ONT / Air Canada Centre
December 10 / Montreal, QC / Metropolis
December 12 / Mashantucket, CT / MGM Grand Foxwoods Casino
December 13 / Atlantic City, NJ / House of Blues (@ The Showboat)
December 14 / Montclair, NJ / Wellmont Theatre

Twice-departed Duran Duran guitarist Andy Taylor is spilling the beans. His (hopefully) tell all juicefest “Wild Boy: My Life in Duran Duran” publishes September 9 (I’m getting an advance copy next week). Andy voluntarily left DD before/during the Notorious sessions in 1986 and again twenty years later after the original five reunited in 2001. The second departure’s finger-pointing is clouded in fog: with John, Simon, Nick & Roger claiming “an unworkable gulf between us and we can no longer effectively function together” while the Times reports Andy was “unable to get a US working visa to attend the New York recording session because of administrative failures by the band’s management. His departure was not unexplained and he did not leave the band—the Duran Duran partnership was dissolved by the other members.” 

So who’s to blame? While Andy was vaguely quiet on his website after the split, let’s hope he saved the juicy details for the book. Although I think the focus of the publication will be the coke and alcohol fueled heydays of the early and mid 80s, there might be some backstabbing 21st century style thrown in there as well.

The prologue starts at near the end of Andy’s time with the band, better known as Live Aid. As the Fab Five struggled onstage for their prime-time world-watching television apogee, disillusion, distrust and exhaustion is threatening to pull them apart; this would be the last time they would perform together on the same stage for over fifteen years.

The full prologue can be read here on Klaus’ site, but here’s an excerpt:

I’d had enough. I needed a rest from this Groundhog Day cokefueled lifestyle. I realized that the consumption had to stop for the madness to begin to subside. For a while, success had brought us happiness and wealth beyond our wildest dreams. But the lifestyle we had aspired to, and for which we had worked so hard, became the very cancer that was starting to destroy us. Little did I realize how long it was going to take to repair some of the lives damaged as a consequence of our excess. For sure, we paraded around in our fast cars, with beautiful models on yachts in the south of France and the Caribbean, without needing to pay the bill at times (that came later). But it begs the question: Was it all worth it? Not too many people knew about our incendiary arguments or my fights with our management—and the dark depression and bitter resentments that these confrontations created. Neither did they know about the blood and the exhaustion, all from being constantly on the road, or about the mad cocaine binges, or the paranoia and insanity that was caused by being in the spotlight for what amounts to twenty-four hours a day.

We were hanging on by our fingernails.

We were called Duran Duran. This is the story of how we came to rule the world and nearly threw it all away. Brace yourself—it’s a rollercoaster ride…

Copyright © 2008 by Andrew Taylor

UPDATE: I received an email from Daryl Mattson, the Event Marketing Manager of Borders who informs me that Andy will be discussing and signing his book on Wed., Sept. 17 at 1pm at Borders Columbus Circle (in the Time Warner Center; 212.823.9774). Daryl even says that Andy may perform, which would actually be kinda nice for an acoustic set. If you’re in Manhattan, check it out.

I’m about 4/5 through the book and Andy seems to be pretty much on the table. He’s not slagging anybody too hard, but I haven’t made it to that last chapter titled History Repeats: Why I Am No Longer in Duran Duran yet. 

and when I do, it’s normally for a get-together (birthday) or before/after some other event (concert). Let’s chronicle last night:

Stop 1 » Dinner at La Lomita. Yes, yes, I know you’re rolling your eyes because I’ve eaten here again but shut up, it’s the best Mex in town. I went with Melba, as a prelude to Stop 2 and subsequent stops 3 & 4. Even though it was a little warm and the threat of mosquitos was high we opted to eat out on the patio as we always do. It wasn’t very populated which was nice. We were sat at a table right behind Olive, who was out on a date (check Olive’s Facebook page, that’s what is said) with Scott. They recommended the margaritas so we had to order a pitcher for ourselves, just to see if they were as tasty as Olive was saying they were. And they were. We texted O during the date to see how it was going and if he needed to be rescued. It didn’t look like a rescue was needed so we minded our own biznis.

Afterwards, I heard someone calling my name and I turned around to find Dawn, with her new baby, sitting a couple of tables back. I had not seen Dawn in a few years and it was nice to get a little caught up with her. I know Dawn from back when Blowoff was held in the basement, where it was much more cozy and personal. She also went to Duran Duran at the Warner Theater with me and Christopher V, and she said she was going to be visiting him out in the country in a few weeks. I gave her two Moo cards, one for her and one for Christopher, hoping they’ll get in touch. Those were some good times back in ‘03.

Stop 2 » 9:30 Club to see The Faint, just about the only American band I like. Melba’s friend Ed was going to be joining us, and while waiting outside the Former Mr C comes up and says hello, he’s trying to scalp some tickets to get some friends in for the show. Apparently they’re successful, because I see them inside afterwards. He tells me my recommendation for Sticky Rice has been a success. Mmmm Sticky Rice. I’m going to have to go back there this week for some delicious sushi. Two-second review of The Faint: great show, nice imagery, but too short (1:15:00).

Stop 3 » Nellie’s. Since it’s a summer Saturday night we decided to have a drink afterwards. Walking down U we spot the expansive rooftop of Nellie’s, the gay sportsbar, and while we’ve already missed Michael Phelp’s 8th gold medal win, we decide to pop in-and-up anyway. Up on the roof it’s crowded but we find a spot that gives us a little elbow room. Before long, up comes another friend, Single, that I haven’t seen in what seems like a very long time although it’s probably been six months or so. I’ll save the history of Single for another post, or maybe it’s already been written in the archives somewhere, but he’s a treasured friend and it was nice to see him and talk for a bit. We disagreed on our own reviews of the Batman movie, and that’s alright. We’ll still have dinner together soon.

Stop 4 » BeBar. Ed wanted to head down the street to a dance party that happens every 3rd Saturday called Pulse: cutting edge electronic music and visuals. Me and Mel were down so we scooted down there. Ed talked our way out of paying the cover charge, which was kinda fun. The music was great, not a lot of people, but that made for more room to dance. And dancing there was Chris L, who is yet another blast from the past. I know Chris L through EFP and our nights dancing to DJ Carlos at Pearl in Adams Morgan. Quick laughs were shared and then Chris L had to bounce into another room, as he always has.

Thankfully I didn’t run into anybody I knew on the Metro on the way home, as Melba and I were too engrossed trying to play Monkeyball on our iPhones to really notice anything that was going on around us. Unfortunately, I think last night might do it as my quota of running into friends unexpectedly for the year.