DURAN DURAN decade 

1. Planet Earth 2. Girls On Film 3. Hungry Like The Wolf 4. Rio 5. Save A Prayer 6. Is There Something I Should Know 7. Union of the Snake 8. The Reflex 9. Wild Boys 10. View to a Kill 11. Notorious 12. Skin Trade 13. I Don't Want Your Love 14. All She Wants Is Band: Duran Duran CD: Decade 

<img src="noimage.JPG">
The 1980's: The decade when I was born, the decade of extremes, and the decade when British, punk-influenced pop bands invaded our homes via MTV. At the head of this New-Wave crusade was Duran Duran. 

Originally considering themselves a punk band, their innovative, artsier sound and their cleanly, but liberally-dressed poseur fanbase provided the opportunity to create a dichotomy between "punk" and "new wave". Though there were differences in the art and demographic (upon initial success, the band admitted to teeny-bop aspirations), it was the media who exacerbated this opposition by painting the picture that they were "the antipunk". Always looking for a sensational story, the media (oops, do I count?) allowed the public to embrace the radio-friendly pop hits and fun image, while somewhat demonizing the more hardcore (it doesn't take much to be more hardcore than Duran Duran) punk movement... Sound familiar? 

This album is fab-tastic all the way through. Give it a listen, I guarantee that these will be some of the best 80's pop songs you didn't know you knew. From the first tracks "Planet Earth" and "Girls On Film" to the unbeatable singalong "Rio", Duran's early years are well-chronicled. In the mid-eighties, they moved into a new-funk era. Their sound during this time was achieved primarily by taking what was best about Duran Duran and shaking up the bass and guitar parts to highlight the funkiness that had been dying to break through. Songs demonstrating this include "Notorious" and "The Reflex". By the end of the decade, it seems that they had grown out of this phase, falling into a more mature version of their former sound. Unfortunately, this album was released before the hits "Ordinary World", "Come Undone", and "Electric Barbarella". You may do better to buy the more recent retrospective, entitled "Greatest". 

I don't believe you are a poseur for liking Duran Duran, and neither do Goldfinger, Less Than Jake, The Deftones, Riverfenix (Fenix TX), Wise Crack, Reel Big Fish, Jimmy Eat World, Homegrown, or the many other artists who contributed to the 1997 "Duran Duran Tribute Album" (which is worth picking up).