Search - Duran Duran :: Red Carpet Massacre

Great Album

Glindathegood | Washington, DC | 09/29/2010

(5 out of 5 stars)

"I love this album. Now I have to admit I am more of a casual fan of Duran Duran. I know a few of their older hits but don't follow them that closely. Now from the other reviews, I see that some of their dedicated fans didn't like this album because they felt it was too different from their older music.

But to me it still sounded somewhat like their older stuff, but with a modern production. Time moves on, you can't keep doing 80's synths. But you still need great melodies which this has. Generally, I'm not an 80's freak. I tend to like more contemporary music and artists. So for me this was a great album and the way forward for a classic band."

Just Brilliant.

Fausto Chavez | Los Angeles, CA | 03/10/2010

(5 out of 5 stars)

"With Red Carpet Massacre, Duran Duran sound young, energetic and full of ideas. The music is mostly electronic, beat oriented, sleek, not overproduced in the least. I welcome the change to dance/electronica much better than a rehashing anythings previous--way to go! Skin Divers, The Valley, the title song, and Night-runner are among the best music I have ever heard anywhere. The beats are instinctive and tight, the vocals are masterful, smooth, and strong, as good as they ever sounded, incredibly enough. Sophisticated & refreshing. You may not believe it when I say that this one of the best records ever made--until you hear it with an open mind."

Duran Duran Still Standing

Andre S. Grindle | Brewer Maine | 08/09/2010

(5 out of 5 stars)

"Following the return of Andy Taylor Duran Duran began their comeback with the 2004 album Astronaut and followed the album up several years later with this album. The previous album was very well conseived overall yet all the same there was a little bit of a tenative sense when it came to modernizing,especially on the rock oriented songs. On this album Timbaland,The Neptunes and Justin Timberlake are baught into the mix. They were all very hot producers at the time and,honestly all of them were influenced in one way or another by Duran Duran's classic music in the first place among other things. This album has a lot of songs that have a thouroughly 80's electro dance/funk flavors with a lot of nods to the early techno-rock sounds that Duran Duran made famous on their first three albums. "The Valley",the title song,"Box Full Of Honey","Skin Divers","She's Too Much" and "Dirty Green Monster" all showcase these tricky synthesizer loops arranged into this alaborate little pop soundscapes that,even when they aren't involved owe more than their share of debt to the cross pollination style productions of Timbaland. On the surface the modern instrumentation may sound new for Duran Duran and the generation who originally listened to them may in fact dismiss this as "music that sounds like everyone else made only for the kids today". However even if such people listen to this they'll realize that the modern production stylings here are indeed just an extention of the style of Duran Duran and other groups from the new wave era. "Night-Runner" is one of the best songs on the album,finding a wonderful balance between slick 80's pop-funk grooves and new wave. This was explored heavily on the previous album with as well. The one place where this album really jumps to the head of the class is on the rockier numbers. Modern rock can sound very generic in the wrong hands and wind up as something just waiting for an MP3 player or Iphone TV commercial but on songs like "Zoom In","Falling Down","She's Too Much" and "Last Man Standing" the guitar/keyboard and dreamy vocal harmony interaction shows the clever and inventive style in which Duran Duran dealt with in their salad years and are an improvement on the quality of the rock styled material from the previous album. In addition to featuring many great individual songs this album has the built in advantage of standing together as a whole and showcases a possible bright future for Duran Duran's new comeback."