Current:Home > MyDuran Duran reunites with Andy Taylor for best song in a decade on 'Danse Macabre' album-InfoLens
Duran Duran reunites with Andy Taylor for best song in a decade on 'Danse Macabre' album
View Date:2024-12-23 19:37:20
Duran Duran built their career on New Wave pop and ‘70s funk, the sounds of both Roxy Music and Chic pervading their style.
Throughout their 40-plus year career, the band has dabbled in bass-heavy thickness (1986’s “Notorious”), electronica (1997’s “Medazzaland”), sublime pop (2004’s “Astronaut”) and a messy stew of sounds (2007’s “Red Carpet Massacre”).
For “Danse Macabre,” their 16th release out Oct. 27, Duran Duran is going old-school, new-school and covers-school, stacking 13 songs with the through line of eeriness.
Inspired by their 2022 Halloween show in Las Vegas, the album is an intriguing compilation of reimagined classics (“Super Lonely Freak,” a marriage of their “Lonely in Your Nightmare” and Rick James’ “Super Freak” is especially juicy); covers (Billie Eilish’s “Bury a Friend” benefits from amplified instruments and a snappy arrangement); and new songs (the title track somehow blends camp and industrial goth to perfect effect).
The original quartet of singer Simon Le Bon, bassist John Taylor, keyboardist Nick Rhodes and drummer Roger Taylor enlisted some familiar and fresh names to join them on this curious joyride.
Original guitarist Andy Taylor – in the news lately because of his battle with prostate cancer and new solo album – returns on several songs, as does former longtime guitarist Warren Cuccurullo.
Longtime friend Nile Rodgers adds his signature splash to “Black Moonlight” and “Supernature” and new pal Victoria De Angelis of Måneskin – who shares an affinity for Talking Heads’ bassist Tina Weymouth with John Taylor – gives an assist on the album as well.
Here are some of the standouts.
More:Duran Duran debuts new song from 'Danse Macabre' album, proving the wild boys still shine
‘Black Moonlight’ is the best new Duran Duran song in a decade
When Mark Ronson teamed with the band for 2010’s “All You Need is Now,” the result was predictably fantastic. This was a producer who understood their legacy and knew how to elevate their sound while retaining their signatures. The title track aches with Duran-iness and longtime fans agreed that Ronson tapped into a classic vein.
On “Black Moonlight,” the magic is back. The song lopes with a characteristic groove, Rodgers’ jangly guitar marries seamlessly with Andy Taylor’s textured undercurrents and Rhodes’ keyboard squiggles sound like bits of a B-52s cut.
It’s a party song laced with simple lyrics (“We’re going out tonight, move ‘til we’re out of sight, into the black moonlight”) contrary to Le Bon’s usual arcane contributions.
There is also a “Thriller” vibe as the song shimmers with a spooky tenor (you almost expect a Vincent Price overdub to appear) and swoops through its catchy bridge.
If this is the last we hear of the original quintet, it’s a perfect happy ending.
‘Psycho Killer’ proves an ideal cover for Duran Duran
Fans who still shudder when thinking about the band’s 1995 “Thank You” album - their ill-advised (save for their spectacular version of Grandmaster Melle Mel’s “White Lines (Don’t Do It)”) homage to artists who inspired them - can exhale.
While not every choice on “Danse Macabre” works (Duran’s rendition of the Rolling Stones’ “Paint It, Black” is more theatrical than sinister), their remake of The Talking Heads’ quirky 1977 song is an ideal marriage between band and song.
It’s faithful, but funkier, likely due to the double bass production of John Taylor and Måneskin’s De Angelis.
De Angelis told USA TODAY in a recent interview that the pair wrote the bass lines together in the studio – “He’s an incredible bassist,” she said – and Taylor offered some sage advice to the young musician.
“He told me to always keep my own style. He wrote the first bass line (for ‘Psycho Killer’) and then let me redo it in my own way. He really gave me space to be myself,” De Angelis said.
In addition to its musical anchor, the song also features prominent cymbals and percussion as well as Le Bon unleashing his flair for the dramatic in his vocal delivery.
‘Nightboat’ shimmers as a reimagined classic
Prior to their recent Future Past tour, it had been two decades since the band performed the murky song from their 1981 self-titled debut with any regularity.
Longtime Duranies will recall with amusement the low-budget zombie video that accompanied its release (Le Bon muttering the Queen Mab speech from “Romeo and Juliet” remains awesome for many reasons).
But as one of Duran Duran’s most overlooked songs, it’s refreshing to see the band reclaim it. It’s denser, lusher, obviously performed with a deeper vocal – Le Bon’s boyish yelps are, sadly, matured – and hard to shake.
The song creeps up on you – no pun intended – as the guitars slash harder and the drums build to a climax.
If you’re crafting an album with the theme of shadowy strangeness, “Nightboat” is the ultimate no brainer.
More:Dolly Parton joins Eminem, Duran Duran in Rock & Roll Hall of Fame: 'Guess I'm a rock star now'
veryGood! (42)
Related
- She was found dead while hitchhiking in 1974. An arrest has finally been made.
- Taylor Swift is getting the marketing boost she never needed out of her Travis Kelce era
- China Evergrande soars after property developer’s stocks resume trading
- Fantasy football stock watch: Texans, Cardinals offenses have been surprisingly effective
- Advocacy group sues Tennessee over racial requirements for medical boards
- More than 100 dolphins found dead in Brazilian Amazon as water temperatures soar
- The Summer I Turned Pretty's Gavin Casalegno Trolls NY Jets for Picking #TeamConrad
- Show them the medals! US women could rake in hardware at world gymnastics championships
- Mariah Carey's Amazon Holiday Merch Is All I Want for Christmas—and It's Selling Out Fast!
- Brewers' Brandon Woodruff is out for NL wild-card series – and maybe longer
Ranking
- Zendaya Shares When She Feels Extra Safe With Boyfriend Tom Holland
- Late night TV is back! How Fallon, Kimmel, Colbert handle a post-WGA strike world
- Police investigate after video shows handcuffed Black man bloodied and bruised during Florida traffic stop
- 'He survived': Texas community raises money for 6-year-old attacked with baseball bat in home invasion
- Inside Dream Kardashian's Sporty 8th Birthday Party
- Meet Jellybean, a new court advocate in Wayne County, Michigan. She keeps victims calm.
- FTX founder Sam Bankman-Fried's trial is about to start. Here's what you need to know
- More big strikes loom, with thousands of health care and casino workers set to walk off the job
Recommendation
-
Mike Tyson concedes the role of villain to young foe in 58-year-old’s fight with Jake Paul
-
Biden says he's most pro-union president ever. But his policies hurt striking UAW workers.
-
National Democrats sue to block Wisconsin’s absentee voting witness requirements
-
NFL Week 4 winners, losers: Bengals in bad place with QB Joe Burrow
-
Rachael Ray Details Getting Bashed Over Decision to Not Have Kids
-
US Rep. Henry Cuellar of Texas carjacked by three armed attackers about a mile from Capitol
-
Beyoncé’s Daughter Blue Ivy Reveals Her Makeup Skills That Prove She’s That Girl
-
Jacksonville sheriff says body camera video shows officers were justified in beating suspect