DURAN REDUX FAB THREE PUT FORTH NEW LUCID TUNES WITH DRAMA
Published on THURSDAY, July 23, 1987

Byline: By ANDREW MEANS, The Arizona Republic

Whether Duran Duran's new lineup is better than the old one was never really a challenging issue. The real question is whether the group deserved Beatle-like acclaim in the first place.

Now at the tail end of its first U.S. tour in four years, Duran Duran is having to work a little harder to sell tickets. Several thousand were given away for this event, which attracted an audience of around 9,000.

Duran has made the transition from quintet to trio without any big changes in musical style. It was never music of historic originality or great emotional depth on a par with that of The Beatles. But at least people are now listening instead of screaming, and the music can be judged more realistically.

As the nucleus of the stage act, the remaining Duran trio -- singer Simon Le Bon, keyboardist Nick Rhodes and bassist John Taylor -- were quite capable of projecting sufficient personality. Le Bon always has been the central figure on stage in any case. The guitarist and drummer on this tour, Warren Cuccurullo and Steve Ferrone respectively, were more than adequate replacements for the two ex-Durannies, Andy and Roger Taylor. A horn section and two backup singers beefed up the firepower still more.

Although the group's current album, Notorious, has not overwhelmed the public as convincingly as 1983's Seven and the Ragged Tiger, it is a better album. Lyrics are more lucid and arrangements less cluttered -- two clear advances over previous material.

Le Bon may not be a great singer, but he does make use of his acting background to project a sense of drama. It could become a bit patronizing Wednesday night, Le Bon introducing songs with big-brotherly snatches of advice for his audience. Save a Prayer, for instance, was preceded by words of wisdom about keeping one's cool in times of trouble.

Although the album Notorious was heavily featured, earlier work was not neglected. There were songs from Duran's catalog as well as from the two groups into which Duran splintered, Arcadia and Power Station. For Arcadia's Election Day, Le Bon put on quite a performance, announcing the song after giving a mock campaign speech.

Opening act Erasure spilled plenty of sweat over their vigorous techno-beat rhythms and candid train-of-thought lyrics. But, with only the vocals and some of the keyboards being performed live so it seemed, the overall effect was rather two-dimensional. Tinny sound quality also detracted from Erasure's set.

Click here to go back to the articles page.

Click here to back to the front page.