Duran Duran's new album: How it stacks up

April 15, 2011

Duran Duran recently released "All You Need Is Now," the 13th studio album from the British pop veterans. A welcome return to the band's new wave roots, "AYNIN" ranks among the top five Duran albums. Take a closer look at the list, in no particular order.

"Duran Duran ("The Wedding Album," 1993): An introduction to a new generation of Duranies. The divergent sounds of the album (pop/rock, dance, world music) are knit together by Simon Le Bon's voice, at its strongest in years. The monster ballads "Ordinary World" and "Come Undone" ultimately are what returned Duran to the public consciousness.

"Duran Duran" (1981): Duran's eponymous debut reveals New Romanticism to the world. "Planet Earth" and "Girls on Film" are the album's most recognizable moments, but "Careless Memories" and "Friends of Mine" in particular stand the test of time. Live in concert, they never get old. And that a band could write a song such as "Sound of Thunder" right out of the gate proves that Duran was meant to be.

"Rio" (1982): Duran's most cohesive artistic statement begins with the famous Patrick Nagel album cover and ends with the masterpiece "The Chauffeur." In between lie three of pop's biggest hits and more songs that could have been singles, including "Hold Back the Rain" and "Last Chance on the Stairway."

"Astronaut" (2004): The reunion album brought The Fab Five back with the hits "(Reach Up for the) Sunrise" and "What Happens Tomorrow." The unbridled optimism of "Sunrise" and "Taste the Summer" give way to the haunting "Chains" for an album that hits on every mood to produce exhilarating swings.

"AYNIN" (2011): Working with Grammy-winning producer Mark Ronson, Duran aimed to release a proper follow-up to "Rio" and succeed. Longtime fan Ronson steers the band back to its early sound with ballads such as "Leave a Light On" and driving dance/pop tracks such as "Girl Panic!" "AYNIN" is by far Duran's best work since the early '90s, filled with gems that will appeal to longtime fans of the band and New Wave nostalgists alike.