Duran Duran Appreciation Day is upon on, and there's no better time for Duranies to reflect on the many things to appreciate about our favorite band. Here are just four, one for each member of the band:
Duran is still recording new music
Though nearly four years have passed since the release of Duran's last album, "Paper Gods," signs point to the band's 15th studio album surfacing next year. The band spent time in the recording studio last year with producer Erol Alkan. Earlier this year, Duran was in the studio again, this time with Mark Ronson and likely guest musicians Graham Coxon of Blur and Lykke Li. Members of the band have said they're aiming for a 2020 album release, which would tie in nicely with Duran's forthcoming 40th anniversary.There are always the old classics
Even when new music takes a bit longer to come out than expected, there is always the band's vast catalog to go back to. For me, the band's first two albums and "The Wedding Album" never disappoint. There's no Duran album that doesn't have its high points. And there are even older songs I may have forgotten about or might not have heard in the first place. Case in point: the "Tel Aviv" demo. Maybe I just never listened because I expected it to be another version of the instrumental from the band's debut album. But the song has lyrics and driving bass and guitar. For me, it's a lost classic.The band can still surprise us
After years of rather staid setlists, the band broke out "The Seventh Stranger" for U.S. shows early this year. And for the recent NASA concert, Duran went with a space theme, playing "Planet Earth" and "Space Oddity" from the standard setlist, but also dusting off lesser-played tracks like "Astronaut." Duran also tried its hand at a space-themed cover song, "Walking on the Moon" by the Police. It was a magical night for the band and its fans that all started with another surprise: the band taking the stage as drones put on a light show overhead, opening with "The Universe Alone." It was a moment that proves that Duran can still elicit chills after all these years.Duran has still got it
At the end of the day, Duran still exists as a band, and that's no small feat. In 2001, the band was hanging by a thread, its only original members Simon Le Bon and Nick Rhodes. The Fab Five reunion that followed was short-lived, but the band is still going strong with two of its three original Taylors. Some fans may long for a reunion with Andy Taylor (who did recently meet up with Duran collaborator Nile Rodgers). But even as a four-piece, Duran looks great, sounds great, and "there's energy there" still, as John Taylor recently put it in regards to the band's new songs.So on Duran Duran Appreciation Day, let's raise a glass to our favorite band, and be excited about all that the future holds.
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| Photos by Christopher Windle |
