REVIEW: Various Artists, The Duran Duran Tribute Album (Mojo)
- Joann D. Ball
The billboard outside Tower Records on the Sunset Strip in West Hollywood recently read "Come Pay Tribute to Duran Duran." On Sunday, October 12, hundreds of fans and five bands on the recently released cd The Duran Duran Tribute Album did just that...and Duran Duran turned up to thank them all for their dedication and support.
The Tower Records' Duranpolooza was the ultimate kickoff for the release of The Duran Duran Tribute Album and Duran Duran's eleventh offering, Medazzaland (Capitol). This reunion of Duranies of all ages was a celebration of Nineties ska and punk as well as classic New Wave, as thirtysomethings, twentysomethings, and their younger counterparts soaked up new versions of Eighties staples under the California sun.
Once a Duranie, always a Duranie and that was obvious on both sides of the VIP/press section. Actually, Duran Duran should be credited for prompting a good number of women to enter the entertainment business. All of those years of following the band and trying to obtain information in the days before the Internet quickly made tons of female Duranies pros at stadium and hotel logistics, knowledgable of record industry publicity, promotion and public relations practices, and expert photographers and interviewers. But the tribute cd and concert put the spotlight on the often ignored male Duranies, many of whom were heavily ridiculed when admitting that they too held a flame for the British pin-ups. The Duran Duran Tribute Album , though, proves once and for all that the guy Duranies were the ultimate cool dudes who recognized great music by its sound, style, color and shape.
Goldfinger kicks off the 15-track tribute collection with a musical twist on "Rio" which pays tribute to both Duran Duran and Ronnie James Dio. Midway through the tune, Goldfinger switches into metal mode as they turn up the guitars, notch the vocals up an octave and change "Rio" to "Dio." Goldfinger's creative ska-punk-metal fusion works, both on record and on stage, and the band quickly got the concert crowd jumping and headbanging when the launched into the song. Proving that they are true Eighties music fans, they included in their short set covers of the Specials' "Nightclub" and the Cure's "Just Like Heaven" along with their own hardcore anthem, "Fuck LA. "
San Diego natives Buck-O-Nine are second in line on the tribute compilation, and they transform "Hold Back the Rain" into a ska classic with horns and an upbeat tempo. This track is a great introduction to the ska-punk outfit, whose debut record Twenty-Eight Teeth was recently released on TVT Records.
Duran Duran's very first single, "Planet Earth," is also the tribute's first track for radio. Home Grown infuse the song with their infectious skapop, taking the edge off Andy Taylor's signature guitar line and making it a real sing-and-dance along treat. If the Tower concert audience's response to the band's inspired and energized set is any indication, this currently unsigned band should be grabbed up any minute now.
Madonna's favorite Duranies, Maverick Records' Deftones, win the award for most faithful delivery. Lead singer Chino Moreno obviously spent many days and nights practicing his Simon LeBon imitation, and the cover captures the moodiness and sexiness of the original. On the other hand, the now defunct Wise Crack turn "Come Undone " into a skater's delight. These 16 year-olds obviously had a blast doing the tribute, but maybe they took the tune's title too seriously in the process.
If the video for "Hungry Like the Wolf" didn't explain the song's take on female/male relations clearly enough for you, Reel Big Fish's spoken word introduction should set the record straight. The band then puts the tune in its proper Nineties relationship context, and delivers it with true swinger style as a lounge-ska number. Duran Duran's label mates Less Than Jake, offer something altogether different. On their skapunk interpretation of "The Reflex," the horns and do-it-yourself vocals grab the spotlight.
Opening the tribute concert in front of die-hard Duran Duran fans wasn't an easy task, but Riverfenix pulled it off without a problem. The band quickly tapped into the universal spirit of the video gods, and their straight ahead pop-rock version of "Ordinary World" connected immediately with the crowd. The band's full-length debut record is forthcoming on Drive Thru Records, and it's definitely worth a listen.
For about 18 seconds, GOB deliver a faithful cover of "A View to a Kill." For the remaining minute and a quarter, though, the James Bond movie theme becomes a moshpit soundtrack in full effect with a shouted chorus and guitars of fury. If the disco dance floor is more your speed, you need not fear. ABBA tribute band Bjorn Again answers your S.O.S with its Europop dance stylings on "Girls on Film." This unsigned (in America - Flashback for European readers) live sensation knows how to make your booty shake. The female vocals of Bjorn Again and Eve's Plumb soften the edges at just the right point on the collection. Eve's Plumb's emotional, melodramatic take on "Save A Prayer," is the one song female Duranies would have done themselves. This beautiful version of Duran Duran's most popular and beloved slow song should click immediately with all the women who used to kiss their posters goodnight before drifting off to sweet dreams of romantic bliss with their favorite Duran. Given the incredible job Eve's Plumb does with the track, it's hard to understand why 550/Epic dropped the band from its roster.
Sandwiched between the female vocals of Bjorn Again and Eve's Plumb are The Wrens' who add Beach Boy-like vocal harmonies to their version of "Seventh Stranger." But it's Jimmy Eat World which takes the road less taken on the tribute disc by actually slowing down the tempo on a Duran Duran classic. And their interpretation of "New Religion" is so different from the original that it sounds like a completely different song. Although the band's "emo-core" sound wasn't as obvious during their short tribute concert set, it can be further enjoyed on their upcoming Capitol Records follow-up to Static Prevails .
Mr. T Experience pay tribute to Duran Duran on the selection "Is There Something I Should Know?" and manage to capture the essence of early Kinks in the process. These Lookout! Records California punksters infuse the spirit of Dave Davies into Andy Taylor's guitar parts, and effectively connect the Eighties British Invasion with its Sixties predecessor. And finally, there is the album closer, another version of "Girls on Film" done this time by the Wesley Willis Fiasco. Chicago cult figure and prolific song writer Willis' unmistakable vocals and enthusiasm overflows here in what amounts to a karaoke-like take on the original. And as always, Willis signs off with his signature "Rock over London, Rock on Chicago." These two phrases will bring a smile to any Chicago Duranie who avidly listened to the British-based "Rock over London" radio show and watched the local music television show "Rock on Chicago" to keep tabs on Duran Duran.
Without a doubt, The Duran Duran Tribute Album is the ultimate tip of the fedora to Duran Duran because it cleverly demonstrates the extent to which the Fab Five continues to influence and inspire fans. Mojo's decision to include creative covers of classic songs by up-and-coming and unsigned ska, punk, and alternative bands was a bold move which will introduce audiences to new music while reminding them of the good old days. This collection will appeal to Duranies and eighties music devotees as well as fans of the current ska, punk and alternative scenes. After all, as the tribute cd proves, sometimes these supposedly different groups of music fans of are one in the same.
That Duran Duran is hip to the Internet should come as no surprise, especially given Nick Rhodes' obsession with technology. In fact, Nick revealed to me that he and the band are excited about online music magazines such as Consumable and that they look forward to communicating with fans through chats and their soon-to-be launched website ( http://www.duranduran.com ). The Duran Duran Yearbook website ( http://members.aol.com/lindanikon/ddyb.htm ), run quite professionally by a group of seriously dedicated Duranies, is a fan's perfect source for Duran Duran articles, photos, audio and video. The Yearbook layout will certainly remind you of high school and all those teen magazines in which the original party of five were frequently featured. The Yearbook staff also coordinates the annual DURANCON convention, which will be held in the LA area in January 1998, and details about the event can be found at the site. If you still need more of a Duran Duran info fix, check out the Capitol Records website to see what the label is saying about the band ( http://www.hollywoodandvine.com/duranduran ).
TRACK LISTING [artist in brackets]: Rio [Goldfinger], Hold Back the Rain [Buck-O-Nine], Planet Earth [Home Grown], The Chauffeur [Deftones], Come Undone [Wise Crack], Hungry Like the Wolf [Reel Big Fish], The Reflex [Less Than Jake], Ordinary World [Riverfenix], A View to a Kill [GOB], Girls on Film [Bjorn Again], The Seventh Stranger [The Wrens], Save a Prayer [Eve's Plumb], New Religion [Jimmy Eat World], Is There Something I Should Know? [Mr. T. Experience] and Girls on Film [Wesley Willis Fiasco].
