Go twisting across that dusty land back to the main Duran Duran page! Rio Du Randuran Overall Album Score: 8.5 out of 10 Well, Duran Duran certainly didn't waste any time trying to be overly creative, as they were in their eponymous debut album. This follow-up is a more pop-oriented album, and it was a massive commercial success. (It's still has pretty nice arrangements in here, though, I'd say.) The popularity that Duran Duran gained from Rio (and their successive albums, presumably) was mammoth! It lead the media to dub them "The Fab Five," which is a homage to the Beatles. ...Yeah, Duran Duran were neither overly influential or overly talented (like the Beatles were). However, the homage certainly wasn't uncalled for. At least as they have displayed on Duran Duran and they continue to display on Rio, the band is slick and solid ... and yet they give melodies a first priority. And this stuff isn't cheesy or cornball ... I think the reason why I enjoy this album so much is that it is very slick and smooth-polished. A problem, however, is that Duran Duran relies too much on this principle, and they seem to sacrifice everything else. With all this slickness, Rio is very cold and emotionless ... but that was a sort of style back in the 80s wasn't it? And I think it was a perfectly acceptable style! (The low, smooth vocals were a cool singing style!) It is very classy, at any rate. The pop music of the 90s was ugly ... the pop music of today is skanky ... Please pass the class! All of these songs are good (except "Hold Back the Rain" is a little bit weak). That said, however, Duran Duran certainly aren't flawless. Even though I said earlier that Duran Duran makes melodies a priority, that doesn't mean that they were the greatest melody-writers on the planet! Nevertheless, most of these have at least somewhat of an interesting melody. Those that don't have a particularly wonderful melody ("Last Chance on the Stairway") make up for their shortcomings in the nice, slick arrangements. I'm going to continue to take this stance: The New Romantic movement was the last great movement that pop music has ever taken. Plus, I would like to reiterate that if you are going to award the greatest pop-act of the 80s to any artist or group, pass by the big three (Michael Jackson, Prince, and Madonna) and give it to Duran Duran! They're 1000000 percent more enjoyable than all those jerks combined (...well, two of them combined...) Overall Album Score: 8.5 out of 10 (Yeah ... Duran Duran took a little bit of a spill in respect to their debut album, but for a commercial sell-out of sorts, Rio remains a fine album.) Average Song Score: 8.6 (This is a very strong set of tunes ... considering, however, that this is commercial 80s pop music, this score should be considered exceptionally high! ... It's not flawless, however.) Album Tilt: 8.5 (This is a very enjoyable album! Although, I won't say that this album is any more enjoyable than the merits of the individual songs.) Artist Rating: 8.5 (Yes, it's a commercially-minded album ... yes, Duran Duran sacrificed a lot of their gonzo potential they displayed with their eponymous debut album ... but Rio still has quite a lot of artistic integrity.) Track Reviews Rio 10/10 HER NAME IS RIOOOO AND ... um ... sorry ... But isn't this song the best? I almost gave it a 10plus, too ... but something was calling me not to do that. (Common sense?) Nevertheless, I still think this song is the best and nobody would ever be able to call another song from the 80s decade the best because this song is the best! That said, I'm not exactly positive what there is to really like about the song. The song does have some hooks in it ... when that chorus strikes up, ooh, that was done so slickly that they basically outclass everyone out of their eyeballs! (Okay ... that didn't make a whole lot of sense.) The whole Roxy Music influence (who started doing the whole New Romantic thing in the mid-70s) is definitely here, and Duran Duran's skills of the arrangements certainly prove that they were worthy successors. My Own Way 8.5/10 This song starts out very well ... the groove sounds very good. The melody is overall decent, but after about 3 minutes of it, it grows dull ever so slightly. But the electronic arranging, AGAIN, is creative, innovative ... and it keeps the song mostly interesting and enjoyable throughout. They might have done well to cut this one a few minutes short, though. I'm not complaining too passionately, though. Lonely in Your Nightmare 8.5/10 Well, this one is entertaining throughout! Comparing it to "Rio," I'd say that the melody is fairly strong throughout, but the chorus here isn't quite as engaging. Nevertheless, I think it's coo. Next! Hungry Like the Wolf 9.5/10 I battled with the wolf, and I won, so I'm calling "Rio" a better song than this! However, "Hungry Like the Wolf" was a successful single off of this album. It's certainly a bold song. The pounding drums are loud n' confident. While this is definitely a good song, and definitely one of the best songs from this album ... it's not the best. 'Cause "Rio" is the best. And nobody can be better than "Rio." But this song is one of the best. Hold Back the Rain 7.5/10 As I have admitted in the introduction of this album, I really don't care for this song. Oddly enough, when I analyze it, this track really isn't a whole lot different from "Hungry Like the Wolf" ... I suppose within their efforts to produce songs by the sheer integrity of being classy and not utilizing a whole heckuva lot else, this one teetered off that delicate edge! The melody, I think, is a little bit worse, too. This song does NOTHING for me. New Religion 8/10 Well, this one is much more memorable ... and that unrelenting class is back, too. Although, I will not give the song's melody much more credit than the fairly good chorus it sports ... the rest, while listenable, isn't particularly memorable! Nor does the rest of the song seem particularly related, either! (It's almost like rapping.) But I do like "New Religion" overall. ...Just as long as it ain't wunna them suicide religions. Last Chance on the Stairway 8/10 Pretty good ... this song doesn't have a whole heck of a lot as far as melody goes, but the band's instrumental inertia manages to carry it ... and they carry it to the extent that it seems like it was worthwhile. These guys had the skills! (While I still think this song deserves an 8, this is a higher-degree of an 8. Save a Prayer 9/10 Uh oh! This one sounds the closest thing to 80s adult-contemporary on here! That said, this is definitely good adult contemporary! This is definitely much more interesting than Madonna ever was able to do, save for a few moments of that bint's career. The Asian-sounding electronic backgrounds are those kinds of touches that artistically virtuous artists, like Duran Duran, would have the taste to work into otherwise commercially normal songs. The Chauffeur 8.5/10 Hey! We're back to the good old New Romantic style ... It's a little bit more minimalist than all the previous tracks. It also has a nice melody to it ... though it ain't that memorable. It's a perfectly nice track to end the album with. Just how sexy is this Rio chick? Leave your thoughts about it here!

All reviews are copyrighted by the author, Michael Lawrence. He plays croquet.