If you grew up in the ’80s, Duran Duran probably soundtracked your slumber parties, the ones where you tried to paint your nails black — only to get nail polish remover all over your mom’s comforter.
Now it’s returned with the album “All You Need Is Now,” out last Tuesday on iTunes (the physical CD drops in February) and produced by Mark Ronson, best known for his work with Amy Winehouse. He connected with Duran Duran in 2008 in Paris, soon after it became the first band to perform at the Louvre Museum.
Duran Duran and its four original members — John Taylor, Roger Taylor, Nick Rhodes and Simon Le Bon, the latter sporting one of the best rock names in the business — haven’t been wanting for exposure. In addition to playing near the “Mona Lisa,” the gents who once looked like walking advertisements for Vidal Sassoon have been playing festivals around the world the last couple of years.
But perhaps the band knows it’s recorded material that will prolong its legacy. Its 13th studio album has been heralded by Ronson as “the imaginary follow-up to ‘Rio’ that never was.” Of course, he has vested interests — perhaps he sees himself like Daniel Lanois for Bob Dylan’s “Time Out of Mind,” a role that doesn’t seem out of his league for ’80s dance-pop. But producer’s hype-talk aside, it’s still an alluring notion. Can these Euroelders recapture the dirty, sexy, sandy blast of “Rio,” their 1982 piece de resistance? The album is off to a fine start: It’s No. 2 on the U.S. iTunes Album Chart. Margaret Wappler, Los Angeles Times
Andrew Bird, “Useless Creatures” (Fat Possum)
Andrew Bird’s albums crackle with eclectic wordplay, esoteric themes, impressive whistling and even more impressive violin-playing. “Useless Creatures,” however, is an animal of a slightly different stripe: it’s a set of instrumentals (give or take a few sighs and whistles), originally released as a bonus CD with 2009’s “Noble Beast,” that highlights Bird’s wide-ranging interests and experimental spirit.
Recorded quickly with bassist Todd Sickafoose and Wilco drummer Glenn Kotche, “Useless Creatures” favors extended pieces built on cyclical patterns or loops, but anchored in a wide range of styles: classical chamber pieces (“You Woke Me Up!”), ambient drones (the Eno-esque “The Barn Tapes”), African vibes (the Konono No. 1-inspired “Hot Math”), and sometimes a hodgepodge (“Carrion Suite”).
As background music, “Useless Creatures” is useful; in the foreground, it’s a diversion. Steve Klinge, The Philadelphia Inquirer
