Editorial Reviews:
Album Description
2009 three CD set from the New Wave quintet containing all of their singles (A and B-sides) released between 1981 and 1985. From their debut single 'Planet Earth' to their James Bond theme, 'View To A Kill', Duran Duran could do no wrong and were one of the most sucessful Pop acts of the '80s. This triple box features all 13 singles released during their first four years including seven inch single mixes, extended mixes and b-sides. Features the hits 'Rio', 'Hungry Like The Wolf', 'The Wild Boys', 'Girls On Film', 'Save A Prayer', 'Is There Something I Should Know', 'The Reflex' and many more. EMI.
Amazon.com
The arrival of The Singles demonstrates perfect timing. With the impulse to treat 1980s pop with irony finally dying and cutting-edge American bands such as the Rapture and the Faint directly sourcing Brit synth-pop, this lavish box set now sounds like a key dance-rock primer. Unlike the other major players in the early 1980s British Invasion of America, Simon Le Bon, John Taylor, Roger Taylor, Andy Taylor, and Nick Rhodes weren't afraid to rock. They rocked hardest on their early singles, as the glossy black box of the first 13 singles, lovingly recreated for CD, proves. The first eight--from the turbo-powered disco of "Planet Earth" to the synthetic Beatles-influenced pop of "Is There Something I Should Know?"--work on the tension between the band's mega-pop ambitions and their rudimentary instrumental skills, creating an eerie, erotic desperation. The full compliment of B-sides--particularly a hysterical, uber-youth club stab at David Bowie's "Fame"--charm with their gung-ho ridiculousness. "A View to a Kill" may be slick Bond theme, but this set is so evocative of strange pop times that you'll end up with "Rio" and "The Wild Boys" on a permanent mind-loop. --Garry Mulholland
