Red Carpet Massacre (Deluxe Edition) [Digipak]

Performer: Duran Duran
Engineer: Matt Lawrence; Matthew Hager; Marcella "Ms. Lago" Araica; Ethan Willoughby; Jimmy Douglass; Jean Marie Horvat
Producer: Nate "Danja" Hills; Justin Timberlake; Duran Duran; Timbaland; Jimmy Douglass; Jim Beanz
Distributor: Sony Music Distribution (

Notes: Duran Duran: John Taylor , Nick Rhodes, Roger Taylor , Simon LeBon. Additional personnel: Jim Beanz, Justin Timberlake, Terri Walker, Timbaland (vocals); Dom Brown (guitars); Simon Willescroft (saxophone); Marcella "Ms. Lago" Araica (programming). New Romantic/'80s-pop standard bearers Duran Duran were so perfectly representative of the musical zeitgeist of the '80s that few would have predicted they'd remain a viable entity in the 21st century, but as 2007's RED CARPET MASSACRE proves, the former teen idols have beaten the odds. The band manages to keep things contemporary without abandoning their classic sound; there are dance beats and touches of contemporary R&B and even hip-hop ("Skin Divers" features a guest rap from Timbaland), but the '80s Duranisms are always within reach. Singer Simon Le Bon is as much the Brian Ferry-gone-clubbing frontman as ever, by turns seductive and commanding, and Nick Rhodes's keyboards still retain that frothy, new wave sparkle that put the sugar coating on the group's many hits. While Duran Duran have worked steadily since their 1993 comeback, The Wedding Album, they haven't always sounded as stylish and creatively tuned-in as they do on 2007's Red Carpet Massacre. Perhaps it's because there hasn't always been a definitive sound for the band to catch onto in the way that adult alternative informed the mature aesthetic of The Wedding Album. Interestingly, rather than go for the sound of more obvious neo-new wave bands like the Killers, Red Carpet Massacre finds the original lineup of vocalist Simon LeBon, keyboardist Nick Rhodes, bassist John Taylor, and drummer Roger Taylor -- guitarist Andy Taylor left prior to recording -- hooking up with modern dance-pop producers Danjahandz and Timbaland for a sound that at once returns the band to its edgy, club-oriented roots while also updating its sound to fit in on the radio next to such contemporary Timbaland-helmed acts as Justin Timberlake and Nelly Furtado. In fact, Timberlake even co-wrote and produced the very "FutureSex/LoveSounds"-ish ballad "Falling Down." These are darkly atmospheric, pulsating tracks that make the most of Duran Duran's longstanding knack for moody, somewhat cheeky dance-rock. To theses ends, dark disco cuts like "Nite-Runner" and "Skin Divers," with their dominatrix whip beats, high-pitched choruses, and obligatory Timbaland raps, are both deliciously hedonistic and crisply appointed electro-soul numbers. Similarly, tracks like the synth-driven title cut and the angular and oddly funky "Zoom In" come as close as the band has been in years to re-creating its own glamorous and neon-coated '80s aesthetic. ~ Matt Collar

Rolling Stone (p.194) - 3 stars out of 5 -- "[Timbaland] gives the Fab Five a sleek funk track on 'Nite-Runner'..." Spin (p.118) - 3 stars out of 5 -- "'Nite Runner' throbs with future-sex love pop..." Entertainment Weekly (p.76) - "The preening New Romantic melodies of 'Box Full o' Honey and lead single 'Falling Down' are vintage Duran." -- Grade: B+ Uncut (p.90) - 3 stars out of 5 -- "RUNOUT GROOVE finds Duffy ploughing a mellow, mediative furrow, delivering thoughtful psych-pop..." Vibe (p.108) - "'Nite Runner' is a sleek vamp....'Falling Down' opens with a slick acoustic guitar that quickly swells to orchestral bombast..." Mojo (Publisher) (p.98) - 3 stars out of 5 -- "[A] dramatic, contemporary pop concoction....Duran can wrap dark operatics in a glistening pop sheen." Blender (Magazine) (p.144) - 3.5 stars out of 5 -- "With Simon LeBon sharpening his typically abstract lyrics and everyone bolstering the contrasting, constant hooks....They've never sounded this pretty and severe."

At the dawn of the 1980s, Duran Duran was part of Britain's "futurist" or "new romantic" scene, which merged glam-rock attitude with disco beats and synthesizers to form an intensely fashion-conscious variant on new wave. With their good looks and pop hooks, the group ruled the music world for the first half of the decade. After that, there were numerous side projects (Arcadia, Power Station) and personnel changes, but the original band reunited to much ado in 2003.

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