DURAN DURAN  -  DURAN DURAN

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YEAR:  1993
LABEL:  Capitol Records

TRACK LISTING:  Too Much Information,  Ordinary World,  Love Voodoo,  Drowning Man,  Shotgun,  Come Undone,  Breath After Breath,  UMF,  Femme Fatale,  None of the Above,  Shelter,  To Whom It May Concern,  Sin of the City

IMPRESSIONS:  I thought I'd start the New Year here in the Dark Forest with a week (or so) of album which came out 20 years ago.  1993 was a pretty fun year musically for me; the Penguin Awards were strongly established after a tentative start in 1990-1991, the grunge thing (the REAL grunge thing) was in full swing and was in fact winding down by 1993 while many other established artists were releasing reinvigorated music.  Here's a fine example.  It's really hard to believe that Duran Duran's comeback album came out 20 years ago!  But there we have it.  Duran Duran was well and truly dead - a relic of the 80s which no one was interested in.  Cue the single "Ordinary World" which took everyone by surprise.  Duran Duran was back and stronger than ever, it seemed.  "Ordinary World" was quite a nice single and "Come Undone" topped it by being one of the greatest songs Double D ever released.  Ever.  Add to this a fine cover of a Lou Reed song and some super album tracks and we have the unofficially-titled "Wedding Album" -- "written around the globe, recorded in privacy, London" --  to treat your ears.
MY FAVOURITE TRACKS:  Too Much Information,  Ordinary World,  Come Undone,  UMF,  Femme Fatale,  None of the Above,  Shelter
FACT SHEET:  DURAN DURAN is Duran Duran's seventh album and the second eponymously-titled album; DURAN DURAN is usually referred to as "The Wedding Album" because of the cover art by Nick Egan featuring wedding photos of the parents of the 4 band members.  Incidentally, the band at this point consisted of Simon LeBon (vocals), Nick Rhodes (keyboards), John Taylor (bass) and Warren Cuccurullo (guitars).  The album had been completed in early 1992 but Duran Duran's new management Left Bank pulled the release from the schedule due to perceived "lack of enthusiasm" by Capitol Records for Left Bank's efforts to revive the careers of perceived "old bands" like Duran Duran and Meat Loaf (both of whom would have spectacularly successful comebacks that year).  Milton Nascimento co-wrote and sang backing vocals on "Breath After Breath".  "Femme Fatale" is a cover of a Lou Reed song.