Disco de Duran Duran: “The Singles 81-85 [Box]”

I was a metal kid in high school from Fall of '81 through graduation in Spring of '85 (roughly the timeframe covered with the song selection in this box set); I wore blue jeans, black "RUSH" T-shirts, and a leather jacket to class and wouldn't have been caught dead listening to Duran Duran.

At school.

At home it was a different story entirely.

At home I was utterly fascinated every time a Duran Duran video played on MTV...and as I started learning how to play music myself, I became increasingly aware that in addition to having an impeccable sense of style, Duran Duran were an incredibly sound band in terms of musical and lyrical competancy and innovation. And when Duran guitarist Andy and bassist John Taylor recorded their (really rockin') "Power Station" side project with Robert Palmer and Tony Thompson, I felt it was safe to "come out of the closet" and admit that I'd really been a Duran fan the whole time.

The keyboardist in my first band (Erika, if you're out there somewhere reading this, I hope you're doing well) took notice of my interest in Duran Duran; she was definitely a frontline Durannie from the beginning and she made me an extensive mix tape from her collection of 7" and 12" singles; extended versions of hit songs, non-album "B"-side tracks, and live recordings that I'd never heard before. And I promptly lost the tape within a couple of weeks of getting it from her.

I could never bring myself to ask her for another copy (this was before file-swapping; recording a mix tape had to be done in real time)...and I could never find any of the songs even on cassette, let along vinyl (I hadn't owned a turntable since 1984), so I waited in vain for some sort of rarities compilation to be released, with the wait somewhat rewarded by the "Night Versions" and "Strange Behaviour" CD's released within the last few years.

As good as those respective compilations are, this box set is unequivocably better. The Powers-That-Be have lovingly reconstructed every single released by Duran Duran from 1981 through 1985, including all of the obscure "B"-side tracks and the extended "Night Versions" of the respective hit singles that were included on Erika's mix tape. There could be some issue taken with the format in which this collection is marketed; it is awkward and unwieldy to have to change CD's every 12 to 15 minutes, but the truth is that this IS a "singles" collection and there can be no denial that the collection has been reproduced as faithfully as possible.

I would almost recommend this box set over Duran's first three albums on CD to second (and third) generation Durannies; the spirit and creativity of the band is best captured here, and although some of the album tracks that never made it to release on singles do hold their own, the non-album tracks are a nice time capsule to an era when an artist would be expected to create songs that were actually worth flipping a single to hear.

For the generation of fans who likely haven't heard some of these songs in 20 years, welcome home...this is the collection we've all been waiting for. Enjoy with all due reverence.

You can come out of the closet now. With their recent reunion tour and pending new smash album in 2004, it's safe to admit what we've always known... you are a Durannie. You can once again worship the Fab Five openly and without remorse, and this singles box set shows why. Some great remastered single versions combined with those rare (Khanada; Like An Angel) and slightly kinky (Faith In This Colour; Tiger, Tiger) B-sides makes this a disc set worth owning for any true fan of the band. The A-sides contain all the familiar hits you've loved for 2 decades now, but it is the B-sides that really give this box it's value. The best of the rare tracks is "Secret Oktober" from the "Union of the Snake" single. Better than many tracks on the "Third Album" (as Nick Rhodes calls it, refusing to use the real title), S.O. was alledgedly written and recorded in 24 hours, yet it perfectly captures the sound of the band from that era. Other highlights include the aforementioned "Khanada", "Fame", "The Chauffer (Blue Silver)", "Like An Angel"(a great precursor track to "Rio"), the single (non-LP) version of "My Own Way" and the best remix they ever did, the "Monster Mix" of "Is There Something I Should Know?". Still, one could have wished for an additional CD of unreleased demos or unfinished tracks from the era ("Nuclear War", the Bob Clearmountain produced version of "ITSISK?") to round it out. But perhaps we'll get lucky, and Capitol will give us a treat next year to take advantage of the reunion album.

I love, love, love this collection!!! I have some of these on vinyl and have long wanted to get them on CD. When the "Night Versions: The Essential Duran Duran" came out, I was pretty thrilled, but it still was missing a lot of the songs that you can find here. Among my faves: Late Bar, Fame, Like an Angel, and Come Up and See Me, Make Me Smile (still the best version of that song I've ever heard). Some of the other reviewers have complained about the packaging, and I have to admit to a love/hate relationship with it -- the idea is certainly darling, and I love having the little reproductions of the original 12"s. But it's a pain to switch out the CDs all the time. So I finally used my CD burner to make my own mini collection of my faves. It was a royal pain to do though (because of the way the tracks are named on the discs, my software kept overwriting some of the songs and/or renaming them until I edited the file names), but it sure was worth the time because now I can play my faves with no hassle. So if you've got a burner, go ahead and make your own mix!

It'd be difficult to do a survey of 1980s pop music without mentioning Duran Duran. Though hardly a critic's pet, the group benefited from MTV exposure more than any other band thanks to their flashy, high-concept music videos. And contrary to some naysayers, they did release some first-rate singles such as the disco boom of "Planet Earth," the catchy "The Reflex," and the 007 single "A View to a Kill." Getting "The Singles 81-85" was a no-brainer for this fan. For years, I've owned the original 12 inch vinyl singles which had otherwise rare and hard-to-find tracks, and I've been anticipating the release of this CD retrospective since the summer of 2002. Thankfully, these singles are now compiled on this box set, and they're individually packaged in the original artwork with the b-side and 12-inch extended version. I don't really need to comment any further on the singles themselves; what's really of note are the b-sides, many of which appear on CD for the first time. There are some interesting numbers such as the lovely "Like an Angel," my personal favorite "Secret Oktober," and the band's not-half-bad cover of David Bowie's "Fame." This box set also comes with a poster; on one side is a photo of the band (taken around 1981, I think), and on the other side are the songwriting/production credits. Though not a must-have for casual listeners (they should instead get the single-disc hits collection "Greatest" instead), "The Singles 81-85" is a no-questions-asked purchase for diehard Duran Duran fans who want to relive memories of the band in its original, five-member lineup.

The stigma of being young, male and "cute" musicians in the early to mid Eighties aside, Duran Duran turned out some mighty fine singles. The first dozen or so are showcased here. And showcased I do mean. There are hard to find mixes galore, spread throughout a case of 12" singles shrunken into CD form, their original sleeves duplicated in miniature for the nostalgic fan in us all.