All You Need Is Now

by Duran Duran

Overview

Duran Duran and producer Mark Ronson envisioned the 2011 release All You Need Is Now as a sequel to the band's 1982 effort Rio, but fans are better off approaching it as the imaginary effort that came after 1983's Seven and the Ragged Tiger. Follow their analogy, and this should sound like a band that just created a new wave icon, but here there's an enthusiasm and sense of purpose that can only come from an act less cocksure than one that is on top. To his credit, Ronson was pretty near the top at the time of the album's release, but his inspired work on All You Need is driven by both hero worship and a previously underappreciated talent to do what's right by the artist. For Duran Duran, it's clean and slick landscapes of synths, plus a dash of trendy gimmicks (representing the band's love of fame and fashion) with just a touch of weird (representing the band's love of art rock, particularly Roxy Music). The band is close enough to top form to use Ronson's work as a springboard, letting the singalong tales of models, paranoia, and men who steal leopards flow naturally. Some tracks sway and glide, like the new romantic hit "Planet Earth" (the great "Too Bad You're So Beautiful," or the sci-fi club track "Blame the Machines"), while others bring reminders of the percussive studio creation "Wild Boys" (the pounding title track), or those early, melancholy numbers like "The Chauffer" (the flowing and wistful "Mediterranea"). As far as reservations, the once bold, sometimes shameless Simon Le Bon sounds a bit tentative in this post-Killers world, and when compared to the tight, original, nine-track version of the album previously made available via digital download, this final, fatter version borders on "too much of a good thing." Fortunately, the emphasis will be on "good thing" for longtime Duran fans or anyone with a taste for melodic, synth-driven pop/rock. ~ David Jeffries

Product Details

Release Date:	05/19/2023
Label:	Bmg
UPC:	4050538777277
Rank:	42571

Tracks

Disc 1

1. All You Need Is Now
2. Blame the Machines
3. Being Followed
4. Leave a Light On
5. Safe (In the Heat of the Moment)
6. Girl Panic !
7. A Diamond in the Mind

Disc 2

8. The Man Who Stole a Leopard
9. Other People's Lives
10. Mediterranea
11. Too Bad You're So Beautiful
12. Runway Runaway
13. Return to Now
14. Before the Rain

Album Credits

Performance Credits

Duran Duran   Primary Artist,Vocals
The St. Kitts String Octet   Primary Artist,Strings
Kelis   Vocals
Mark Ronson   Guitar
Owen Pallett   Conductor
Anna Ross   Vocals (Background)
Dom Brown   Guitar
Tawiah   Vocals (Background)
Franco Ferrara   Conductor
Ana Matronic   Vocals
Jamie Walton   Cello
Nina Hossain   Vocals,Newscast

Technical Credits

Ted Jensen   Mastering
Simon LeBon   Composer,Group Member
Nick Hodgson   Composer
Duran Duran   Composer,Producer
Mark "Spike" Stent   Mixing
Mark Ronson   Composer,Producer
Owen Pallett   String Arrangements
Nick Taylor   Engineer,Assistant Engineer
Dan Parry   Engineer,Assistant Engineer
Joshua Blair   Editing,Engineer
Dom Brown   Composer
Nick Rhodes   Composer,Photography,Group Member
Matty Green   Assistant
Samuel Navel   Engineer,Assistant Engineer
Roger Taylor   Composer,Group Member
John Taylor   Composer,Group Member
Wendy Laister   Management,Executive Producer
Ana Matronic   Composer
Ozzie Henderson   Crew
James Anderson   Engineer
Dominic Brown   Composer
Rory McCartney   Design,Art Direction
Baron Beetmoll Troy   Crew
Chopper Bradley   Crew
Craig Duffy   Crew
Wob Roberts   Crew
Sharon Cho   Management,Executive Producer
Snake Newton   Crew
Nina Hossain   Navigator
Sean "Stig" Tighe   Crew
Chris Towley   Crew
Clunie Reid   Artwork
Dave Casillas   Crew
Paul Adams   Management,Executive Producer
Richard Young   Crew
Jeffrey Bryant   Crew