The Melle Mel classic opens the album and it’s really not a great start. Is it really that bad? Here’s SDE’s track-by-track guide:
Such was the fallout with EMI, the label refused to release the next album in the UK (1997’s Medazzaland) making Thank You the final studio album after 14 years together.īut let’s put all of the above to one side and take a close listen to Thank You. In the space of a few short years, Duran Duran went from being acclaimed as under appreciated purveyors of classic pop tunes, to a bit of a joke. If you are going to shine a spotlight that bright on something you better be sure it’s going to connect with your fans or at least garner some critical acclaim. No, there was going to be a big promotional campaign, singles, videos, a tour. The other problem with Thank You is that the plan wasn’t to sneak it out as an indulgence and quickly move on. “We have no songs, the label is demanding a new record, I’ve got an idea…” It really is the last thing Duran Duran should have been contemplating they needed to get back into the studio and return with some more great songs, build on the good work and exploit the new younger fanbase that had come on board in 19.
For artists that don’t write their own material (TV soap stars, etc.) they make sense, but for an established act it rather shouts ‘the creative tank is empty’. Let’s be honest, covers albums are generally a bit of a self-indulgence. All they had to do was not lose momentum… If you are going to ‘come back’ you need to have been away for a while and to the lay person it felt like at least four or five years since Duran Duran had released anything (not true of course).Īnyway, the band had enjoyed big hit singles, a proper hit album ( The Wedding Album), one that actually hung around for a bit and climbed back into the top 10 when ‘Come Undone’ was released and while the campaign fizzled out earlier than expected (the third and final single ‘Too Much Information’ stalled at number 35), the general feeling was of a job well done. Such was the lack of impact of 1990 flop album Liberty there wasn’t so much as a footprint left on the snowy landscape of pop to remind people it had happened. Duran Duran had just reminded the world that they could be fairly good, when they put their mind to it. There’s nothing fundamentally wrong with recording a covers album, lots of artists do them, but the timing was bad. Then in 1995 they released the covers album Thank You…įirst things first.
While it would probably be a stretch to say it was ‘cool’ to like DD at this point in time (as Suede, Blur were putting in the ground work for what would become the Britpop era), it wasn’t something shameful that you had to hide – put it that way. Yes! Duran Duran were successful again no longer just an ‘eighties’ band. Just to prove it wasn’t a one-off, ‘Come Undone’ was another significant hit (particularly in America). We walked around with self-satisfied smiles as non-fans grudgingly said things like “fair play, ‘Ordinary World’ is a pretty good song”.
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