Duran Duran | ||||
---|---|---|---|---|
![]() Upper left: the Le Bons, centre: the Bateses (Rhodes), upper right: the Taylors, lower right: the Cuccurullos. | ||||
Studio album by | ||||
Released | 15 February 1993 | |||
Recorded | 1991–1992 | |||
Studio | ||||
Genre | ||||
Length | 63:34 | |||
Label | ||||
Producer |
| |||
Duran Duran chronology | ||||
| ||||
Singles from Duran Duran | ||||
|
Review scores | |
---|---|
Source | Rating |
AllMusic | ![]() ![]() ![]() ![]() ![]() |
Calgary Herald | C [3] |
Encyclopedia of Popular Music | ![]() ![]() ![]() ![]() ![]() |
Entertainment Weekly | D [5] |
Music Week | ![]() ![]() ![]() ![]() ![]() |
Philadelphia Inquirer | ![]() ![]() ![]() ![]() |
Rolling Stone | ![]() ![]() ![]() ![]() ![]() |
The Rolling Stone Album Guide | ![]() ![]() ![]() ![]() ![]() |
Select | ![]() ![]() ![]() ![]() ![]() |
Duran Duran (commonly known as The Wedding Album [11]) is the seventh studio album and the second self-titled album by English rock band Duran Duran. It was released on 15 February 1993 by Parlophone.
After the moderate performance of their 1990 studio album Liberty, Duran Duran desperately needed money. [12] The band's financial future appeared hopeless due to low album sales, not touring to support Liberty and excessive spending. [13] [14] As their once-certain popularity in the 1980s began to wane, many critics began to write them off as a throwback to the new wave era. [15] [16] Keyboardist Nick Rhodes said in a 2013 retrospective piece: [17]
The '80s had ended and a lot of people wanted to lock the door and close Duran Duran in that decade, too, I think. At the end of the '80s, music changed considerably. We had grunge, techno and rave culture, which left us in a place where we felt we had to make ourselves relevant to the times. We weren't about to make a grunge or techno album, but we had our songwriting. We very much went back to basics.
Their 1990 studio album Liberty was a commercial decline, peaking at number 46 in the US. [18] Additionally, its two singles " Violence of Summer (Love's Taking Over)" and " Serious" experienced moderate to low success on the US or UK charts. [14] Even though Liberty came in at number eight in the UK, it wasn't enough to persuade Capitol or EMI, Duran Duran's record labels, that the band was on the right path. [19] However, Capitol didn't forsake them altogether. They agreed to advance the band money for a new album under strict supervision.
![]() | This section needs expansion. You can help by
adding to it. (June 2024) |
Duran Duran was recorded and produced mainly at American musician Warren Cuccurullo's home studio in Battersea, London, named "Privacy". [12]
The band ultimately chose to self-title the album after describing themselves as having to go "back to the basics". [17] After its publication, the album became known alternatively as The Wedding Album, inspired by the album's cover art and to distinguish it from the band's 1981 album.
The album's cover was created by British visual design artist Nick Egan. American actor Billy Zane initially got in touch with Egan after British bassist John Taylor asked if he could assist with the album's artwork. [17] Within hours, the two got together at Taylor's house and outlined the band's concept of using not only photos of their parents' weddings but also going against their previous notion of commissioning an expensive album cover photo shoot. [17] The result was a collage of the band members' parents' wedding photos with golden text of the band's name in the centre. [17] Egan wrote that he took inspiration from American graphic artist Robert Rauschenberg, describing his work as "seemingly random images [laid] on top of each other with the faintest hint of off-register colour as if the whole thing were screen printed". [17]
The release of the album was delayed, with then manager at Left Bank, Tommy Manzi, later telling HitQuarters that this was due to industry resistance to the revival of the band, who he said would rather focus on "the next hip band". [16] Manzi said that industry insiders "laughed at" Left Bank while they worked on reviving the careers of not only Duran Duran but also Meat Loaf. [16]
All tracks are written by Duran Duran, except where noted
No. | Title | Writer(s) | Length |
---|---|---|---|
1. | " Too Much Information" | 4:56 | |
2. | " Ordinary World" | 5:39 | |
3. | "Love Voodoo" | 4:58 | |
4. | "Drowning Man" | 5:15 | |
5. | "Shotgun" | 0:54 | |
6. | " Come Undone" | 4:38 | |
7. | "Breath After Breath" |
| 4:58 |
8. | "UMF" | 5:33 | |
9. | " Femme Fatale" | Lou Reed | 4:21 |
10. | "None of the Above" | 5:19 | |
11. | "Shelter" | 4:25 | |
12. | "To Whom It May Concern" | Nick Rhodes | 4:24 |
13. | "Sin of the City" | 7:14 |
No. | Title | Length |
---|---|---|
1. | "Time for Temptation" (Alternate version) | 3:46 |
2. | "Stop Dead" (Edit) | 3:52 |
No. | Title | Length |
---|---|---|
1. | "Falling Angel" | 4:35 |
2. | "Stop Dead" | 4:31 |
3. | "Time for Temptation" | 4:09 |
4. | "Come Undone" (12" mix – Comin' Together) | 7:21 |
5. | "Ordinary World" (Acoustic version) | 5:07 |
6. | "Too Much Information" (David Richards 12" mix) | 4:14 |
Adapted from the album's liner notes. [20]
Weekly charts
|
Year-end charts
|
Region | Certification | Certified units/sales |
---|---|---|
United Kingdom ( BPI) [41] | Gold | 100,000^ |
United States ( RIAA) [42] | Platinum | 1,000,000^ |
^ Shipments figures based on certification alone. |
{{
cite AV media notes}}
: CS1 maint: others in cite AV media (notes) (
link)
Duran Duran | ||||
---|---|---|---|---|
![]() Upper left: the Le Bons, centre: the Bateses (Rhodes), upper right: the Taylors, lower right: the Cuccurullos. | ||||
Studio album by | ||||
Released | 15 February 1993 | |||
Recorded | 1991–1992 | |||
Studio | ||||
Genre | ||||
Length | 63:34 | |||
Label | ||||
Producer |
| |||
Duran Duran chronology | ||||
| ||||
Singles from Duran Duran | ||||
|
Review scores | |
---|---|
Source | Rating |
AllMusic | ![]() ![]() ![]() ![]() ![]() |
Calgary Herald | C [3] |
Encyclopedia of Popular Music | ![]() ![]() ![]() ![]() ![]() |
Entertainment Weekly | D [5] |
Music Week | ![]() ![]() ![]() ![]() ![]() |
Philadelphia Inquirer | ![]() ![]() ![]() ![]() |
Rolling Stone | ![]() ![]() ![]() ![]() ![]() |
The Rolling Stone Album Guide | ![]() ![]() ![]() ![]() ![]() |
Select | ![]() ![]() ![]() ![]() ![]() |
Duran Duran (commonly known as The Wedding Album [11]) is the seventh studio album and the second self-titled album by English rock band Duran Duran. It was released on 15 February 1993 by Parlophone.
After the moderate performance of their 1990 studio album Liberty, Duran Duran desperately needed money. [12] The band's financial future appeared hopeless due to low album sales, not touring to support Liberty and excessive spending. [13] [14] As their once-certain popularity in the 1980s began to wane, many critics began to write them off as a throwback to the new wave era. [15] [16] Keyboardist Nick Rhodes said in a 2013 retrospective piece: [17]
The '80s had ended and a lot of people wanted to lock the door and close Duran Duran in that decade, too, I think. At the end of the '80s, music changed considerably. We had grunge, techno and rave culture, which left us in a place where we felt we had to make ourselves relevant to the times. We weren't about to make a grunge or techno album, but we had our songwriting. We very much went back to basics.
Their 1990 studio album Liberty was a commercial decline, peaking at number 46 in the US. [18] Additionally, its two singles " Violence of Summer (Love's Taking Over)" and " Serious" experienced moderate to low success on the US or UK charts. [14] Even though Liberty came in at number eight in the UK, it wasn't enough to persuade Capitol or EMI, Duran Duran's record labels, that the band was on the right path. [19] However, Capitol didn't forsake them altogether. They agreed to advance the band money for a new album under strict supervision.
![]() | This section needs expansion. You can help by
adding to it. (June 2024) |
Duran Duran was recorded and produced mainly at American musician Warren Cuccurullo's home studio in Battersea, London, named "Privacy". [12]
The band ultimately chose to self-title the album after describing themselves as having to go "back to the basics". [17] After its publication, the album became known alternatively as The Wedding Album, inspired by the album's cover art and to distinguish it from the band's 1981 album.
The album's cover was created by British visual design artist Nick Egan. American actor Billy Zane initially got in touch with Egan after British bassist John Taylor asked if he could assist with the album's artwork. [17] Within hours, the two got together at Taylor's house and outlined the band's concept of using not only photos of their parents' weddings but also going against their previous notion of commissioning an expensive album cover photo shoot. [17] The result was a collage of the band members' parents' wedding photos with golden text of the band's name in the centre. [17] Egan wrote that he took inspiration from American graphic artist Robert Rauschenberg, describing his work as "seemingly random images [laid] on top of each other with the faintest hint of off-register colour as if the whole thing were screen printed". [17]
The release of the album was delayed, with then manager at Left Bank, Tommy Manzi, later telling HitQuarters that this was due to industry resistance to the revival of the band, who he said would rather focus on "the next hip band". [16] Manzi said that industry insiders "laughed at" Left Bank while they worked on reviving the careers of not only Duran Duran but also Meat Loaf. [16]
All tracks are written by Duran Duran, except where noted
No. | Title | Writer(s) | Length |
---|---|---|---|
1. | " Too Much Information" | 4:56 | |
2. | " Ordinary World" | 5:39 | |
3. | "Love Voodoo" | 4:58 | |
4. | "Drowning Man" | 5:15 | |
5. | "Shotgun" | 0:54 | |
6. | " Come Undone" | 4:38 | |
7. | "Breath After Breath" |
| 4:58 |
8. | "UMF" | 5:33 | |
9. | " Femme Fatale" | Lou Reed | 4:21 |
10. | "None of the Above" | 5:19 | |
11. | "Shelter" | 4:25 | |
12. | "To Whom It May Concern" | Nick Rhodes | 4:24 |
13. | "Sin of the City" | 7:14 |
No. | Title | Length |
---|---|---|
1. | "Time for Temptation" (Alternate version) | 3:46 |
2. | "Stop Dead" (Edit) | 3:52 |
No. | Title | Length |
---|---|---|
1. | "Falling Angel" | 4:35 |
2. | "Stop Dead" | 4:31 |
3. | "Time for Temptation" | 4:09 |
4. | "Come Undone" (12" mix – Comin' Together) | 7:21 |
5. | "Ordinary World" (Acoustic version) | 5:07 |
6. | "Too Much Information" (David Richards 12" mix) | 4:14 |
Adapted from the album's liner notes. [20]
Weekly charts
|
Year-end charts
|
Region | Certification | Certified units/sales |
---|---|---|
United Kingdom ( BPI) [41] | Gold | 100,000^ |
United States ( RIAA) [42] | Platinum | 1,000,000^ |
^ Shipments figures based on certification alone. |
{{
cite AV media notes}}
: CS1 maint: others in cite AV media (notes) (
link)