CD Review: Duran Duran

All You Need Is Now (iTunes)

Wed, Jan 5, 2011 at 4:00 am

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As Duran Duran pushed musical boundaries during their post-platinum years, sonic experimentation defined their attempt to recapture an audience. That expansive thinking is all over All You Need Is Now, a nine-song version of their forthcoming album that's available on iTunes. Original members Simon Le Bon, Nick Rhodes, John Taylor, and Roger Taylor embrace the classicism of their synth-pop triumphs, forging a hybrid of the group's sounds over the years. Check out the title track's pulsing dissonance, which recalls "The Reflex" filtered through a quarter-century of noise. Producer Mark Ronson helps Duran Duran move forward while channeling their early spirit, giving songs like "Blame the Machines" and "Runway Runaway" a modern-day luster built atop an old-school foundation. — Brian Baker