The new millennium saw Duran Duran adrift at sea without even a rudder. Facing that uncertainty, the group did the predictable thing and reformed the original lineup. Drummer Roger Taylor had hit a few skins on “Thank You” and was dipping his toe back in the waters after a long layoff when the band made an offer he couldn’t refuse. He eventually divorced in 2005 so maybe his impending divorce settlement was already looming in his mind when they reformed in 2001. In any case, news of the band’s reformed winning lineup didn’t exactly have labels beating down a path to the band’s door. They had to first sell out a raft of shows at Wembley Stadium and Madison Square Garden before the likes of Epic Records took the bait. They then gamely set about on their nth comeback attempt.

Duran Duran – Astronaut | 2004 – 3

Let me state straight up that the prospect of Duran Duran’s original lineup reforming didn’t give me even the slightest frisson of excitement. Personally, I preferred the technique of Warren Cuccurollo to what passes for technique with Andy “Cokeface” Taylor. I didn’t miss him in the slightest and thought they got a net gain by adding the far more adept Cucurollo. As for Roger Taylor, I admired his ability to jump the runaway train of fame at its frenzied height. Were I in his shoes, I would have done the same thing. Nevertheless, “Astronaut” was a fairly well crafted group of tunes, no matter who ended up in the studio.

“[Reach Up For The] Sunrise” was a strong leadoff single. It’s a crisp bold and hooky song with a few sly quotes from the past. I especially liked Roger Taylor’s roto tom solo, muted as it was. This one will stick in your head after a single play. It’s nice to hear a song that leaves you wanting more with a moderate 3:25 running time. “Want You More!” is a catchy and propulsive number that offers Andy Taylor a good canvas to daub his meaty riffs onto, for a change. Why, the result is practically the classic rock disco hybrid of the band’s beginnings.

The second single “What Happens Tomorrow” has some fine falsetto singing in the chorus from Simon and an intriguing lyric that sounds to me like Simon trying to explain the World Trade Center to his children. It’s another patented Duran Duran lighter waver that just works, damnit! As much as I normally hate this genre I will admit the band has a facility with it that they successfully tap into more often than not.

One of the album’s missteps is “Bedroom Toys,” an example of their Prince-funk style. Simon’s delivery is casually humorous [I hope] but the song seems out of place on the program here. It seems like a dalliance that was held over and used to fill space. Fortunately, the band’s [digital only] third single follows and the faux pas is soon forgotten. “Nice” should have been the leadoff single as it distills everything attractive about Duran Duran into a concise 3:30 package that leaves you wanting more.

“Taste The Summer” leads off with some rave riffs that Mister Rhodes had leftover in the freezer from 1990 but is saved by some of the best “do do do’s” since “Hungry Like The Wolf.” Actually, Simon’s singing throughout most of this program is pretty good. Too bad I can’t say the same for the mastering of this disc! I was just listening on headphones while writing and this is one painfully brickwalled album! My dinky car speakers without a subwoofer didn’t sound so bad, but given a critical listening in headphones [which almost never happens in my universe] it was absolutely unlistenable! The digital clipping and distortion was pronounced, frequent and harsh.

The proof is in the wave: "Want You More!" vs the author's rip of Japan's "European Son" ext. 12" remix. Keep in mind that the bottom file is nearly twice as long as the top one!

The mastering and the fact that the last five tracks all seem similar in tempo and feel [they’re not bad songs] makes the pacing of the full program lacking a bit; accounting for my rating of three. The only really off song here is “Bedroom Toys” and it’s a far cry from the band’s worst. It’s just that they were counting on this album to really pull up their bootstraps, and while the first single went top ten in the UK for them, the subsequent singles and album all performed below expectations. Clearly, if the good ship Duran Duran was going to sail proudly once more, some re-jigging of the sails was in order.

Next: The dramatic re-jigging of the sails…