'Red Carpet Massacre' a Preview of Duran Duran's New Album Due Out November 13, 2007

Red Carpet Massacre, the newest effort from the ever-evolving Duran Duran, is set to be released November 13, 2007 in the U.S. Working with Timberland and Justin Timberlake on this collection, it is rumored to be their greatest work to date. I've previewed two of the songs from the album and agree that their sound is very evolved from their original sound.

The band still consists of the original line-up, minus Andy Taylor, guitar. The guitarist in the band now is a musician named Dominic Brown. He is really excellent, does honor to Andy's style in my opinion, and works really well with the band when it comes to the sound and feel. The rest of the original members are all present and consist of Simon LeBon, Vocals; Nick Rhodes, Keyboards; John Taylor, Bass; and Roger Taylor, Drums.

The first song I previewed was Falling Down, and I just couldn't stop listening to it. It is easily their best song since Ordinary World and songs of that era. The guitar work is excellent and truly beautiful. It helps "tell the story" of the song as much as the lyrics do. The writing and the musicianship are sound, evolved, and "finished." This band still sounds like a "band," and they do still sound like Duran Duran all these years later. Falling Down is definitely a testament to their individual inherent talent and their collaborative success, in addition to bearing the mark of a real artist - one who never stops growing.

The other song I heard from the collection, Nite Runner, is really going to be something for the clubs. It has a good beat with smooth, searching lyrics and vocalization and a good syncopated style to it. Unfortunately it does not have the rich, textured feel of Falling Down and is not likely to stay with you long. I don't know if I would call it "disposable." I guess I would call it "easily digestible," like an appetizer. It goes down easily and is minorly satisfying, but you're going to need something quite a bit more substantial in the near future.

There is a lot of excitement surrounding this release from all concerned. Not only are the band and the fans excited, but their promoters have a huge amount of faith in the release as well. They have scheduled a 2-week run of live shows on Broadway to coincide with the release, and there has been a huge amount of pre-release promotion and hype. Critics all over are saying positive things as well. The buzz is big.

From my preview, I believe the buzz and excitement are justified. I believe the music on the entire album is going to be worth exploring, and I expect to find some real gems here. This won't be something I download one or two songs from on iTunes. I will definitely be purchasing the entire album.

A few tantalizing titles from the album are:

THE VALLEY -- Why It Sounds Exciting: "This was the breakthrough, the crossover, the song we could build an album around." -John Taylor

DIRTY GREAT MONSTER -- Why It Sounds Exciting: "It's a song without a chorus. It doesn't pay off in the way that everyone expects." -Simon LeBon

SHE'S TOO MUCH-- Why It Sounds Exciting: "This is a key track, a story-telling ballad, which touches base with our traditional songwriting." -Nick Rhodes "It's about my 16 year old daughter Saffron." -Simon LeBon

TRICKED OUT-- Why It Sounds Exciting: It's an instrumental, which is something Duran Duran has always een good at. Plus Roger Taylor says, "This takes us back to our roots. 1979..."

BOX FULL O HONEY-- Why It Sounds Exciting: "People seem to be able to really relate to this song. It touches them in an emotional way." -Simon LeBon

_{SOURCES:
Official Duran Duran Web Site
Official Duran Duran MySpace Page
Wikipedia}