Customer Reviews

Astronaut (With Bonus DVD)

5 star:		(118)
4 star:		(25)
3 star:		(7)
2 star:		(4)
1 star:		(7)

 

 

Astronaut marks the first studio release from the original line up of the popular group Duran Duran. Simon Le Bon, Nick Rhodes, John Taylor, Andy Taylor, and Roger Taylor are all back together. "Astronaut" is one of those rare CD's that will please old fans and new ones alike. Although it still sounds like the Duran we all know and love and some songs have an eighties feel, this is quite a modern CD. The first thing I noticed upon first listen is the driving bass line and strong beats of some of the songs. "Sunrise" sounds awesome on a good sound system. The title track "Astronaut" is also a great song as is the song, "What Happens Tommorrow." So many of these songs have been heard in bits and pieces here and there and it's great to hear them all mastered and sounding the way they were meant to be heard. Other cool songs include, "Nice," "Taste The Summer," and "Bedroom Toys." The whole CD rocks, as a Duranie, I can't really compare this CD to any other one, but in my humble opinion it had the strong beats that some of the songs on "Notorious" did and a bit of the experimental flavah of Meddazzaland, but "Astronaut" stands alone in the Duran discography and may prove to be their best CD ever.

Now onto the DVD. It is so worth it to purchase the DVD with the CD. The DVD includes the "Sunrise" video, and live performances from the Wembly performance. Songs performed live include "Sunrise," "Hungry Like The Wolf," "What Happens Tommorrow," "New Religion" and "Wild Boys." The quality of the DVD is so awesome. The running time is 45 minutes, it made me wsh they would have released the entire concert on the DVD. Duran still rocks and the songs sound great live. The DVD also includes behind the scenes footage of the boys. A wonderful purchase, like an early Christmas present.

Better than you'd think. If you are a fan ( and if you've gotten this far , you are ) this album is quite good. DD rock harder , keep a hard groove tighter and stick in your brain more than they have in more years than I care to count. Gorgeous vocal melodies, hook-filled bass lines, synth effects and subtle but effective guitar power chords ( welcome back Andy Taylor !! ) all add up to the comeback of the year. Most all the songs on this disc I want to hear more than once ( a rarity in this age of throwaway pop music.) I couldn't find this Special Edition at my local chain store so I ordered this from Amazon and got it the day after it was released. The bonus DVD is great and only leaves me wanting more. The notes in the cd case - which is gorgeous - state that it is from the "upcoming live dvd" that is surely better than Arena,which was crap. The live band is stripped to the original five piece and has never sounded better. Quite the comeback.

I absolutely love this CD! There really isn't one song I don't like! Though I think my favorite is "Nice". The great thing about Duran Duran is they're unique - especially with Simon's own brand of lyrics. He's so creative. They're all very creative in their own area of expertise. Finally the kids of today will hear what a great band sounds like!

Not having all the original members of the band all these years really changed the flavor of Duran Duran - and I had not really listened since some of the original members left. When Andy and Roger left, you could see the value of the contributions when their contributions were absent. Because Simon, Nick and John did most of the talking during interviews you thought perhaps they were the creative force. But when Roger and Andy left - you found out that wasn't true - it was all 5 members. This new album is like a breath of fresh air! I've been waiting about 15 years for this! I'm confident this album will not only please old fans but generate new ones.

I've been listening to this album all day for the past two days at work (yes 8 hours - over and over) and I love it even more with each listen!

Wow! What a treat! As excited as I was about the original fab five reuniting, I have to admit I was skeptical about the new CD. I saw them live in Chicago last year, and it was amazing, but I wasn't crazy about the new songs. Now here comes 'Astronaut'. Could they recapture the magic? Would their music be relevant? The answer is yes and yes! Die-hard Duranies know that the boys have always been under-appreciated as musicians. People think of Duran Duran and they think of "Hungry Like the Wolf", but I think of dark, sonic soundscapes of early songs like "Waiting for the Nightboat" or the frenetic post punk of "Careless Memories" and "My Own Way". But I digress... I feel vindicated as a fan. 'Astronaut" is thoroughly modern, and yet vintage Duran Duran at the same time. This is not only a great Duran Duran CD, it's a flat out great CD! "Sunrise" is a simple, yet catchy anthem that just grows on you with every listen. "Bedroom Toys" is a slinky little song that showcases John Taylor's funky baselines and Simon LeBon's naughty side. I thought I was listening to a Sade groove for a minute there! "Nice" and "Taste the Summer" are typical Duran dicso/new wave dance numbers guaranteed to get you on your feet. Every song is strong. There's no filler. Let's be honest, Duran Duran wasn't the same after the three (unrelated) Taylors left the band. Fortunately, Nick Rhodes' keyboard wizardry, John Taylor's funky base, Andy Taylor's scratchy guitar licks, Roger Taylor's driving drum beats, and Simon's sex appeal are all here in tip top form. I suppose it's understandable why many critics have dismissed Duran Duran with lyrics like "I stole the Renoir and the TV set..." and now "I been around the world and seen a lot of things that'd make your chicken curl". I can't decide if these lyrics are ridiculous or brilliant, but it's fun either way. It was cool to like Duran Duran, then it wasn't cool to like them, and now it's cool again- whatever that means. The band is undoubtedly influential. Franz Ferdinand's catchy "Take Me Out" sounds just like something Duran Duran would have recorded 22 years ago. In the grand scheme of pop music, is Duran Duran as relevant as the Rolling Stones or Bruce Springsteen or Radiohead? Probably not, but that's not the point. History will be kind to Duran Duran. They have left an indelible mark. Maybe it's just nice to listen to music that reminds us of a less complicated time. Duran Duran's music has always been about one thing: pleasure- and 'Astronaut' is pure pleasure. When they tour again, I'll actually be looking forward to them playing new songs! To the boys from Birmingham, welcome back!

Even the worst albums of Duran Duran have had great songs. Astronaut however is definitely at the top of their best albums in their catalogue. Duran Duran is at least for me part dark, part light, and part whimsical. There's a mix of all kinds of great music on Astronaut. Sunrise is a very upbeat rock/pop song, you can't help but love it. Want you more! is a very fun, fast, neat song that reminds me of the old Duran Duran, got those excellent synth chords from Nick Rhodes, loaded with more bass than a river during spawning season. What Happens Tomorrow is an incredible achievement, very upbeat, a truly inspired song to encourage us to carry on bravely despite the horrible world events we've had to see over the past 3 years. Astronaut has plenty of Andy Taylor's brilliant guitar work, it's just pure Duran Duran here and that should be good enough for anyone. Bedroom Toys is actually not as dirty as you might think, it's a more hip-hop type number that might remind you of the Notorious days. Nice is.... Well nice! Great guitar chords and as always Simon Lebons very unusual poetic lyrics are enjoyable to say the least. Finest Hour is yet another great, upbeat song on the album. The highlight however for me is the very powerful guitar driven Still Breathing. This is definitely dark Duran Duran here, but I gotta say it's probably the best song on the album. There's nothing wrong with a bands songs being upbeat. Most reviewers, at least the so-called professional ones wouldn't know real music if it crawled up their asses and died there. Get Astronaut!

As an avid fan of the band since its inception in '79, (yes, I'm that old), its fantastic to see them all back together again. I recall they day they split, the trials and tribulations of the solo projects and the valiant efforts put forth by the remaining DD members. This new album signals the beginning of a new era for the group, one in which I hope lasts another 20 years.

The Band Breakdown:
* Simon's voice is as perky as it ever has been, and his lyrics are showing maturity...all of which is a good thing.
* JT's bass sounds as flowing and rhythmical as ever.
* Andy's ability to play his six-strings really comes through on this album like it's never before. Kudos to Andy...an underrated guitar slinger if there ever was one.
* Nick is the ever-present ambient sound that the band has always relied on. His ability to blend electronica and sampled audio is amazing and won't leave a fan disappointed.
* Lastly, Roger, the beat-boy of the band. He hasn't lost his touch from all those years on the farm. He can still bang a drum with fever pitch while giving off an aire of reticence about being cool.

I'm not a music critic, so I can't breakdown each track and tell you what is and isn't working for the guys, but I can say that for a 38 year old guy like me to still get excited about a new album from DD, it must mean they have something worth listening too. Many other 80's groups have tried with mixed success to 'reunionize' themselves. DD has done it. I can hear the distinctive sounds of the Fab Five in this CD, but it leads me to the future of what they can produce for themsleves, and takes their fans on a new journey towards what may be.

Buy this CD. Listen intently. You will not be disappointed.

Short and sweet: This album is terribly overproduced and polished, but the music is so good you won't care.
Fun, fresh and modern-sounding new wave funk is the only way to describe this cool album. I honestly didnt think they could pull this off and was expected to be sorely let down. I was completely wrong in my assumptions.

It might just be me, but each song takes me back to a certain time period while still sounding fresh.
Chains and Finest Hour harken back to the Notorious/Big Thing years while Astronaut reminds me of the Seven and The Ragged Tiger days.

Simply put, I am known in circles to be an ex-Duranie, but when something this good comes out ANYONE should be a Duranie.

Wow! This CD is fabulous! I was a Duranie back in the early 80's and lost a lot of interest when they branched off. I got this CD two days ago and can't stop listening to it. The sound is very danceable and the lyrics really make you listen. Simon's unique voice is better than ever. My favs so far are Bedroom Toys, Nice (possibly the best one), Point of No Return, Finest Hour, and Still Breathing. I don't care much for Taste of Summer and One of Those Days, but they're still decent songs.

I'm SO GLAD that Nick, Simon, John, Roger, and Andy are together again because they've stood the test of time and their talents have grown bigger and better than ever. I truly hope there's another great album in the future to follow this one.

Buy this CD!!!!!!

Let's get one thing out of the way right now: Duran Duran is not an eighties band. Sure, they were an eighties band, much in the same way that REM, U2 and Depeche Mode were eighties bands...in the eighties. Then, the nineties came along and they became, you guessed it, a nineties band. The Brits, minus a couple of original members, chugged along for another decade, releasing an album every couple of years, and while the hits became fewer and further between, there were some highlights. Liberty was an overlooked masterpiece while Ordinary World & Come Undone, Perfect Day & Watching The Detectives and Electric Barbarella & Out Of My Mind helped to make The Wedding Album, Thank You and Medazzaland at least enjoyable. But with the departure of yet a third original member, bassist John Taylor, the band entered the new millenium with an obvious identity crisis that culminated with the poorly-received Warren Cuccurullo-dominated Pop Trash and a subsequent loss of their record deal. Duran Duran, it appeared, was no more.

But then the unthinkable happened: After nearly 20 years, the original fab five, Simon LeBon, Nick Rhodes, John Taylor, Andy Taylor and Roger Taylor, last heard together on 1985's A View To A Kill, decided that maybe they had a little unfinished business to take care of. Fast forward a couple of years and you have Astronaut, the umpteenth comeback album for a band who never seems to release anything but comeback albums. And while it's a little strange to label an album by a band who released an album four years earlier a comeback album, that's exactly what this is, at least for Duran Duran classic anyway. And at the risk of sounding like an 800-year-old Jedi master, a welcome one it is.

Astronaut opens with the bubbly Reflex-esque (Reach Up For The) Sunrise. And while the lyric may seem a little corny at first, it's no more so than U2's Beautiful Day. Want You More is also reminiscent of Seven & The Ragged Tiger-era Duran, but with a modern new wave edge. And the comparisons go on. Finest Hour is an anthem to rival Is There Something I Should Know while Bedroom Toys sounds like a horny Notorious. Nice and Taste The Summer are this album's Rio and Hungry Like The Wolf. The title track could be a sexy sequel to Planet Earth. And Still Breathing, the somber closing track, is a six-minute opus driven by a haunting guitar riff set against a flowing sythesizer landscape ala Save A Prayer. It's literally as if the blokes picked up right where they left off two decades ago.

But the most amazing thing about Astronaut is that it's clear here that the year is 2004. Nothing on the disc sounds outdated or out of touch. This is no doubt (pardon the pun) thanks, at least in part, to the production of Dallas Austin and Good Charlotte producer Don Gilmore. But it also helps that these guys, unlike a lot of "eighties bands" haven't been sitting on their arses for years. Andy's post-Duran resume includes a solo record, several soundtrack tunes, a second Power Station disc and session work & producing chores for artists like Belinda Carlisle and Rod Stewart. John also stepped into the spotlight for a couple of solo projects, as well as playing in the Neurotic Outsiders alongside former Sex Pistol Steve Jones. Even Roger took time off from retirement to keep the beat on a couple of tunes from 1995's Thank You. And LeBon and Rhodes...well, we've covered them already.

The point is these guys may be a little older, but they haven't lost a single step. The confidence that comes from past accomplishments and years of continuously honing their skills is the x-factor on what could be their strongest outing to date. Whether mainstream pop radio and the sons and daughters of the New Romantic generation will embrace the 21st century Duran Duran is another story. But judging from the early reviews raving of the musicianship of these formerly too-cute-for-their-own-good teen idols and their influence on a whole new era of new wave, they may have finally gained the respect that has eluded them for years. And that just may be a bigger success than a number one album or single.

Right off, Astronaut starts off strong. Sunrise, an obvious first single, is a lush audio landscape of melodies and reminds all that these guys know how to write, play, and deliver better-than-pop tunes. And at the first song's conclusion, old fans are tempted to guess that this will be the one-hit wonder off a dying band's last stand. That's when it gets really interesting: the following song after song redelivers the promise of Sunrise.

With maybe only a weak spot or two out of 12 songs (and a fascinating live/behind-the-scenes DVD), this is a surprisingly fresh reinvention of a band that has seen several reinventions, some better than others.

Astronaut, as many know, represents a reunion of the original members. No one sounds out of practice. The Taylors, each one, plays as if it were only yesterday since they were last in the studio together. Simon still sings with the power and emotion of a bright-eyed freshman popstar. And Nick still delivers the vibrant and energetic audiotronics that glue the whole thing together. They all are truly at the top of their game.

Most welcome is the sense one has, when listening to Astronaut, of meeting an old friend and making a new one at the same time. It sounds like Duran Duran, it feels like Duran Duran, yet it doesn't really sound or feel like anything they've ever done before. It has the spirit and energy of DD circa 1984 but releases a sonic boom that is definitely DD 2004.

This is not a last stand but a new beginning. Astronaut is Duran Duran's return to space and beyond...