Rio

Duran Duran | Format: Audio CD

Product Details

• Audio CD (October 25, 1990)
• Original Release Date: 1982
• Number of Discs: 1
• Label: Capitol
• ASIN: B000002U84
• Also Available in: Audio Cassette  |  MP3 Download
• Average Customer Review: 4.8 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (56 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #97,503 in Music (See Top 100 in Music)

Track Listings

1. Rio

2. My Own Way

3. Lonely in Your Nightmare

4. Hungry Like the Wolf

5. Hold Back the Rain

6. New Religion

7. Last Chance on the Stairway

8. Save a Prayer

9. The Chauffeur

Editorial Reviews

DURAN DURAN Rio (Original US 9-track CD for the 1982 album including Hungry Like THe Wolf Save A Prayer the title song Rio and The Chauffeur. Housed inside a 5?" x 12?" picture card longbox which is still in a superb condition)

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

8 of 8 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Nine hit songs in a row, January 25, 2000

By 

Sal Nudo (Champaign, Illinois) - See all my reviews
(VINE VOICE)    (REAL NAME)   

This review is from: Rio (Audio CD)

Duran Duran's "Rio" is unequivocally the perfect pop album, perhaps the band's best effort ever. It's largely defined by its atmospheric keyboard sound, which provides an aura of mysteriousness and sometimes foreboding. As was typical with pop music from its era, "Rio" contains pristine '80s production and mixing by producer Colin Thurston, but it's important to note that every song here is a potential hit, radio-friendly to the max, with lyrics that go from lightweight to soul searching. Often, Simon LeBon portrays himself in an almost sympathetically light, despite his outward vanity. He has a way of getting down about himself, acting tired and pleading, while his voice ranges from low and droning to piercingly high-pitched. LeBon is a good singer, but when his voice is double-tracked on some tunes the results are positively awesome. Lyrically, "Rio" is more astute and mature than one might expect from five English pretty boys plastered all over MTV and in their 20s. There's defiance ("My Own Way," "Hold Back the Rain"), romance ("Lonely in Your Nightmare"), a questioning of personal faith ("New Religion") and elegance and gloomy mysteriousness ("The Chauffer").

Oh, and we can't forget about the mega hits like "Rio" and "Hungry Like the Wolf," both of which still get played on modern-rock radio stations across the country today. Overall, this album is splattered with big, arena-ready choruses, ambient and mysterious synth sounds by Nick Rhodes, chunky bass lines by rocker-at-heart John Taylor, and precision percussion throughout.

The one-night-stand love song is surprisingly tender ("Save a Prayer"), while other songs are filled with bravado and gusto, sounding distressed in the the grand choruses. Most interesting is the dark and foreboding "The Chauffer," which demonstrates Duran Duran's tendancy to go from heroic to tragic from song to song, always remaing ready for big-time radio airplay. No one should miss this early-'80s classic.

11 of 12 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Why doesn't my generation have music like this!?, September 8, 2005

A Kid's Review

This review is from: Rio (Audio CD)

I wasn't born yet when this record was released, so I missed out on the Duran Duran heyday. But the other day, I heard this incredible song on the radio called Rio. No doubt in my mind, the best song I've ever heard. Its just utterly perfect in every way! The musicianship is phenominal. John Taylor's killer bassline, combined with Nick Rhodes arpegiated synthesiser riffs created one of the best songs ever. Listening to Duran Duran is like watching a really awesome movie. The songs take you on a musical adventure, you never know what's going to happen next.

A record like this could only come from the 80s. I understand that Rio was a monster hit in the 80s, but if it were released today, it would have flopped big time! Top 40 radio wouldn't touch these guys today. Something this complex would never be a hit in the new millenium. In the 21st century, nobody wants to hear accomplished musicianship, they want cr@p instead! So us poor unfortunate people who were born in the 80s and don't remember them have to suffer through a bunch of bratty, suburban, juvenile delinquent tunes by Green Day or Avril Lavigne every time we turn on a radio! Its just not fair!

7 of 7 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars The Fab Five, May 13, 1998

By A Customer

This review is from: Rio (Audio CD)

Oh c'mon, don't tell me there aren't thousands of closet Duran Duran fans out there just waiting for a chance to praise them online! If you were breathing and/or watching MTV during the 80's there is no way you could have missed Duran Duran. Love 'em or hate 'em they have earned a place in history as the first band to capitalize on the power inherent in the music video. Videos from this album--most notably "Rio" and "Hungry Like the Wolf"--revolutionized the music industry and kept us glued to the tube to see how other artists would respond to the challenge posed by these lavishly produced mini-movies. But Duran Duran--no matter how cute Simon, Nick, John, Roger, and Andy were--could not have made it without their music. Even besides the two hits mentioned above, Rio is packed with winners: "New Religion," "Save a Prayer," "The Chauffeur," and "Lonely in Your Nightmare" are all well known and loved. But the truly wonderful thing about Rio is the pleasure of rediscovery. Who would have guessed that "My Own Way" and "Last Chance on the Stairway" could be so charming? (Who couldn't love Simon's naive bravado in the former and his <gasp> touching sentimentality in the latter?) No self-respecting Duran Duran fan can omit this album from his/her collection!