Customer Reviews

So Red the Rose (2 CD/DVD)

5 star:		(96)
4 star:		(24)
3 star:		(4)
2 star:		(2)
1 star:		(4)

 

 

Arcadia was a Duran Duran spin-off (Roger Taylor, Nick Rhodes, and Simon Le Bon), while the other members (John Taylor and Andy Taylor) were doing Power Station, but don't let that fool you. This is by far the best music they ever produced. Guest vocals by Sting and Grace Jones, and the music of Herbie Hancock lend some artistic credibility which is not needed after a listen. While a couple of the songs are typical, although very well done, 80's type songs (Election Day and Goodbye is Forever), they are the exception rather than the rule on this very underrated CD. Several of the songs could play well on Jazz stations, and are musically beautifully written and recorded. Overall, this CD is well worth the price if you can find it. It was not released on CD for a number of years after it was produced, and then only overseas. If you are not a fan of Duran Duran, then not to worry, only a couple of songs have their trademark sound, the rest of the music is a combination of moods, styles and sounds which play well anywhere. Easy five stars!

By the time the members of Duran Duran took a break from the band 1985, it was clear that the direction of the its music up to this point had been defined in no small part by Nick Rhodes. Nick's influence peaked in Duran Duran as the band teamed up with Alex Sadkin to release Seven and the Ragged Tiger, a body of work which yielded their biggest hits but was almost universally panned by the music press as the worst sort of juvenile digital fluff. In retrospect, Seven was arguably extremely clever and prescient for its time. When the break came, and the other two Taylors left to pursue the "more mature" raw rock sensation known as Power Station - Arcadia seemed almost an afterthought, in the shadow, as it was, of Power Station's undeniable success. So Red the Rose yielded four hits, each less chart-impressive than the one before it, but did not have to shoulder the burden of negative music press because despite the undeniable fact that it sounded very much like Duran Duran, well, hey - it wasn't actually Duran Duran! Except it was. Looking back with perfect hindsight, So Red the Rose is without question the mature, thoughtful successor to Seven and the Ragged Tiger, their only other work produced also by the late, great Alex Sadkin. It features an impressive array of guest talent far beyond the big names (for every Sting, there was a Mark Egan, for every David Gilmour, there was a Rafael DeJesus). This album is one of the most impressive and beautiful works of musical art ever to come out of the late-eighties post-New-wave musical scene and even to this day manages to maintain a fresh, original sound, unencumbered by 80's cliche. It transcends the decade and it transcends almost everything Duran Duran ever did as the ultimate expression of what Duran Duran was about. Esoteric, thoughtful and arty - to the highest degree possible.

Everything I have said applies to the album as a work of art. The remaster, like the other remastered albums you can get from the Duran Duran catalog, is unparalleled in its beauty and impressive technical mastery (and I say this as a musician and audiophile myself). Add to that the fact that with this reissue you get all the important remixes, some rare items and the videos that went along with the album, and you have a real treat. In particular, the video for The Flame, which is a Rocky-Horror-esque comedy of errors that almost nobody got to see - is worth the price of the whole package. I cannot be happier owning this, and I cannot recommend it highly enough.

In the mid 1980s, Duran splintered off into two side projects...Power Station and Arcadia. What did it prove? Well we finally knew which members were fans of Chic and who were fans of Bryan Ferry/David Sylvian...but enough on that...

This album was an amazing accomplishment. Three members from what some called a bubblegum-pop group came together and forged an album of beauty with the helping hands of jazz musician Mark Isham, avant-guarde percussionist David Van Tiegam, David Gilmor and Sting...all added credibility to the project.

Here the music is textured...layered and beautiful. The funky grind of "Election Day", the bittersweet chugging melody of "Goodbye is Forever", the simple sweetness of "Missing", the sadness of Simon's voice and just pure poetry in "The Promise" and the crystalline beauty of the epic "Lady Ice".

This album was a great "teething-toy" for those would later listen to David Sylvian, Bryan Ferry, amd delve into jazz and
avant-guarde music.

I encourage anyone interested in something better than pop music to buy this CD! You won't regret it!

This immaculately produced and performed album primarily serves as a showcase for keyboard player Nick Rhodes' talents as a soundsmith. Arcadia, consisting of Rhodes, Simon Le Bon and drummer Roger Taylor, assisted by a host of other musicians including Grace Jones, Sting, David Gilmour, and Herbie Hancock, let Nick realise all his ideas, and Simon wrote some of his best and most touching lyrics for this album. As a whole, it is very atmospheric, and songs like 'El Diablo', 'Missing' and 'Lady Ice' are downright ethereal. The two best-known tracks, 'Election Day' with its humongous beat and the beautiful 'The Promise' with Sting helping out on backing vocals, are my favourites on an album that showed even the most stuck-up and narrow-minded critics that the members of Duran Duran were (are) not just pretty boys devoid of talent. Even today 'So Red The Rose' stands out as a collection of great songs and as one of the best produced albums ever.

Arcadia - So Red The Rose (1985). Simon Le Bon, Nick Rhodes and Roger Taylor (of Duran Duran). The album left me breathless then (I was 16) and it still blows me away. This is an incredible album!!! If you buy any "Duran Duran" albums, this is a MUST HAVE! (Why don't Duran Duran play these songs in their concerts?)

ELECTION DAY - The most well known, thanks to the MTV and radio airplay of this single, and perhaps the song with the least staying power...though it is hardly a bad song. It's a moody pop song with a darker sound than anything Le Bon, Rhodes or Taylor would have attempted while part of Duran Duran.

KEEP ME IN THE DARK - The most Duran-like song, perhaps, but still has the darker overall sound of Arcadia. I think it's a bit too light in sound, but it remains a worthy addition to this fine work of art.

GOODBYE IS FOREVER - A catchy and melodic tune that, while not the best track on the album, is certainly a finely produced song. It has a longing to it, an emotion confirmed by Le Bon's emotive vocals for this track.

THE FLAME - Bam! The powerhouse of the album, and a true masterpiece of sonic art. How do you dare, step into my flame? I think that about sums it up.

MISSING - Eerily haunting even today, the song remains one of my two favorite songs from this CD. If you haven't heard this song, buy the CD - it's worth it.

ROSE ARCANA - WHY!? Why isn't this instrumental track longer!? It has a moody sound to it and it opens as if one is standing on a harbor in the night...waiting for the night boat, perhaps?

THE PROMISE - Another great song, and Sting's vocals lend a classy touch to this emotional song. I just wish I had the lyrics to this CD, as Le Bon tends to blur words too often.

EL DIABLO - Here it is, the best song on the CD. This song sounds timeless, it could have been released as a single this year! It's that good! I've never heard Le Bon's vocals sound better than they do on this track...never! That Le Bon was attracted to this song enough to make his voice sound that good is a testament to this song's rich and haunting sound.

LADY ICE - "Lady Ice, don't you know that the world is lonely too?" Such hauntingly plaintive lyrics describe this most unusual track. Like El Diablo and The Promise, this song stands out as one of the great songs from this incredible CD.

My advice - buy it. This is no Duran Duran CD, it's better.

This CD is actually a compilation of 2 Arcadia releases from 1985. "So Red The Rose" which is the original release that has been fantastically remastered, and "Heavens Eyes" (Bootleg) which has remixed and extended versions of some of the songs from SRTR. "Heavens Eyes" is really the Gem that I wanted to get my hands on because it has been an extremely rare album to find in any form (cassette, LP, CD). But finally we have it here in remastered form and it sounds GREAT. The remaster on both CD's is very good as I can't believe how clear each song sounds on my Onkyo system.
Also included is a DVD of the music videos that also includes a couple of "making of" videos. But most importantly, the DVD also includes the rarely seen video and making of documentary of the song "Missing". I had never seen this video and didn't even know one existed until this release, and I'm a huge Duran fan.
Also, just to clarify,"Heaven's Eyes" was not an "official" Arcadia release, but a bootleg of several of the 7" single releases from SRTR. It was packaged to look like an official release.
As someone said in an earlier review of this album, "this is the best music that Duran Duran never made".

Simon LeBon himself said on "VH-1s behind the music" that they had an incredible line up on "So Red The Rose" and with artists like Sting, Herbie Hancock and Jimmy Page to name but a few he was probably right. There's no doubt in my mind that even without them the 3 Duran Duran "left-overs" would have pulled it off. And indead they have. "Election Day" is superb to start with and songs like "Goodbye is forever" and the brilliantly performed "El Diablo" and "The Promise" this album left me wanting more.

Folks, if you ever break up again: Will you do another Arcadia album, please?!!

How anybody could give this masterpiece any less than a 5 star is beyond me. Not only is it a 5 star as it was, this expanded version has ultimately surpassed my expectations. Anytime I come in to read about a 'remastered' cd, the first thing I really want to know about is the sound quality. So for anybody wanting to know about this one, it's unbelievably superb! The layers of Nick's input are pulled to the forefront. They really did pack everything on here. I'm sure some listener has found one other version they they didn't include. Who cares, 28 tracks here. Is someone going to complain that some strange edit done in some foreign country that added a 3 second difference didn't make it on here? I find complaints like that whimsical. So here we have it, 28 tracks. A beautiful cd that captures the brief change in landscape for Duran Duran. I'm glad that Arcadia didn't try to duplicate this effort, it's such a brilliant masterpiece on its own. Highly recommended for even the casual Duran fan.

Duran Duran wrote some pretty damn good tunes, this being the product of diverse influences within the group. On the more hard rock side, you had John and Andy Taylor. On the more atmospheric, indulgent, elitist art-school side, you had Roger Taylor, Nick Rhodes and Simon Le Bon.

On their last record as the original line-up, Andy, Roger, Nick, Simon and John were already splitting off in different directions. Both Andy and John wanted more guitar on the album, whilst the rest of the group wanted a more pop-oriented, marketable sound. The marketing side won out, remixing "Seven and the Ragged Tiger" three times before its 1983 release. Although it performed well commercially, much of the album lacked a solid direction, and thus was something less than a critical succuess. The various members of the group did "Arena", then the Bond theme, and then parted company.

This record, "Arcadia", emanates from this period of departure from the Duran Duran fold. Since 1982, both Andy Taylor and John Taylor were yearning to play a harder, edgier form of rock music, paired down and more straight forward. Thus, they left and formed "Power Station". This left Nick Rhodes, Roger Taylor and Simon Le Bon to form their own musical project, which would become a celebration of their own influences, yet an expression of their own sound, as previously crafted in Duran Duran's first three albums.

Hence, "Arcadia". This is the album that Simon, Nick and Roger probably wanted to make from the beginning (see "The Chaffeur"), yet were pulled of in different directions by the compositional influence of Andy and John Taylor. This record doesn't really sound like Duran Duran at all ... Duran was, believe it or not, first and foremost a performing band, rather than a studio-video rock / pop group. They could really let it rip on stage (particularly Andy Taylor, who was prone to extended guitar solos that were, to put it mildly, unannounced and unplanned).

This album is supremely produced and arranged, clearly with an eye towards a superlative recording, rather than something "written to go on the road", as Keith Richards would say. Le Bon's lyrics show little, if any, attempt to be trendy or marketable, and songs like "El Diablo" and "Lady Ice" are so radio-unfriendly as to defy accurate description. Having said that, these orchestral tunes are a step in a new direction, almost leaning towards a synth-driven broadway sound. Yes, that's right, I said Broadway. As in show-tunes, folks. "Election Day" could easily fit into an avant-garde musical, as could "The Promise". Sweeping musical motifs coupled with introspective, esoteric yet personal lyrics make for an unforgettable musical experience. The ballad "Missing" might be Le Bon's most personal, soul-bearing moment, such that this song alone is reason enough to buy the record. Upon hearing it once, it is remembered for a lifetime.

This record, far more than the Power Station, marked the end of Andy Taylor's membership in the group. Simon and Nick incepted their next musical phase with "Arcadia", and every subsequent Duran record stands as a testament to this. Take particular note here that the guitar duties (yes, there is indeed audible guitar on this record, see "El Diablo" and "The Promise") are performed by David Gilmore and Duranie-to-be Warren Cucurollo. Instead of being a promient, driving force, the guitar is cast in a supportive, more orchestral role, as it would be throughout Cucurollo's involvement with the band.

Even as this record hailed the next phase of Duran Duran, it also contains the best that this new Duran sound had to offer. Never again did Nick or Simon match the musical or lyrical impact of this record. Duran would continue in this new vein, of course, yet would never match the inspiration achieved on "Arcadia". "Big Thing" and "Liberty" were clear attempts to do this, but both fell short. The best ideas do, indeed, come first.

Perhaps it would have been better for the Duranies to find yet another new, inovative direction to explore, rather than to try to build upon the direction established in "Arcadia". It's hard to follow up a record that stands so well on its own.

These days, the word is that all the original members are back, working on a new record, which is said to be a combination of "Blondie, the Clash, Roxy Music, and the Sex Pistols". I guess everyone needs to go back to their roots every now and again.

Being a die-hard Duranie in the eighties, of course I rushed out to get So Red the Rose when it came out in 1985. I wore that tape out a long time ago and so I recently got the CD. WOW! I was so amazed to listen with a "fresh" ear and hear how modern the music still sounds! My husband thought it was a current alternative group when he heard "Election Day" for the first time, and was blown away when I told him how old it was. I would give Arcadia ten stars if I could. Buy it, buy it now, and don't look back.