Most Helpful Customer Reviews
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36 of 37 people found the following review helpful:
5.0 out of 5 stars
The comeback kids, July 2, 2004
Duran Duran bombed quietly with 1990's "Liberty" and then disappeared for three years, leading many to think their careers ended with the Eighties. So everyone was shocked when in 1993 they stormed back to the top of the pop charts. Their comeback success was deserved: "The Wedding Album" is Duran Duran's most colourful, dynamic and diverse offering, and ranks with 1982's "Rio" as one of their best.I can't quite describe my feelings upon hearing the dreamy, soaring ballad "Ordinary World" for the first time in early 1993. It was like an old friend had returned after an absence of many years. Over ten years later, this first single from "The Wedding Album" retains all its anthemic power. And then a funny thing happened: the second single, "Come Undone," was just as good! For the first time in nearly ten years, Duran Duran had two hit singles from the same album. The comeback was complete. Fortunately "The Wedding Album" is more than just a "singles" album. As they did with "Notorious" (1986) and "Big Thing" (1988), Duran Duran continues to break new musical ground. Standout tracks include the Latin-tinged Milton Nascimento collaboration, "Breath After Breath," the Prince-style funk of "U.M.F.," and the hip-hop/ambient fusion of "Come Undone" and "Love Voodoo." More than just experiments, these songs are thoughtful compositions that successfully synthesize diverse genres with Duran's inimitable melodic sensibilities. A minor complaint about "The Wedding Album" is that the weakest tracks, "Drowning Man" and "Shotgun," appear early on, disrupting the record's consistency. But the album quickly recovers with "Come Undone" and never looks back. "The Wedding Album" ends with a bang: the incendiary "Sin of the City," an epic tune about the tragic Happyland dance club fire, is an angry and passionate statement about urban exploitation. It's a scathing social comment that dispels the notion of Duran Duran as self-absorbed pretty boys. More than merely a commercial comeback, "The Wedding Album" reaffirms Duran Duran's place among the premier pop bands of their generation. The wait was worth it.
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10 of 10 people found the following review helpful:
5.0 out of 5 stars
This album puts my faith in Duran Duran, November 7, 2005
Warren Cuccurullo, formerly of Duran Duran once said the best thing about the band is that there are no Stylistic boundaries. This is true and I think this makes Duran Duran one hell of a great band. They don't try and stay on one kind of musical genre, which is why I resent anyone saying they are a pop group. There is just so much Guitar, so much drums, so much layering that the music is not just about Simon Lebon's voice, it's about the music. That was why Notorious was so refreshing. Not that I'm saying there was anything wrong with the first LP, Rio or SATRT, They were all INCREDIBLE albums, but change also brings something good too. The Wedding album is a huge difference from DD's 5 prior albums. The songs are so rock oriented and some are just funky and beautiful and some of them border on hip-hop. Ordinary world, the uncut version with two beautiful guitar solos stands out as one of DD's very best songs. I think Love Voodoo, Come Undone, Breath after breath share the same honor. They are all beautiful songs that are all 90's sound yet they are unmistakably Duran Duran. And on the mysterious and even aggressive but beautiful side is "Shelter" and the based on real events song "Sin of the city". All great stuff, even if you don't like it at first, I assure you, it'll grow on you in a good way after a while.
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8 of 8 people found the following review helpful:
4.0 out of 5 stars
A great comeback for a classic group!, March 9, 2001
"The Wedding Album" signifies a listenable return for Duran Duran, with the ensemble being (at that point, 1993) Simon, Nick, John, and Warren. "Too Much Information" begins the album, which is fast, and begins to show the senior DD members' political side, i.e. "Destroyed by MTV, I hate to bite the hand that feeds me." Next up is the romantic ballad (but not too slow) "Ordinary World". Then "Love Voodoo", a mysterious song. "Drowning Man" isn't very good, to me at least. Ditto with "Shotgun". "Come Undone" is up next, a moody song, but is addictive. "Breath After Breath" is interesting, in that some of the song is sung in Portugese. Next, my personal favorite, "UMF", which is the sexiest thing I've ever heard! Fellow female Simon LeBon fans, this is worth the album alone. Lyrics like "Put it to me baby, you can feel love tumblin' down," and "I just wanna wrap myself in ya baby, we can tell the world we're foolin' around" really prove that Simon is totally irresistible. A cover of "Femme Fatale" follows up next, which is pretty good. "None of the Above" is all right, and "Shelter" is good, another sweet wanting song. "To Whom it May Concern" and "Sin of the City" are strange, the former being almost completely awful. The latter is alright, but I don't particularly prefer listening to it. Another political song, about a New York nightclub going up in flames. BUY THIS ALBUM, if you're a long-time DD fan, or even if you aren't. Even if you just got into them, as I did, this album is a MUST! *By the way, to set you straight (DD haters) Duran Duran were the second most popular "Teeny bop" group (besides the Beatles). And besides, "Teeny bop" is an okay phrase to use with them, though not accurate. It better describes a singer/group who COULDN'T play an instrument, a.k.a. Debbie Gibson, Menudo (Ricky Martin when he was a teen; awful, just like he is now), and of course, the unforgiveable Osmonds in the '70's. At least most of DD could play an instrument. And the "Boy Band" title for them makes a bit more sense, mostly attributed to their looks. (Come on, would YOU say that Justin Timberlake is hotter than Simon LeBon?!)...Not to mention that Simon can sing one hell of a lot better. But I don't know why people call N'Sync and BSB "Boy Bands" when none of them can play an instrument. Sure they can sing...just not that well, and like girls. Simon has a sexy, MASCULINE voice. Unlike Justin...but I'll stop comparing now, though I've gone on a rant. Anyway, just keep in mind that Duran Duran set the stage for classic music videos on MTV, and awesome fast pop songs.
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by Duran Duran 
