Duran Duran - one of the most successful modern rock 'n' roll bands of all time - is playing ParkWest on Saturday, Aug. 21, as Stop No. 32 in their first world tour in four years.
Their new album, which peaked at No. 7 on the charts, and the concert tour, which is selling out all over the United States, are testimony that dying pop-glitz bands can be granted a second chance at life.The album by itself, however, is proof that the British quartet is not - as some critics once suggested - a momentary blip in MTV rock history. Titled "Duran Duran" (which, for some strange reason, was the same name as the band's debut album in 1981), the album represents one of the strongest comebacks in recent memory.
"Ordinary World" hit No. 3 in a matter of weeks, largely because it's one of those rare, provocative rock ballads that crosses over into just about all contemporary tastes. Same goes for "Come Undone."
Lest one think Duran Duran is simply revisiting its sentimental-rock niche, consider "Too Much Information," a catchy, hard-driving rock number that slams MTV and electronic media (isn't that what U2 did with their Zoo-TV Tour?). "Too Much Info" contains this gem, in staccato, spitfire delivery:
The pressure's on the screen to sell you things that you don't need
It's too much information for me . . .
It's pumpin' down the cable like never so before
A cola manufacturer is sponsoring the war
D2's definitely biting the hand that feeds, considering MTV masterminded the band's meteoric rise, which included such hits as "Hungry Like the Wolf," "Rio" and "Save A Prayer." In 1985, the band produced "View To a Kill" for the James Bond movie by the same title.
Today's Duran Duran, whose name derives from the evil character in the movie "Barbarella," has changed slightly. It includes original members Simon Le Bon on lead vocals; Nick Rhodes on keyboards; John Taylor on bass guitar; and newcomer Warren Cuccur-ullo, lead guitarist, who founded the Missing Persons after leaving Frank Zappa's band. For this tour, D2 has enlisted the help of Fergus Gerrand on drums. His origin remains a public mystery, however.
The first North American leg of the concert tour ends Monday. After that, D2 travels to Europe and then returns to America.
Tickets to Saturday's concert are still available at SmithsTix. Reserved seats are $23; general admission is $19.
The show begins at 8 p.m. with the warm-up act of Terence Trent D'Arby, another artist who rose quickly and fell just as fast. D'Arby's first album, "Introducing the Hardline," sold 8 million copies worldwide, but his second, "Neither Fish Nor Fowl," crashed.
His latest album, "Symphony or Damn," may prove to be a return to fame. The single "She Kissed Me" has hit No. 6 on Billboard's Modern Rock Tracks chart.