Varie Recensioni di "Astronaut" (tutte positive)

WILD (OLD) BOYS ARE BACK
THE SUN NEWSPAPER (UK): - Friday 8th October 2004

ASTRONAUT >> ALBUM OF THE WEEK (4 out of 5)

By JACQUI SWIFT

The last time Duran Duran had a Top 5 hit, Live Aid was the event of the year, Back To The Future was the No1 film and Wayne Rooney wasn't even born.
That was 1985 and now comeback single (Reach Up For The) Sunrise is set to be their biggest hit in 19 years.

The band which influenced acts such as The Killers and The Strokes are back with the original line-up - singer Simon Le Bon, bassist John Taylor, drummer Roger Taylor, Keyboard player Nick Rhodes and guitarist Andy Taylor.

This week thousands of Duranies turned up to see them sign copies of their new single in Birmingham and London. And the hysteria is still the same, with grown women crying and having to be pulled from the stage.

John, 44, told Something For The Weekend: "We are very aware of our chemistry together. When we started playing concerts again, it was 'Wow they're responding just like they used to'." He reckons new album Astronaut is their best yet. John says: "Astronaut is very different to the other albums and no one came away thinking, 'I should have changed that or I should have done this.' Everybody thought that it was the best album we could have made."

Unlike the bitter splits of many bands, the five stayed good friends and kept in touch after the group fragmented in the late 80's. They decided to get back together in 2000.
Simon, 45, says: "It was always at the back of my mind. I'd gone to visit Andy and I thought it would be nice to work with him again - but it had to be the original five of us."
John adds: "It was weird, I was on vacation and said to my wife, 'We've got to get the band back together."

"When I got home there was a message from Simon, I knew we were doing the right thing."
Last year Duran Duran went on one of their biggest tours taking in America, Japan and Australia.
The highlight was a show at London's Forum. John says: "That was a special night - one of our greatest."

Simon adds: "We operated differently in the old days. The stage show wasn't as important as it is now - it was the party later that mattered."


(REACH UP FOR THE) SUNRISE - Simon: "It's very exotic, with a Russian vibe. It took ages to get the lyrics right."

WANT YOU MORE! - Simon: "This started as a keyboard part that wouldn't go away. I took it home and one day it just clicked."
John: "It's just one of those great songs."

WHAT HAPPENS TOMORROW - Simon: "Nick saw a kid on TV talking about the bombing of Iraq. He said, 'Nobody knows what will happen tomorrow' and the phrase stuck. The song started out Britpoppy but changed to a rock, funky sound."

ASTRONAUT - Simon: "It's very special and one of my favourites. It has so much energy - it's pure frivolity."

BEDROOM TOYS - John: "I love the line in it, 'I've seen a lot of things that will make your chicken curl.' It's so suggestive. It came from Simon and you just know what he means."
Simon: You think you know what it means but you're not quite sure - best to leave it like that really!"

NICE - Simon: "Roger was playing and we kept the vibe of the drums going. I love it."

TASTE THE SUMMER - Simon: "It's a song of St Tropez. The wind came off the sea into the room as we played."
John: "We'd all gone out dancing the night before and we had this feeling that we took off the dance floor and into the room the next day."

FINEST HOUR - Simon: "This is like a Pink Floyd track in the way they stick to two chords and just build the intensity and the feeling."

CHAINS - Simon: "This song comes from a nightmare I had. I kept seeing a guy in a swamp and he feels demons coming to take him away but he wants to hang on. It stands for not giving up. It's such an un-Duran Duran song. I like it when we do things we don't normally do."

ONE OF THOSE DAYS - John: "I can get really down but Simon is pretty level. The song is about Simon's take on life, it's an anti-depressant."

POINT OF NO RETURN - Simon: "It's about the 9/11 attacks. We watched the towers come down on TV and two days later we wrote this song about what's wrong with the world."

STILL BREATHING - Simon: "This is my long-term love affair on the album and always will be, even when I get infatuations with other songs."
John: "It was the first song we wrote after 9/11 and I felt stranded. My family were in the States and I was here in the UK."

Courtesy THE SUN NEWSPAPER,


Link ak sito
The Sun

[Modificato da Tiger Tiger 09/10/2004 22.22]

A new universe for Duran Duran
Daily Express, Friday October 8 2004


Album of the week - Duran Duran: Astronaut (4 stars)

GROAN. Unless you were a relative or a paid-up member of their fan club, that seemed to be the only sensible response to the news that Duran Duran had decided to re-form (even with "the original line-up!").

Like weight gain and male pattern baldness, a reunion seems to be an inevitable part of life for every sad old band from the Sixties, Seventies and Eighties. The process usually involves a small-scale tour, a claim that their new material is "the best stuff we've ever done" and a record that is so abominably bad, you'd sooner drill a hole in your head than listen to it.

What such middle-aged rockers generally fail to mention, of course, is that having blown all their cash on drugs, hookers, homes in the country and horrific solo packages, they're now so desperate for moolah, they're willing too get back together with band mates they swore blind they'd never speak to again, all in their desperate pursuit of coin. To find a re-formed band that actually produces something worthwhile - well, that's about as likely as the Stones putting out another decent album.

Imagine the shock and surprise then, to discover that the new Duran Duran album is not only a decent record, it's actually rather good. In fact, in places it's kind of great.

Good as they were in their prime, there was always something a little portentous about Duran Duran. I mean, have you listened to Wild Boys or New Moon On Monday lately?

More than music, Simon Le Bon and Co seemed to spend an inordinate amount of their career in love with the theatrics and melodrama of being stars. The mere fact that Le Bon was nearly killed in a yachting accident rather than a good, old-fashioned car crash seemed to say it all.

What makes this CD marvelous, however, is that all the pretentious posturing has been jettisoned, leaving a collection of bright, smart pop songs that still sound like classic Duran Duran. From the opener (Reach Up For The) Sunrise through to the end, every track here comes laden with catchy hooks and sing-along lines.

It's only when you get to the end of the album that you realise this is the perfect Duran Duran record - the one that they were probably too arrogant to deliver in their prime.

They may not have become astronauts, but it seems that Duran Duran have finally grown up.

Link al sito
Daily Express

Un nuovo universo per i Duran Duran
Daily Express, venerdì 8 ottobre 2004

Album of the week - Duran Duran: Astronaut (4 stars)

GROAN: a meno di non essere un parente o un membro a pagamento del loro fan club, "groan" avrebbe potuto essere la sola risposta sensata alla notizia della decisione dei Duran Duran di riformarsi (anche se con "l'originale line-up!")

Pure se ingrassati e precocemente calvi, una "reunion" sembra ormai essere un passaggio obbligatorio per ogni vecchia e triste band degli anni sessanta, settanta e ottanta. Il processo implica di solito una tournée in scala ridotta, l'affermazione convinta che il loro materiale nuovo è "la cosa migliore che mai abbiamo fatto" ed un disco talmente brutto da voler preferire presto di praticarsi un foro nella testa con un trapano piuttosto che ascoltarlo.

Ciò che solitamente questi rockers di mezza eta si "dimenticano" di menzionare, ovviamente, è il fatto che, dopo aver sperperato tutti i guadagni in droghe, battone, case di campagna e orribili progetti solistici, adesso sono cosí disperati da essere disposti a tornare insieme ai vecchi compagni della band coi quali avevano giurato di non parlare mai più, tutto per il disperato bisogno di liquidità. Trovare una "reunion" in grado di produrre effettivamente qualcosa di buon valore ha la stessa probabilità che gli Stones riescano a realizzare un altro album decente.

Potete dunque immaginare lo shock e la sorpresa nello scoprire che il nuovo album dei Duran Duran non è soltanto "decente", ma in realtà è piuttosto buono. Per non dire eccellente, a tratti.

Buono come erano all'inizio, quando c'era sempre qualcosa di leggeremente portentoso nei lavori dei Duran Duran. Voglio dire, vi è capitato di ascoltare Wild Boys o New Moon On Monday ultimamente?

Più che per la musica, Simon Le Bon e soci erano sembrati intenti nello sprecare uno smodato ammontare della loro carriera persi nel melodramma e nella teatralità di essere "stars". Il semplice fatto che Le Bon abbia rischiato di rimanere ucciso in un incidente di yacht piuttosto che in un buon, "classico" incidente d'auto la dice lunga.

Ciò che rende questo CD meraviglioso, comunque, è che ogni postura pretenziosa è stata gettata in mare, lasciando così una collezione di scintillanti e intelligenti pop songs che tuttavia suonano ancora come i classici Duran Duran. Dall'apertura di (Reach Up For The) Sunrise fino al termine, ogni traccia è arricchita da ritornelli orecchiabili e attraenti.

È solo verso la fine dell'album, così, che si comprende come questo sia il disco perfetto dei Duran Duran, quello che un tempo erano forse troppo arroganti per riuscire a realizzarlo.

Forse non saranno diventati Astronauti, ma sembra che i Duran Duran siano finalmente cresciuti

[Modificato da Tiger Tiger 09/10/2004 22.26]

Ecco i link per la recensione di "Astronaut" apparso sull'ultimo numero di Rockstar
(tratti dal sito http://www.duranitaly.com)

Recensione Astronaut

Link al sito:
Rockstar

[Modificato da Tiger Tiger 09/10/2004 22.19]

ASTRONUAT (Epic) Either Simon LeBon has become one fine singer, or recording engineers have discovered an anti-adenoidal button. That's just one of the surprises on the first album in 21 years from the original lineup of new wave's steeliest mannequins. Glistening zero-gravity synth-funk that's mostly unembarrassing and at times shockingly vital (the proto-Faint squall of "Want You More!"), this is so '80s you can almost taste the freebase. B --Doug Brod

ASTRONUAT (Epic) I casi sono due: o Simon LeBon è diventato un cantante raffinato, oppure gli ingegneri del suono hanno scoperto un bottone anti adenoidi. Questa è solo una delle sorprese del primo album in 21 anni dalla line up originale dei manichini d'acciaio della new wave. Scintillante synth-funk antigravità per lo più vincente e a volte sorprendetemente vitale (l'energia dirompente di "Want You More!"), il disco è così "eighties" che puoi quasi sentirne il retrogusto. voto:B --Doug Brod

(la traduzione è moooolto libera perché alcune espressioni sono intraducibili... il sistema di votazione americano pone A come il massimo e F come il minimo, quindi B è come un 4 stelle su 5, o 5 stelle su 6... fate voi... comunque un bel voto!)

[Modificato da Tiger Tiger 09/10/2004 22.27]

E! Online Review
Artist / Band: Duran Duran
Record Label: Epic Records
Release Date: October 12, 2004

Our Review:
There's plenty of reason to be suspicious of a Duran Duran reunion album. The original lineup hasn't recorded together in 18 years. Producer Nile Rogers got bumped off for trendier names like Dallas Austin and Don Gilmore. And the new songs the band played at concerts over the least year...well, they stank. But whatever happened in the studio makes the comeback totally worth it. Astronaut takes a few songs to warm up, but by the time the band hits naughty dance-floor fillers like "Bedroom Toys" and "Taste the Summer," it feels like 1983 all over again. Lead singer Simon LeBon is present in all his flamboyant glory, and the guitars keep up. Plus, it's cheaper than a time machine.
Our grade:A-

Ci sono un mucchio di ragioni per essere sospettosi di un album di reunion dei Duran Duran. Per 18 anni la lineup originale non ha mai registrato assieme. Il produttore Nile Rogers è stato messo da parte per nomi più trendy come Dallas Austin e Don Gilmore. e le nuove canzoni che la band ha suonato un po' dappertutto nell'ultimo anno... bene, erano deludenti. Ma quello che è successo in studio ha reso questo albun davvero interessante. Astronaut ci mette qualche canzone a scaldarsi, ma non appena la band si cimenta in canzoni riempipista come "Bedroom Toys" e "Taste the Summer," sembra di essere tornati nuovamente indietro al 1983. Il cantante Simon LeBon si presenta in tutta la sua sgargiante gloria, e le chitarre tengono il passo. Più economica di una macchina del tempo...
Il nostro giudizio:A-

[Modificato da Francy 78 14/10/2004 15.38]

Qualcuno può tradurlo per me? (sono uan frana in inglese GRAZIE!!!


Nicky Love

DURAN DURAN
Reach Up For The Charts!
‘SUNRISE’
Blasts Into The Top 10 At #5!

STUDIO ALBUM ‘ASTRONAUT’ HITS STORES TODAY!

With their new album, ‘Astronaut’ in-stores today, the five original members of DURAN DURAN (Simon LeBon, Andy Taylor, John Taylor, Roger Taylor and Nick Rhodes) are celebrating their highest UK chart entry for 19 years, as ‘(Reach Up For The) Sunrise’ – the album’s first single – blasts its way into the #5 spot. This marks their fourteenth Top 10 hit and proves, beyond any doubt, that Duran Duran are here to stay.

Duran Duran have influenced a whole new generation of artists and bands from The Killers, The Scissor Sisters and Franz Ferdinand to Ladytron and No Doubt. Babydaddy from the cult band The Scissor Sisters sums this up: "To think we're carrying on the Duran Duran tradition makes me proud," he says. "Their music was pop music, but it was subversive. It speaks to the outsider, and it's completely accessible to everyone."

‘(Reach Up For The) Sunrise’ – which was one of the first tracks to be written for the band's new album, during a month-long writing and pre-production session in the South of France, some 18 months ago - is a classic Duran Duran anthem - a real feel-good record that comes to life with boundless energy and emotion. Rich with the distinctive sound of LeBon’s powerful vocals, Nick Rhodes’ familiar keyboard landscape and the reunited Taylor Trio rhythm and bass grooves, ‘Sunrise’ is signature Duran Duran for the new millennium.

Lead singer Simon LeBon said of this week’s chart position; “Its an amazing achievement, and we are all absolutely delighted that the last two years of hard work has paid off. Doing this well in our home market with our first single means a great deal to us all and is a testament to the unique and complex chemistry that exists between the five of us. It’s something very magical.”


Like the single, ‘Astronaut’ was recorded at London’s Sphere Studios with Don Gilmore (Linkin Park, Good Charlotte), Dallas Austin (Madonna, Christine Aguilera, TLC, Usher and Gwen Stefani) and Nile Rodgers (Madonna, David Bowie, Duran Duran) sharing production responsibilities with the band. ‘Astronaut’ marks Duran Duran’s first release on Epic Records, since they signed their new deal with the major earlier this year. Jeremy Wheatley (Massive Attack, Sugababes and The Dandy Warhol’s) mixed the album at Olympic Studios in London.

Alongside the standard 12-track album, Epic is also releasing today a special limited edition deluxe package of ‘Astronaut’, featuring a 24-page colour booklet and a bonus 45-minute DVD that includes candid, behind-the-scenes footage (shot by award-winning documentary film-maker Gavin Elder) and five full-length live tracks from the band's sold-out concert run at Wembley Arena earlier this year. Live songs included are: ‘(Reach Up For The) Sunrise’, ‘Hungry Like The Wolf’, ‘What Happens Tomorrow’, ‘Union of the Snake’ and ‘Wild Boys’. Also featured on the DVD is the spectacular music video for ‘(Reach Up For The) Sunrise’.

ENDS

The Spectacular New Album
“ASTRONAUT”
11.10.04 on Epic Records.