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Nov 02, 2010 Web Exclusive By Kenny S. McGuane

Now that we’re a few decades out from the often terrible but always fun musical landscape of the 1980s, it’s easier to get some perspective on some of the era’s biggest bands and biggest releases. All the big boys of synth have undergone a thorough reissuing process (New Order, Pet Shop Boys, Depeche Mode, The Cure) and the Duran Duran reissues are about half way through their catalog. Now Capitol/EMI delivers a fantastically packaged reissue of Duran Duran’s critically panned 1986 album, Notorious. Two CDs contain the original album, the singles, extended mixes, and remixes, all of which have been gloriously remastered. The third disc is a DVD concert film, Working For the Skin Trade, documenting a live show captured during the band’s 1987-88 Strange Behavior Tour. All of the artwork is restored and this edition comes with five hilariously dated postcards and an equally charming poster.

Notorious the album remains a peculiar one for Duran Duran and it fell astonishingly short as a follow-up to their Grammy-winning third album, Seven and the Ragged Tiger. Tensions were running high by Notorious, with guitarist/songwriter Andy Taylor only contributing four songs before embarking on his solo career. With the highly-influential producer Nile Rodgers in command of the album Duran Duran began to expand their sound opting for a more guitar-driven funk feel instead of the standard synth-driven formula they’d perfected on the first three records. Singles “Notorious” and “Skin Trade” are exceptionally sturdy tracks, as are “Hold Me” and “Meet El Presidente”.

As a reissue for fans and completists, this deluxe edition of Notorious is as good as any. And even if the album isn’t representative of Duran Duran in top form, like so much other music from that decade, the further away from it we get, the better and better it sounds. (www.duranduran.com)

Author rating: 7/10