Who knew Nick Rhodes was the man? On the Classic Albums:
Rio DVD, we learn all about the making of Duran Duran’s seocnd
album. It explains how the album was not only a major turning point for Duran
Duran; this super uber popular album influenced the landscape of the 80’s
fashion, music and MTV and how the band’s keyboardist Nick Rhodes really
put it all together.
Most of the music of the ’80s passed me by. I railed (and still rail) against
all that MTV stood and stands for, and I never was a big fan of pastels. But
I can’t deny the influence of the music channel or a band like Duran
Duran. The pretty-boy quintet wrote great groove pop tunes, cultivated a look
everyone emulated, and along with Billy Idol and Journey, made MTV. What I
didn’t realize until watching this DVD though was how perfectly timed
Duran Duran’s entrance to the world stage was, and how Rio
was the album that did it. From catchy tunes like the title track, “Hungry
Like The Wolf” and “New Religion,” making the career of
video director Russell Mulcahy (who made three videos with the band in Sir
Lanka in seven days!) to all those well-tailored suits, Duran Duran really
were at the top of their game.
This DVD is the usual making-of overview you’ve seen on VH1 (though
the DVD has 75 minutes of unaired footage) with band members sitting at a
mixing board, isolating tracks, along with interviews with producers and reporters
who championed the band way back when (including Sir Bob Geldof). What really
becomes apparent is how much Nick Rhodes, the group’s keyboardist, was
the guy setting the tone (if you’ll pardon the pun) of the songs on
Rio. In most cases, he came up with a riff or a keyboard
sound that made these songs such big hits. Rhodes is an unassuming dude and
a serious craftsman. You can see why singer Simon La Bon defer to him and
how John Taylor’s bass playing came after what Rhodes began.
Along with the interviews and tracking is archival footage of the band from
various live performances (like Wembley in 1983), outtakes and snippets of
the world-famous videos (remember all that running around in the jungle?),
and new performances from Duran Duran in a Boston studio playing the songs
about as letter perfect as when they were recorded. If you’re a fan
of the Rio album, the minutia of recording or still grooving
to the slightly older, yet still pretty well-outfitted Duran Duran, this Classic
Albums: Rio DVD is a must-have.
~ Ralph Greco, Jr.
