FEATURE:
Too Good to Be Forgotten: Songs That Are Much More Than a Guilty Pleasure
Duran Duran – Rio
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SOME may argue vociferously…
against me including Duran Duran’s Rio in this feature. I love the album (of the same name) and feel it is one of the best of the 1980s. I think that the band get this tag because they think of a lot of the music from the early-1980s as being a bit fake, cheesy and naff. Duran Duran released one of my favourite songs with Ordinary World (from their 1993 eponymous release (though many know it as The Wedding Album). I have seen Rio and Girls on Film appear in a couple of guilty pleasure songs lists – and, as I keep saying, I do not buy into the notion that a song is a guilty pleasure. I will bring in a review of the Rio album – as I think it is one everyone should listen to -, but I am charged with showing how good Rio is. I am not a huge fan of the song’s video; that is a minor flaw. Rio is one of the best tracks of the 1980s and, when you hear the song start, you are instantly captured and uplifted! Before I go on, I want to bring in some background information regarding the song:
“The keyboard pattern for "Rio", well-known among Duran Duran fans and synthesizer enthusiasts, was produced by an arpeggiator—a tool which can play the individual notes in a chord in a chosen pattern. It was once rumoured that the synthesiser used to achieve this was a Roland Jupiter-8. However, it has been said by Nick Rhodes to actually be a Roland Jupiter-4 using the random mode on the arpeggiator with a Cmaj7 chord.
Rhodes created the unusual sound at the beginning of the song by throwing several small metal rods onto the strings of a grand piano in the studio. The recorded sound was then reversed to create the intro. The laughter on the track was that of Rhodes' girlfriend at the time.
The song's verse was musically inspired by their earlier song "See Me, Repeat Me" and the chorus was taken from "Stevie's Radio Station", a song written by TV Eye which featured singer Andy Wickett who went on to be one of Duran Duran's early singers. The song was a favourite of Nick and John and was incorporated into Duran Duran live sets during Wickett's tenure.
Originating from an idea by John Taylor about Rio de Janeiro – "the truly foreign, the exotic, a cornucopia of earthly delights, a party that would never stop" – Simon Le Bon wrote the lyrics to the song, and chose not to write about the city but about a girl named Rio
The tenor saxophone solo was performed by Andy Hamilton, who has also worked with Wham! and Elton John amongst others”.
Not only is Rio one of the best singles of 1982 (the single arrived in November; the album came out in May); the album from which is came is a classic! This is what AllMusic wrote in their review of the marvellous and timeless Rio:
“From its Nagel cover to the haircuts and overall design -- and first and foremost the music -- Rio is as representative of the '80s at its best as it gets. The original Duran Duran's high point, and just as likely the band's as a whole, its fusion of style and substance ensures that even two decades after its release it remains as listenable and danceable as ever. The quintet integrates its sound near-perfectly throughout, the John and Roger Taylor rhythm section providing both driving propulsion and subtle pacing.
For the latter, consider the lush, semi-tropical sway of "Save a Prayer," or the closing paranoid creep of "The Chauffeur," a descendant of Roxy Music's equally affecting dark groover "The Bogus Man." Andy Taylor's muscular riffs provide fine rock crunch throughout, Rhodes' synth wash adds perfect sheen, and Le Bon tops it off with sometimes overly cryptic lyrics that still always sound just fine in context, courtesy of his strong delivery. Rio's two biggest smashes burst open the door in America for the New Romantic/synth rock crossover. "Hungry Like the Wolf" blended a tight, guitar-heavy groove with electronic production and a series of instant hooks, while the title track was even more anthemic, with a great sax break from guest Andy Hamilton adding to the soaring atmosphere. Lesser known cuts like "Lonely in Your Nightmare" and "Last Chance on the Stairway" still have pop thrills a-plenty, while "Hold Back the Rain" is the sleeper hit on Rio, an invigorating blast of feedback, keyboards and beat that doesn't let up. From start to finish, a great album that has outlasted its era”.
It is a shame that some bands like Duran Duran get this ‘guilty pleasure’ tag applied to them. They have recorded some songs that are not especially great – Rio is definitely not one of those. During these hard times, tracks such as Rio provide a positive boost and rush!
IN THIS PHOTO: Duran Duran in 1982/PHOTO CREDIT: Lynn Goldsmith
I want to close with a great article that outlined why Rio is such a great song. For those who are not a big fan of it, maybe these words will sway your opinion:
“What’s the most seminal, classic, 1980s pop song you can think of? What’s the song that perfectly encapsulates the musical trends and styles of the decade? This is a question that will get a multitude of answers from people, but at least a fair number of people would answer “Hungry Like the Wolf”, by Duran Duran from the band’s 1982 album Rio. More than just “Wolf,”
Rio is a quintessentially 1980s album, an album that helps to define a decade, despite it’s release early in the decade. After all, Rio was released in 1982. It shows just how on-point Duran Duran was that they could release an album that helped to serve as a cornerstone of the decade when the decade had just started.
More than anything, Rio is fun. This is to be expected–Duran Duran took the band’s name from a Barbarella character, for crying out loud, this is a band that doesn’t take itself too seriously. Songs on Rio are willing to push the envelope, delving into something that’s goofy yet spectacularly well-made. “My Own Way” ends with Simon le Bon shouting phrases over a pulsing guitar melody, in an endearing yet slightly dumb manner.
The biggest candidate for Duran Duran’s well-polished fun is “Hungry Like the Wolf”, a song that’s equally iconic and equally stupid. “Hungry Like the Wolf” is an amazing song, three minutes of pop perfection with an amazing vocal line, wonderful backing vocals, a beautiful thirty seconds in the final chorus, and the dumbest lyrics known to man. What on Earth does “I smell like I sound” even mean to begin with? The bit before the final chorus, where Simon le Bon whispers “hungry like the wolf” over the sound of heavy breathing is also hilariously silly–and that’s the point. Duran Duran knows it sounds silly, why else would they do this? This is a beautifully silly song that they play 100% straight and that makes it all the better.
Rio is an album full of amazingly well-crafted and well-produced songs that are actually quite long. A good number of the songs on the album are over four minutes, eschewing the traditional pop radio time constraints. And yet, they don’t feel like they’re over four minutes. “The Chauffeur” pushes five minutes and yet sounds shorter and longer at the same time. The song is haunting, le Bon’s vocals flitting over a minimal score, the synth dropping in like raindrops before swapping to a flowing, lilty overplay, bringing so much atmospheric power to the piece. Those moments where le Bon sings the phrase “Sing Blue Silver” are downright transcendent, a musical oddity that somehow sets itself apart from the other songs but fits the tone of the album perfectly.
At least for me, the true highlight of the album is the title track. “Rio” is such a beautifully composed song. There’s no weak moments, there aren’t any obvious faults, it’s just a bright, beautiful poppy with an amazing sax riff near the end. From those opening synths to the pounding guitars, it’s an amazing opening that just drops you right into pop perfection. Do the lyrics make sense? Not entirely! But again, it doesn’t matter. The lyrics are a perfect fit for the moment, only falling apart if I’m also just so happy to see a synthpop song dealing with the American Southwest. So often that area’s just relegated to country/western but nope, here’s a ridiculous synthpop masterpiece that namechecks the Rio Grande River”.
Take some time to check out one of Duran Duran’s most-popular songs. Though some feel that it is not a track to sing along to and admit that you like, many others (rightly) rate it as a classic. I have been spinning it a bit because there is so much to love. The infectious chorus, the bounce and flow of the song…everything hits the mark! I don’t think it has aged badly; in the sense that it is a big hit that sounds good no matter when you play it. Although the sensations and sounds of Rio might seem a million miles away, you can listen to the song and…
FEEL like you are somewhere exotic.