Some New Romantics: Double Duran and the Village People

Duran Duran : Girls On Film

On June 15, 1981 Duran Duran released its self-titled debut album, which would peak at UK#3 and US#10 a couple of years later. The A-side is almost entirely made up of hits: the UK#5 "Girls On Film", the UK#12 "Planet Earth", then "Anyone Out There", followed by the UK#37 "Careless Memories"( which sounds an awful lot to me like "A Girl's Mammaries" and, on the reissues, the 1983 UK#1 "Is There Something I Should Know". Duran Duran takes everything they could learn from Roxy Music (including Bryan Ferry's fashion sense) and the dance clubs and melds them together for one of the defining sounds of the decade.

As if pin-up looks weren't enough, the band achieved notoriety for its videos, particularly the Godley and Creme produced "Girls On Film", which featured female models in various stages of undress. Andy Warhol once said he masturbated to Duran Duran videos.

Village People : Food Fight

On the same week in June, The Village People followed up the Razzie Award winning Can't Stop The Music by rebranding. They traded in their costumes and hopped on the New Romantic scene, which was enjoying its heyday with the likes of Adam And The Ants, Spandau Ballet and Duran Duran.  It's one of the more bizarre moments in musical history, but people who have taken the time to listen to the Renaissance album say it's not as bad as you might think. Still, the punk rock "Food Fight" may be regrettable.

 

40 Year Itch: Those We Missed from May'74

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  More rocking than Preservation Act 1, this sequel is part of that period Ray Davies says he should never have been allowed to put any records out. Preservation Act 2 is an even more inconsistent rock musical, broken up by "Announcements", guest vocalists, Davies's  Marc Bolan impressions, and a dearth of actual songs. As such,  it is one of the most disappointing albums of 1974. Only because it may make you smile, check out Ray Davies's update of "Village Green Preservation Society": the virtually unlistenable "Shepherds of the Nation".

Recorded in early July of 1973 in Japan, Lotus is a three record set that was not only Santana's first official live album but also available only as a costly import. It captures the band at a time when Carlos Santana was leaving behind his Latin Rock sounds to explore the world of  jazz fusion

   But when you're playing in front of a paying audience that came to hear the classics, you better play them. So we get Santana's new band playing tunes from the early albums. The new band arguably features better musicians and a better singer in Leon Thomas. And what they do with the older songs is interesting.

The band truly excels on the tunes they recorded -- like the ones from the platinum album Caravanserai and the gold album Welcome. Still three discs is a lot of music. Overwhelming to these ears.

Interestingly, Rolling Stone's most recent record guide gives Lotus the ultimate 5 star rating while Music Hound gives the album its "woof!" rating, the lowest possible.

If by classic rock, you really mean rock influenced by classic music, then only Emerson Lake and Palmer could rival Renaissance. Turn of The Cards and its predecessor Ashes Are Burning are considered the classic albums. Upon listening you may be either be swooning over soprano Annie Haslam's vocals or realizing why punk rock HAD to happen.

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The UK's most successful boogie band could never break into the US market despite heavy touring here. This follow-up to Hello! rocks harder than most and  is considered a lost classic by fans. Album closer "Slow Train" is a three-section boogie monstrosity with drummer John Coghlan having fits!

40 Year Itch : Legs & Thighs, Hellos & Goodbyes

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Though consistently good, Caravan's sound could be so inconsistent  they were often losing fans at every sharp turn in their musical enthusiasms. On 1971's In the Land of the Grey and Pink they were fey and frilly. On 1972's Waterloo Lily, with the addition of keyboardist Steven Miller, Caravan sounded like a jazz fusion band. Miller had left by the time Pye Hastings and his mates entered the studio to record their fifth album, For Girls Who Grow Plump In The Night. 

      The result is a more commercial album but not one lacking depth. It's a return to the sound of Grey and Pink but meatier in places, still brimming in silly sexual innuendos ( what is the pretty girl supposed to be holding that's sweet enough to eat in "The Dog, The Dog is at it Again"?) and adorned with newcomer Geoff Richardson's viola playing. Small wonder it's a favorite among Caravan's fans. In fact it may be 1973's ultimate "grower"--the more you listen to it, the more you like it. ( as opposed to Bowie's Pin Ups). 

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Well they've come along way from the Yardbirds. By the time Renaissance recorded their fourth album, the break-out Ashes Are Burning, Birdmen Keith Relf and Jim McCarty has departed, leaving the spotlight to the five octave vocalist Annie Haslam whose operatic training clearly puts her in a league of her own among rock singers. She's earnest. She's theatrical.  And , if you're a punk, she just might put you off Renaissance for good.

 If you want to give Renaissance a chance, as millions of people did, begin with Ashes Are Burning . The title cut is spectacular. As is the single"Carpet of the Sun".