MINI-BLOG: Danse Meh-cabre? By Geoff Jackson

Duran Duran released DANSE MACABRE this weekend and I’ve given it a once or twice-over. It’s their 16th studio LP and it's fun, quirky, and unusually different. Clearly not all of it works, but it’s a gleeful stab at exploring a bit of goth and some darker themes.

For starters, it’s a strange Halloween-inspired combination of three things — cover songs by other artists, all new original material, and reworkings of their own “spookier” classics from the past 40 years. In the latter category, we’re treated to new renditions of “Waiting for the Nightboat”, “Love Voudou”, and “Lonely in Your Nightmare” (oddly mixed with the 80s Rick James hit “Super Freak” …). Are they actually any good? Yeah, they’re OK — and they’re growing on me.

I’m not familiar with most of the covers (being stuck in the 80s myself) but, of course, I know The Rolling Stones song “Paint it Black” - - and they do it pretty good justice. As a Duranie, I’m pleased to know O.G. Wild Boys Andy Taylor and Warren Cuccurullo are both back on guitar in various places, and that the band's overall musicianship is aided by each of their contributions. (Personally, I like Cuccurullo better than Taylor, but that’s not kosher to admit to most diehard Duranies …).

The highlight on the album, for me, is Black Moonlight — it’s another Nile Rodgers collaboration and it’s a wonderful blend of 70s disco fused with hard rock candy and ear-worm choruses. Give it all a listen. Not sure where I’d position it exactly within their complete catalogue, but I’d say it unfortunately falls somewhere towards the back of the pack — between entries 10 and 15. Fun; just not all that great and a little disjointed (no skeleton pun intended).

Happy Halloween, and may your fall season be as SPOOKY as this record!