On their new Halloween album “Danse Macabre” Duran Duran want to show their dark side and also cover songs by Billie Eilish and the Rolling Stones. A scary record?
Shortly before Halloween, Duran Duran release a studio album in which the British pop band adopts a darker tone in keeping with the pagan festival.
“We wanted to make an entertaining record, but also delve a bit into the dark arts,” says drummer Roger Taylor in an interview with the German Press Agency. “I think most of our albums have a dark side. If you listen closer, you’ll always find one or two songs that are a little deeper and darker.”
“Danse Macabre” is a mix of covers, brand new songs and re-recordings of lesser-known Duran Duran songs, which Taylor said was appropriate for Halloween. “We have entered forbidden territory,” jokes the 63-year-old. “Because fans want to hear the songs as they were originally recorded. We rebelled a bit and changed the songs or reinterpreted them in a way that we would write and produce them today.”
After the concert in Las Vegas
“Night Boat” from the 1981 debut album sounds a little more dramatic in the new version. “Love Voudou”, on the other hand, is groovier than the 1993 original, which was called “Love Voodoo”. “Secret October”, originally a B-side of the single “Union Of The Snake”, enjoys cult status among Duran fans. The dark ballad now exudes an eerie, beautiful charm as “Secret October 31st”. “Some people won’t find them as good,” Taylor says of the new versions, “others might even find them better.”
“Danse Macabre” was created as a result of a Halloween concert that Duran Duran gave in Las Vegas a year ago. “We sat down before the concert and put together a list of songs that influenced our dark side,” says the drummer. “Then we dressed up and played the concert.” Many songs from that evening in Las Vegas now ended up on the studio album.
What’s curious is the fusion of the band’s own “Lonely In Your Nightmare” with Rick James’ “Super Freak”. “It came about during rehearsals,” says Taylor. “We were jamming – and suddenly John (Taylor, bassist) plays “Super Freak”.” In fact, the bassist was inspired by “Super Freak” when he wrote the song for the 1983 album “Rio.” “It sounded so good that we decided to keep this little mash-up.”
The album contains three brand new songs. Chic guitarist and former Duran Duran producer Nile Rodgers (71) gives “Black Moonlight” his unmistakable guitar sound. “Confession In The Afterlife” is a dreamy ballad, the title song mixes rock, funk and chanting in a way that only works with Duran Duran.
Andy Taylor and Warren Cuccurullo as guests
The two former Duran Duran guitarists Andy Taylor and Warren Cuccurullo also appear as guests. Taylor was actually supposed to perform with the band when they were inducted into the “Rock And Roll Hall Of Fame” last year, but a serious illness prevented that. “We would have been so happy,” says drummer Taylor, who was with the other two Taylors is not related. “So we said the next best thing would be for him to play on the album.”
There is no animosity towards Cuccurullo, whose departure from the band in 2001 was not entirely harmonious. “We had lost touch over the years, but this project brought us back together,” says Taylor. “Duran is like a dysfunctional family brought back together for this record.”
On “Danse Macabre” the Brits make very different songs their own, including modern songs like “Bury A Friend” by Billie Eilish or classics like “Ghost Town” by The Specials. Måneskin bassist Victoria De Angelis takes part in “Psycho Killer” (Talking Heads). “Supernature” – by disco king Cerrone – lacks impact. “Paint It Black” is danceable and yet darker than the Rolling Stones’ original. Nick Rhodes’ synthesizers sound like a trashy 70s horror film and Simon Le Bon sings with a lot of theatricality.
Christmas songs? No thanks!
In general, the 64-year-old singer is in impressive vocal form. “He works a lot for it. He treats his voice like an opera singer,” Taylor says of his frontman. “It’s really remarkable that he still has this voice at his age. Because many singers have problems later on, their voice often suffers. But Simon is obviously getting stronger and stronger. We’re really lucky.”
Halloween record or not, “Danse Macabre” is primarily a pop album and has the familiar Duran Duran sound. Not every song is a hit and the entire work seems strangely chaotic. But “Danse Macabre” is by no means a scary album.
By the way, it is not expected that Duran Duran will venture into a Christmas album next after the Halloween project. “It’s something we’ve always avoided,” says Roger Taylor, who co-starred with his colleagues in 1984’s “Do They Know It’s Christmas?” (Band Aid) sang along. “Back in the early 80s we thought Christmas albums were kind of cheesy – and that’s why we always stayed away from them.”