Big Thing

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Larkin, Colin (2011). The Encyclopedia of Popular Music (5th conciseed.). Omnibus Press. ISBN 978-0-85712-595-8. The Edge of America -- There is something special about this song. Great lyrics and a fantastic vocal delivery from Simon LeBon. To further distance themselves from their earlier incarnation, the band decided to stylise how they spelt their name, shortening it to the single word "Duranduran" and vocalist Simon Le Bon grew his hair out. Our (chronological) rundown of the very best Duran Duran songs, from their 40-plus-year recording career… Nonetheless, this chronological list encapsulates a body of work that – despite the ever-changing line-ups – shows a band that survived and thrived thanks to that rare ability to adapt, and with unabated confidence.

RPM100 Albums" (PDF). RPM. Vol.49, no.8. 10 December 1988. p.11. ISSN 0033-7064– via World Radio History. Carnival • Decade: Greatest Hits • Greatest • Night Versions: The Essential Duran Duran • Strange Behaviour • Singles Box Set 1981-1985 • Singles Box Set 1986-1995 • From Mediterranea With Love And while most commentators would suggest the band’s early period – at the vanguard of both New Wave sounds and New Romantic style – as the outright pinnacle, we’d propose that there’s a range of lofty musical peaks dotted throughout their later career (and one later single, in particular, that outdoes them all).

Bergstrom, John (21 October 2010). "Duran Duran: Notorious / Big Thing". PopMatters . Retrieved 13 August 2017.

I n all honesty, this is a list that almost writes itself. Duran Duran are, after all, amongst the finest singles bands of their day. From within the grooves of 14 studio albums, containing just short of 40 for the most part magnificent singles, there’s a wide array of nailed-down perennials at our disposal. Big Thing is the fifth studio album by English new wave band Duran Duran. It was released on 17 October 1988 by EMI Records. Produced by the band, Jonathan Elias and Daniel Abraham, it continued the sonic musical change the band explored with their previous album Notorious (1986). Work on Big Thing began around early September 1987, while writing commenced the day after the end of the Strange Behavior Tour for Notorious in January. The band would take some time off before reconviening in Davout Studios in Paris, where they also previously recorded Notorious. These early sessions would result in the compositions "All She Wants Is", "Do You Believe in Shame", "The Edge of America", and "Lake Shore Diving". Lead singer Simon Le Bon would say, “It was amazing what came out of all that. Sometimes a little embryo of an idea can blossom into something tremendous.” Drug -- A hyper-energetic house mix that doesn't really fit in on the album. The unexpected passage at 2:26 is genius and deserves an extra star, but John Taylor was right, the original Daniel Abraham mix is better.This album was a bit of a surprise. After moving into horn-heavy funk on Notorious, the band tries a bunch of different sounds here. At the end of the global Electric Theatre Tour promoting Big Thing in 1989, Cuccurullo was made a full-time member of the band along with drummer Sterling Campbell. We’ve chosen to disallow both covers (skilfully circumnavigating the much-maligned Thank You LP) and side-projects to avoid any squabbling, and there’s a lengthy list of cuts that were reluctantly consigned to the ‘bubbling under’ category. At times they could do no wrong; at times the critics bayed for blood and at times fans were left scratching their heads, but storms were ridden and dog days overcome. The first half is trademark John Taylor ( Andy Taylor had left for good halfway through Notorious). He continues to ape INXS, while throwing in a bit of Simple Minds and the burgeoning dance pop movement. It all reeks of desperation, though it did produce decent hits like "I Don't Want Your Love" and "All She Wants Is".

A few moments from Rio are also absent (well, we couldn’t include them all), and newer fare such as Face For Today and Paper Gods also just missed the boat. I used to own more Duran Duran records than I do now. When I moved from one city to another (that happened more than a decade ago), I hadn't listened to my Duran Duran LPs for years – or maybe Rio once, but that was it. However, I remembered that I had liked Big Thing more than Notorious as an album, though I consider(ed) the single "Notorious" very good. But I could always find that song anywhere. So I sold my copy of Notorious (like Liberty that I am actually missing) but decided to keep Big Thing.Musical differences would come to a head when John Taylor nearly quit the group over the mixing of the song. According to Abraham John was "really upset over the decision to use a remix on the album instead of the original mix, and he did tell me once that he was thinking of leaving because of what had happened. Aside from hating the mix, he felt it diminished what they had achieved, and I think he thought using a flavour of the day sound would age terribly." British album certifications – Duran Duran – Big Thing". British Phonographic Industry. 1 November 1988 . Retrieved 26 September 2021. Lyrically, the album holds a more mature and intense passion focusing on love, lost innocence, death, and religion: "Too Late Marlene" deal with regret following the end of a romantic relationship, "All She Wants Is" focuses on materialism in a more dominant feel, "I Don't Want Your Love" as about someone who strives for attention but does not want a relationship, "The Edge of America" serves a metaphor on the band's wavering popularity and poor chart success, and "Do You Believe in Shame" goes for a more personal tone on death as the song actually pays tribute to three people close to the band that they lost at the time: artist Andy Warhol who died suddenly in early 1987, producer Alex Sadkin who was killed in a car crash a few months later, and Daniel Miles, a longtime friend of Le Bon who died of a heroin overdose during the recording of Big Thing. On the album's linear notes, the band decided to write personal dedications which was the first time in the band's history they would do such.