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Post by raliverpool on Sept 9, 2014 19:21:14 GMT 1
1 Duran Duran - Ordinary World 93
By the early 1990s, Duran Duran's popularity had well and truly faded. Their 1990 album Liberty had proved a commercial failure, its two singles failing to make a significant showing on British or American charts. The band's three Taylor's famous five line up had been no more for 7 & a half years. The all powerful grunge movement was the very antithesis of what the New Romantics and Duran Duran had come to represent.
January 1991 saw Duran Duran embarking on their latest project, tentatively titled Here Comes The Band (eventually released early in 1993 as Duran Duran but known as "The Wedding Album", in the London home studio (named Privacy) of guitarist Warren Cuccurullo. Co-producer/engineer John Jones: "Warren had a sequencer, a drum machine, a couple of synths and his extensive guitar setup, and the idea was that by just bringing in a small keyboard rig for Nick [Rhodes] they could write there,” recalls JJ "So they started composing together and jamming, and a couple of months later I came in and began to demo some of the ideas that they had. "The group really wanted to control this record. They wanted to have the time to be creative without spending hundreds of thousands of pounds in a studio, and so they basically asked me if I thought we could make a record in a living room." It was so successful the band quickly felt confident to take their time coming up with a quality set of songs such as this track based on Simon Le Bon's chorus and Warren Cuccurullo's guitar motif, and Nick Rhodes synth chord pattern. The eureka moment happened when Simon was watching the Freddie Mercury Memorial moment at home, and Simon came up with probably the best lyrics of his life. "It's about losing someone and learning to cope (It was dedicated by Simon to his old friend David Miles who died of a Heroin overdose The third of a trilogy set of lyrics based on this subject matter - the first was "Do You Believe In Shame?", and the other was "Out Of My Mind", although Simon had written the lyrics 7 years earlier than its 1997 release). When you have someone in your life who is your everything, your world is special; it's wonderful; it's Nirvana. When that person leaves or is taken from you, your world is no longer wonderful or special. It's just "ordinary". This song is about learning to deal with a new life, a new world that is carrying on as normal and making the resolution that "I will survive".
The result was Duran Duran's biggest commercial success of the Warren Cuccurullo years/post Roger & Andy Taylor years: It made UK #6, USA #3 (where it could not pass the unmoveable The Bodyguard's Whitney Houston "I Will Always Love You"; and the Disney Aladdin's "A Whole New World" by Peabo Bryson & Regina Belle. A worldwide top 20 hit which made #1 in Canada, #2 in Italy, Sweden, #3 in Ireland, & New Zealand; etc. In 1994 it won the main Ivor Novello songwriting award for best music and lyrics; and was memorably used in the fantastic 2004 British crime thriller Layer Cake (far better than any Bond movie starring Daniel Craig).
Came in from a rainy Thursday on the avenue Thought I heard you talking softly. I turned on the lights, the TV and the radio Still I can't escape the ghost of you
What has happened to it all? Crazy, some might say, Where is the life that I recognize? Gone away
But I won't cry for yesterday, there's an ordinary world, Somehow I have to find. And as I try to make my way, to the ordinary world I will learn to survive.
Passion or coincidence once prompted you to say "Pride will tear us both apart" Well now pride's gone out the window cross the rooftops, run away, Left me in the vacuum of my heart.
What is happening to me? Crazy, some might say, Where is my friend when I need you most? Gone away
But I won't cry for yesterday, there's an ordinary world, Somehow I have to find. And as I try to make my way, to the ordinary world I will learn to survive.
Papers in the roadside tell of suffering and greed Feared today, forgot tomorrow Ooh, here besides the news of holy war and holy need Ours is just a little sorrowed talk
(Just blown away)
And I don't But I won't cry for yesterday, there's an ordinary world, Somehow I have to find. And as I try to make my way, to the ordinary world I will learn to survive.
Every world, is my world (I will learn to survive) Any world, is my world (I will learn to survive) Any world, is my world Every world is my world
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Post by greendemon on Sept 9, 2014 19:37:20 GMT 1
great top 10 (i find overplay has killed my interest in 'common people' but that might be just me), surprising number 1!
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TheThorne
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*Hillside, slip and slide, feel the pain, it's no surprise!*
Posts: 27,345
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Post by TheThorne on Sept 9, 2014 19:53:15 GMT 1
Decent number one it is probably better than some songs in my top 1000 but it doesn't mean much too me if you know what I mean , not even sure it made my top 30 when it was out , it's a 6/10 song really, it's good but not special enough for me
They would have many more in my top 1000 of 80s though
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Post by raliverpool on Sept 9, 2014 20:02:56 GMT 1
Decent number one it is probably better than some songs in my top 1000 but it doesn't mean much too me if you know what I mean , not even sure it made my top 30 when it was out , it's a 6/10 song really, it's good but not special enough for me They would have many more in my top 1000 of 80s though Wow. Much like with the band Madness, I've seriously never met anyone who does not like this song. It seems to be the one DD song that people who don't like DD, like.
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TheThorne
Member
*Hillside, slip and slide, feel the pain, it's no surprise!*
Posts: 27,345
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Post by TheThorne on Sept 9, 2014 22:52:56 GMT 1
I do like it its just not special to me I can understand why people do really like though haven't loved a Duran Duran song since 'notorious' I suppose
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vastar iner
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I am the poster on your wall
Posts: 17,396
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Post by vastar iner on Sept 15, 2014 9:00:22 GMT 1
Thanks raliverpool.
Not over-enthused by the top 20, seemed a bit samey, the sort of slow-ish ballad that someone comes up with when they're trying to score a hit, but "Justified And Ancient", like so much of the KLF output, is epic.
"Enjoy The Silence" won the Brit award because it was a public vote. DM fans basically swamped the phonelines.
And "Common People" is the song that best sums up the 90s. Still love it on every listen. 20 years ago. My God.
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