Notorious Album
. ' Released: 20 October 1986. ' Released: 31 January 1987. ' Released: April 1987 Professional ratings Review scores Source Rating 6/10 Notorious is the fourth by English band.
It was released on 18 November 1986. The album peaked at No. 16 on the and at No. 12 on the US. Produced by the band with, the album showcased a new musical direction for the band, emphasizing bass and brass, as exemplified by the singles ' and '. In 2010, EMI released a raft of material surrounding the Notorious reissue consisting of a two-disc set, a deluxe three-disc set, a digital only EP and a digital only live album. The box set also includes remixes, live tracks and the Working for the Skin Trade live video (for the first time on DVD).
Contents. Personnel difficulties The making of Notorious during 1986 was a difficult time for Duran Duran. The band had planned on taking a much-needed break after the success of their 1984 world tour, but all of the band members had ended up working on one of two side projects ( and ). When it came time to record the new Duran Duran album, they found that drummer was too exhausted to continue in the music business, while guitarist had developed a taste for the spotlight, as well as for a harder, more guitar-heavy sound than the rest of Duran Duran was prepared to pursue. The band gradually coaxed Taylor back from Los Angeles to the United Kingdom in order to begin playing on the album, but personal and creative disputes continued and much of the communication was carried on by lawyers, until Taylor ultimately left the band.
In addition to now becoming a three-piece, the band also began to act as their own management during this time, having dismissed brothers Paul and Michael Berrow who had shepherded them through their first five years. Arrangements for the then-forthcoming Strange Behaviour Tour which kicked off in March 1987, as well as the tensions with Taylor, are recounted in the documentary Three To Get Ready. During this time, Taylor began jamming with members of the American band who were in the midst of breaking up. Missing Persons guitarist, noting that Taylor did not intend to return to Duran Duran, offered his services to them instead. They hired him as a session and tour guitarist; he would later become a full member of the band in 1989. The remaining three original band members, Rhodes, Le Bon and John Taylor continued working on the new album with Cuccurullo and producer (himself a guitarist from his days in ) providing the remaining guitar work. Incidentally, with material from three guitarists, the band has since found it difficult to tell what guitarist ended up playing on what finished track.
Notorious Album Cover
Session drummer took Roger Taylor's place behind the drum kit. In years to come, the band would refer to Notorious as their -inspired album. This is due to having a number of tracks titled after Hitchcock movies. In addition to the album and lead single named for the film, there was also and, the original title for 'Hold Me'.
Andy Taylor's participation According to some reports, the relationship between Andy Taylor and the rest of the band had deteriorated to the point where he had to be threatened with legal action in order to get him back into the studio, but that the resulting sessions were so unpleasant for all involved that the band finally released him from any obligations to record. According to interviews, Andy Taylor was involved in various sessions for the album, and because of this, the guitar work on a few tracks was performed by him.
There is a track on his official website in which he plays guitar and sings vocals for 'A Matter of Feeling'. According to an interview with Cuccurullo in 2004Andy Taylor also played on 'American Science' the first guitar solo being Taylor's, the second Cuccurullo's. Singles The album's first single ' was a commercial success, reaching number two in the United States and number seven in the United Kingdom. It was the first Duran Duran single to be released with a second remix 12-inch single, led off by a remix by The Latin Rascals.
'Skin Trade' was a -flavoured track notable for Le Bon singing in a -like falsetto, as well as featuring The Borneo Horns quite heavily. John Taylor has since been quoted as saying that his disillusion with the charts began when 'Skin Trade' failed to reach the UK top 20. The sleeve to the 'Skin Trade' single was banned in several countries, as it featured an airbrushed naked female buttock. In the UK and US, the single was released in a plain pink/red sleeve, though the original sleeve was released in Canada and France.
To commemorate the band's 1987 Strange Behaviour Tour, several promotional-only remixes were commissioned for 'Skin Trade', including the 'Parisian Mix' and the 'S.O.S. These were initially released on a US-only promotional 12-inch single with mixes of 'Meet El Presidente' on the flip-side. ' ', released to coincide with the tour in April 1987, reached #24 in the UK.
It was their first single to be released on CD (catalogue number CD TOUR 1), which featured all the tracks from the 12-inch vinyl single. In the US, the single was released under the title 'The Presidential Suite'. 'A Matter of Feeling' was released in January 1988 as a promotional single in Brazil. Prior to this it was included on the original soundtrack to the Brazilian telenovela Mandala (1987–1988), produced. To drum up further interest in the album, a collection of otherwise unavailable remixes was released on a promotional double 12-inch pack titled in the US and Hong Kong.
Track listing All tracks written by John Taylor, Nick Rhodes and Simon LeBon. Title Length 1. 'American Science' 4:43 3. 'A Matter of Feeling' 5:56 5. 'Hold Me' 4:31 Side two No. Title Length 6.
'Vertigo (Do the Demolition)' 4:44 7. 'So Misled' 4:04 8.
'Winter Marches On' 3:25 10. 'Proposition' 4:57 2010 remastered edition bonus tracks: Single versions and B-sides No. Title Length 11. 'We Need You' 2:54 12. 'Notorious' (45 mix) 4:01 13.
'Skin Trade' (radio cut) 4:28 14. 'Meet El Presidente' (7' remix) 3:38 2010 remastered edition bonus disc: Mixes No. Title Length 1.
Notorious Album Download Zip
'Notorious' (extended mix) 5:18 2. 'Meet El Presidente' (Presidential Suite mix) 7:15 3. 'Skin Trade' (Parisian mix) 8:08 4. 'American Science' (Chemical reaction mix) 7:45 5. 'Vertigo (Do the Demolition)' (Mantronix mix) 6:34 6.
'Skin Trade' (Stretch mix) 7:44 7. 'Notoriousaurus Rex' 8:19 2010 remastered edition bonus disc: Duran Goes Dutch EP (recorded at the, Rotterdam, 7 May 1987) No. Title Length 8.
'Notorious' (live) 4:15 9. 'Vertigo (Do the Demolition)' (live) 5:28 10. 'New Religion' (live) 5:50 11. 'American Science' (live) 5:00 12.
'Hungry Like the Wolf' (live) 5:07 2010 remastered deluxe edition bonus DVD: Working for the Skin Trade (live during the Strange Behaviour Tour in Rio de Janeiro) No. Title Length 1. 'A View to a Kill' 3. 'Notorious' 4. 'New Religion' 5.
'Vertigo (Do the Demolition)' 6. 'The Chauffeur' 7. 'Save a Prayer' 8. 'Skin Trade' 9. 'Hungry Like the Wolf' 10. 'Wild Boys' 11.
'Credits' 2010 remastered deluxe edition bonus DVD: The videos No. Title Length 12. 'Notorious' 13. 'Skin Trade' 14.
'Meet El Presidente' 2010 remastered deluxe edition bonus DVD: Top of the Pops No. Title Length 5. Untitled (6/11/86) 15.
'Notorious' 2010 digital-only releases Remix EP No. Title Length 1. 'Skin Trade' (S.O.S Dub) 7:19 2. 'Meet El Presidente' (Meet El Beat) 5:33 3. 'American Science' (Meltdown Dub) 7:29 4. 'Vertigo (Do the Demolition)' (B-Boy Mix) 6:04 5. 'Notorious' (Latin Rascals Mix) 6:24 Live at The Beacon Theater, New York City, 31 August 1987 No.
Title Length 1. 'Introduction/A View to a Kill' 2. 'Notorious' 3. 'American Science' 4.
'Union of the Snake' 5. 'Vertigo (Do the Demolition)' 6. 'New Religion' 7.
'Meet El Presidente' 8. 'Election Day' 9. 'Some Like It Hot' 10. 'The Chauffeur' 11. 'Skin Trade' 12. 'Hold Me' (incorporating 'Dance to the Music') 13. 'Is There Something I Should Know?'
'Hungry Like the Wolf' Personnel Duran Duran. Duran Duran – production. – lead vocals. – bass guitars. – keyboards Additional personnel.
1986's Notorious has Andy Taylor contributing on only four songs before leaving to start his solo career, but on the strength of the title track's number two placing and 'Skin Trade's number 39 mark, the album itself peaked at number 12 in the U.S. And number 16 in the U.K. On the whole, only 'Notorious' showed any real livelihood, thanks to its modern gleam and the catchy stutter of its chorus.
'Skin Trade' is almost as worthy, thanks to its sultry, seductive air and enchanting but complex rhythmic allure. While the writing is somewhat stable on Notorious, Duran Duran's efforts at sounding enigmatic and covert end up being hot and cold. Tracks like 'American Science' and 'Vertigo' try too hard, while only 'Meet el Presidente,' a number 24 hit in Britain, sports a rather appealing flow. Beneath Duran Duran's attempts at trying to sound musically devious, mysterious, and slightly seductive, the tracks fail to bear enough weight in order to be effective all the way through. It's easy to see why the band would choose such a route at this point in their career, but moderate doses of pop enthusiasm would have made Notorious a fuller and more enjoyable package. The provocative, nightclub brand of martini-sipping pop that does surface is meritorious to a certain extent, felt mostly in the album's two biggest tracks.