New Music Friday: Duran Duran, Hollywood Vampires And Gary Clark Jr.
By Michael Cerio
PHILADELPHIA (CBS) -- It's sad that summer is over. We all sang "Cheerleader" and hung out at a beach bar, but now it's time to move on. Be an adult. Wear shirts with sleeves.
That's all well and good, but it certainly doesn't feel like fall. Your pumpkin spice latte is silly until October hits, the sweaters remain under the bed, it is seasonal limbo.
Fortunately there's always music while we sort out the confusion. Before the marquee names drop their big fall releases, there's still plenty of time to spotlight what's around on another New Music Friday. This week we hear the latest from an 80s staple, a modern day guitar hero, and all-star tribute to drinking on the Sunset Strip.
Duran Duran – Paper Gods
Every couple of years the time comes for another Duran Duran reboot. Some are more successful than others, most offering a variation of the sound that made them stars in the 80s. There was the 1993 radio-ready, matured Duran Duran that reignited their career with "Ordinary World" and the haunting "Come Undone". There was a reunion in 2004 with Astronaut that failed to produce the same results, the 2007 Timbaland produced, Hip Hop tinged Red Carpet Massacre, and 2010's Mark Ronson helmed All You Need Is Now that found the band back at their Rio roots. None of those efforts or incarnations resonated like the real 80s Duran Duran, as they always looked to either repeat or reinvent.
Today comes another chapter for the band with Paper Gods. The album sounds like now thanks to the involvement of Mark Ronson, Kaye-approved producer Mr. Hudson, dance vocalist Kiesza, and a host of others. That is also partly due to the fact that music has been mining the 80s for the past couple years and it has likely hit an intersection where Duran Duran fits. Daft Punk muse and longtime collaborator Nile Rodgers and Janelle Monae guest on the album's highlight "Pressure Off", and Lindsay Lohan, of all people, delivers a spoken word prescription during "Danceophobia". It all fits together well enough, an immense improvement over the last few times out for Le Bon and company. However, they still lack the sense of danger that originally made Duran Duran great. As that bass winds after the chorus of "Hungry Like The Wolf" there's an exciting anxiety to it. When the drums hit on "Rio", you can feel something big is about to happen. They did all this and still had hooks for days. It's what makes Duran Duran special. This is a fun dance record, but it's still not that.
Gary Clark Jr. – The Story Of Sonny Slim Boy
Fittingly, The Story Of Sonny Slim Boy starts with a spiritual. You are now in the church of Gary Clark Jr., the newly anointed guitar hero. 2012's Blak And Blu blasted the Austin native into sentences with Jimi Hendrix and BB King making him the next great blues guitar player, but while his guitar wails through much of Slim Boy, Clark is dressed more in gospel and soul for his second outing. The choir and Al Green-esque horns punctuate and drive the album just as much as the worn voice and fingers of Clark. His mission is clear from the jump, "this music is my healing" as he says on the first song "The Healing". The spirit and soul he takes to get there is worth a listen.
Hollywood Vampires – Hollywood Vampires
You know all those stories you've heard about the debauchery of rock stars in the 1970s? Icons getting into unprintable shenanigans from L.A. to London, with the Sunset Strip's Rainbow Room being their home base. This adventurous crew became known as the Hollywood Vampires. Its membership would fluctuate, but always feature the best musicians in the world. John Lennon, Harry Nilsson, Micky Dolenz, Marc Bolan, and Keith Moon to name a few. All spent time with the Vampires. Their status was legendary, and their ring leader was Alice Cooper.
The Godfather of Shock Rock pays tribute to those days and those friends by recruiting Johnny Depp and Joe Perry for the band Hollywood Vampires. On their self-titled mix of originals and covers, there is once again a revolving door of rock royalty. Paul McCartney, Dave Grohl, AC/DC's Brian Johnson, Perry Farrell, and The Eagles' Joe Walsh are all here to turn it up to 11 and relive those hazy days. It's a slice of nostalgia, made worth it to hear McCartney reclaim Badfinger's "Come And Get It" and Brian Johnson on Zeppelin's "Whole Lotta Love".
Also out this week is new music from Jewel, Leona Lewis, and Bring Me The Horizon.
