Duran Duran “Duran Duran Budokan” Record Store Day exclusive release, 2018. Recorded live at Nippon Budokan, Tokyo, September 20, 2017. In today’s Memories thing on Facebook, the video I captured of Duran Duran’s intro to “The Reflex” at Chicago’s House of Blues in 2011 appeared, I guess the universe’s way of telling me today is a Duran Duran day (well, every day is kind of  a Duran Duran day). My main dealer at Rush Mor Records hooked me up with Duran Duran Budokan and of course I love it! It is impossible to write objectively about D2 so I’m just going to gush. Sorry. Side A has two songs from their 2015 release, Paper Gods, “Paper Gods” and “Pressure Off,” plus a very strong “A View to a Kill” – Simon’s voice is spot-on (thank goodness. I’m looking at you, Live Aid) and Nick’s keyboards are brilliant – and one of the best renditions of “Hold Back the Rain” I’ve heard (the best part is when Simon changes the line “I probably didn’t even say that right, And I really don’t give a damn” to “And I really don’t give a FUCK”). “Hold Back the Rain” is one of my top Duran songs – the best to listen to while driving at high speeds down a late-night autobahn (not that I’ve done that, but I did listen to the song on my Walkman in ‘83, age 12, sitting in the backseat of a rickety Mazda while my dad drove through the English countryside en route to Wales, which is kinda like zooming down the autobahn in a Ferrari?).  Most of Side B also has older songs – the funky “I Don’t Want Your Love” from 1988′s Big Thing, the soaring anthemic “(Reach Up For the) Sunrise” from the 2004 album Astronaut which segues perfectly into another one of my favorites, “New Moon on Monday,” before transitioning back into “Sunrise.” Glorious!  Side B has just one song from Paper Gods: a bit of “The Universe Alone” which then Nick Rhodes seamlessly transitions into the final track, “Save a Prayer,” one of Duran Duran’s most beautiful and beloved songs.

Duran Duran at the House of Blues, April 2011