Duran Duran - Thank You (1995)

Duran Duran are an English new wave/synthpop band formed in Birmingham in 1978. They were a successful band of the 1980s and a leading band in the MTV-driven "Second British Invasion" of the US. Since the 1980s, they have placed 14 singles in the Top 10 of the UK Singles Chart and 21 in the Billboard Hot 100, and have sold over 70 million records.

An album of Duran Duran covering their "influences" was never something even the most dedicated fan wanted to hear, yet the band had the audacity to record Thank You, a collection of the group's favorite songs. Featuring songwriters as diverse as Bob Dylan and Sly Stone, Thank You works best when the band realizes the monumental silliness of its cover, as on "White Lines," which is performed with Grandmaster Flash himself, and the acoustic blues rendition of Public Enemy's "911 Is a Joke." Or it works when the band can reinvent material like Lou Reed's "Perfect Day" into a slick MOR ballad. When Thank You doesn't work, it's because the band doesn't quite get what made the original version special ("Lay Lady Lay" and "Watching the Detectives"). Too many plain, mediocre songs (the Doors' "Crystal Ship") prevent the album from being either unintentionally funny or genuinely successful. The record is solely a curiosity and not a very interesting one at that.
"Perfect Day", was the first single from Thank You, and became a moderate hit, peaking at number 28 on the British singles chart. In the U.S. the song narrowly failed to crack the Billboard Hot 100, only reaching as high as #101 from 24 June to 8 July 1995. The B side of the single was a version of The Velvet Underground's song "Femme Fatale", previously available in 1993, on Duran Duran's The Wedding Album.
However, despite such negative reception, Lou Reed said on the electronic press kit that accompanied the album that Duran Duran's version of "Perfect Day" was "The best cover ever completed of one of my own songs.


01. "White Lines" (Grandmaster Melle Mel) – 5:31
02. "I Wanna Take You Higher" (Sly & The Family Stone) – 5:06
03. "Perfect Day" (Lou Reed) – 3:51
04. "Watching the Detectives" (Elvis Costello) – 4:48
05. "Lay Lady Lay" (Bob Dylan) – 3:53
06. "911 Is a Joke" (Public Enemy) – 3:59
07. "Success" (Iggy Pop) – 4:05
08. "Crystal Ship" (The Doors) – 2:52
09. "Ball of Confusion" (The Temptations) – 3:46
10. "Thank You" (Led Zeppelin) – 6:36
11. "Drive By" (Duran Duran) – 5:34
12. "I Wanna Take You Higher Again" (Sly & The Family Stone) – 4:25

Bonus tracks on Japanese release:
13. "Diamond Dogs" (David Bowie) – 6:10
14. "Femme Fatale" (The Velvet Underground & Nico) – 4:22

Duran Duran are

• Warren Cuccurullo – guitar, production
• Simon Le Bon – vocals, production
• Nick Rhodes – keyboards, production
• John Taylor – bass guitar, production
• Roger Taylor – drums on "Perfect Day" and "Watching the Detectives"
• Steve Ferrone – drums on "White Lines" and "Crystal Ship"

Additional musicians

• John Jones - additional keyboards, guitars and vocals
• Terry Bozzio – drums on "Success", "Thank You" and "Drive By"
• Bruce Dukov – violin
• Jonathan Elias – Moog synthesizer on "Crystal Ship"
• Henry Ferber – violin strings
• Ron Folsom – violin strings
• Flo & Eddie – background vocals on "Success"
• Armen Garabedian – violin strings
• Berj Garabedian – violin strings
• Pamela Goldsmith – viola
• Grandmaster Flash & the Furious Five – background vocals on "White Lines" and "I Wanna Take You Higher"
• Grandmaster Melle Mel – background vocals, rapping on "White Lines"
• Scott Haupert – viola
• Suzi Katayama – cello
• Michelle Kikuchi-Richards – violin strings
• Curtis King – background vocals on "I Wanna Take You Higher"
• Abe Laboriel Jr. – drums on "Lay Lady Lay" and "I Wanna Take You Higher Again"
• Lamya – background vocals on "White Lines" and "I Wanna Take You Higher" and "Drive By"
• Maxanne Lewis – background vocals on "Ball of Confusion"
• Joy Lyle – violin strings
• Maria Newman – violin strings
• Tessa Niles – background vocals on "Perfect Day" and "Watching the Detectives"
• Lee Oskar – harmonica on "Watching the Detectives" and "I Wanna Take You Higher"
• Anthony J. Resta – drums on "White Lines", "Lay Lady Lay", "911 Is a Joke", "Ball of Confusion" and "I Wanna Take You Higher Again"
• Tony Thompson – drums on "I Wanna Take You Higher"

Technical personnel

• Steve Churchyard – engineering
• Jason Corsaro – mixing
• John Jones – producing, audio engineering, mixing, programming
• Avril McCintosh – engineering
• David Richards – mixing
• Tim Palmer – mixing
• Anthoy J. Resta – engineering, mixing, production, programming
• Bob St. John – mixing, production
• Ken Scott – engineering
• Tony Taverner – engineering
• Mark Tinley – programming
• Tim Young – mastering

Notes
Released: 4 April 1995
Recorded: 1992–1994
Genre: Alternative rock, pop rock
Length: 64:58

Label - Capitol (US)/Parlophone/EMI