Rio (Duran Duran album)

Rio
Studio album by Duran Duran
Released 10 May 1982
7 September 2009 (Special Edition)
Recorded January–February 1982
Studio AIR Studios, London
("My Own Way" recorded
October 1981 at Townhouse Studios, London)
Genre
Length 42:38
Label
Producer Colin Thurston
Duran Duran chronology

Duran Duran
(1981)		 Rio
(1982)		 Seven and the Ragged Tiger
(1983)
Alternative cover
Alternate Rio cover used on 2001 limited edition remaster
Singles from Rio
  1. "My Own Way"
    Released: 16 November 1981
  2. "Hungry Like the Wolf"
    Released: 4 May 1982
  3. "Save a Prayer"
    Released: 9 August 1982
  4. "Rio"
    Released: 1 November 1982

Rio is the second studio album by the British rock band Duran Duran, originally released worldwide on 10 May 1982.[2] It reached #2 in the UK and #1 in Australia.

The album was re-released in the United States in November 1982. It earned a Gold disc on 1 March 1983, and went Platinum on 26 April 1983, eventually reaching Double Platinum status. It peaked at number six on the Billboard 200 album chart in the US on 12 March 1983, and remained on the chart for 129 weeks.

Recording and release dates

The first song to be recorded for Rio was "My Own Way", written and recorded in October 1981, and released as a single in November 1981. The rest of the album was recorded in the early months of 1982 at Air Studios in London, with producer and engineer Colin Thurston. "My Own Way" was re-recorded for the album and the newer version is significantly different from the 1981 single version.

The second single, "Hungry Like the Wolf", was released in the UK on 4 May 1982. It peaked at #5 in the charts on 26 June 1982.

The Rio album was first released worldwide on 10 May 1982, peaking at #2 in the UK in its second week of release. The image on the album's distinctive purple cover was painted by artist Patrick Nagel. The cover itself was designed by Malcolm Garrett.

John Taylor takes credit for the title. "[It] was something I had thrown into the mix," he recalled in 2012. He was particularly fascinated with the idea of Brazil, and "Rio, to me, was shorthand for the truly foreign, the exotic, a cornucopia of earthly delights, a party that would never stop."[3]

The band had their own plans and ambitions for promotion. They reunited with director Russell Mulcahy (who had directed the music video for their first single, "Planet Earth"), and planned the release of a full length video album—eleven videos for the best songs off of the Duran Duran and Rio albums. The band travelled to Sri Lanka and Antigua between tour dates to film the memorable videos for the singles "Rio", "Hungry Like the Wolf" and "Save a Prayer", as well as the lesser-known "Lonely in Your Nightmare" and "Nightboat" — the latter video being a creepy zombiefest set on a deserted island.

While filming the videos, guitarist Andy Taylor contracted a tropical virus and was hospitalised on his return to England.[4] This forced the delay of the band's European tour, and the record company decided to hold the release of the third single until the band was ready to promote it again.

"Save a Prayer" was finally released on 9 August 1982, and peaked at #2 on the UK charts in mid September 1982. On 1 November 1982, the "Rio" single was released worldwide. It peaked at #9 in the UK in December 1982.

North American release

The North American version was first released on Capitol's Harvest Records label and had the same songs and mixes as the UK version, but did not perform well on the U.S. Billboard chart.

Meanwhile, the band had worked with producer David Kershenbaum to create some new dance mixes for their twelve-inch club singles. In September, EMI collected the remixes and released them on an EP called Carnival. It included the songs "Rio", "Hold Back The Rain", "My Own Way", "Hungry Like The Wolf", and "New Religion", and was released in North America, Spain, the Netherlands, Japan and Taiwan.

Following the success of the Kershenbaum remixes, Capitol changed its marketing strategy, selling Duran Duran in the U.S. no longer as a New Romantic band (a British phenomenon) but instead as a dance band. Frustrated with their lack of success in the U.S., the band capitalized on the moment and pressed Capitol to allow them to issue a remixed and remastered version of the Rio album in North America. The company agreed, and brought Kershenbaum back to remix more songs from the album.[5]

Remixed "Night Versions" of "Hungry Like the Wolf" and "Hold Back the Rain" were later released on CD on the Night Versions: The Essential Duran Duran compilation in 1998, and "My Own Way" was released in the 2003 Singles Box Set 1981-1985. On 3 December 1982, the Kershenbaum album remix was used for the "Hungry Like the Wolf" single. This was released in the US some six months after its initial UK release. The single included both the album version and the Carnival remix. It peaked at #3 in the US on 26 March 1983.

Part of the continued success of the album was due to the very popular videos, in heavy rotation on MTV. The video album Duran Duran was released (on VHS, Betamax, and laserdisc) to coincide with the North American re-issue of the "Rio" single on 11 March 1983, four months after its original release. This single included the Kershenbaum 7-inch remix of "Rio" and peaked at #14 in US on 14 May 1983.

Versions on CD

Until 2009, all official versions of the Rio album released on CD had been made from the original UK master tapes, and did not include any of the Kershenbaum remixes. This includes the release, in 2001, of a 20-year anniversary reissue, completely remastered from the original. The Kershenbaum remixes were included as part of a 2-CD set released in 2009.

The packaging on a limited edition version of this release (EMI; 529 9240/Capitol; 72435-25919-0-9) included an alternate version of the famous Nagel cover painting, submitted by the artist along with the first when he completed the commission (this image was first used for the Japanese 7-inch single of "My Own Way").

On 7 April 2009, Duran Duran's official website announced that Rio would be reissued as a 2 CD Special Edition on 7 September 2009 in the UK and 6 October 2009 in the US. This edition includes the album's original UK vinyl release tracks but adds substantially more to make this a definitive edition (including several tracks that have never been released in CD form as well as previously released material from Singles Box Set 1981–1985). This issue reached #185 in the UK Albums Chart.

Track listing

All songs written and arranged by Duran Duran.

UK/US Original LP: EMI 3411

  1. "Rio" – 5:33
  2. "My Own Way" – 4:51
  3. "Lonely In Your Nightmare" – 3:50
  4. "Hungry Like the Wolf" – 3:41
  5. "Hold Back the Rain" – 3:59
  6. "New Religion" – 5:31
  7. "Last Chance on the Stairway" – 4:21
  8. "Save a Prayer" – 5:33
  9. "The Chauffeur" – 5:13

US Kershenbaum version 1: Harvest ST-12211

  1. "Rio" [US album remix] – 5:24
  2. "My Own Way" [Carnival remix] – 4:31
  3. "Lonely In Your Nightmare" [US album remix] – 4:52
  4. "Hungry Like the Wolf" [US album remix] – 4:11
  5. "Hold Back the Rain" [US album remix] – 6:32
  6. "New Religion" – 5:31
  7. "Last Chance on the Stairway" – 4:18
  8. "Save a Prayer" – 5:33
  9. "The Chauffeur" – 5:12

US Kershenbaum version 2: Capitol ST-12211

  1. "Rio" [US album remix] – 5:24
  2. "My Own Way" [Carnival remix] – 4:31
  3. "Lonely In Your Nightmare" [US album remix] – 4:52
  4. "Hungry Like the Wolf" [Night Version] – 5:14
  5. "Hold Back the Rain" [US album remix] – 6:32
  6. "New Religion" – 5:31
  7. "Last Chance on the Stairway" – 4:18
  8. "Save a Prayer" – 5:33
  9. "The Chauffeur" – 5:12

CD album version: EMI (CDP 7 46003 2)

  1. "Rio" – 5:33
  2. "My Own Way" – 4:51
  3. "Lonely In Your Nightmare" – 3:50
  4. "Hungry Like the Wolf" – 3:41
  5. "Hold Back the Rain" [CD version] – 3:47
  6. "New Religion" – 5:31
  7. "Last Chance on the Stairway" – 4:18
  8. "Save a Prayer" [Single edit] – 5:25
  9. "The Chauffeur" – 5:12

Duran Duran: Rio (2 CD Special Edition)(EMI 50999 9 65633 2 8)

CD One
No. Title Length
1. "Rio"   5:33
2. "My Own Way"   4:51
3. "Lonely In Your Nightmare"   3:51
4. "Hungry Like the Wolf"   3:41
5. "Hold Back the Rain"   3:59
6. "New Religion"   5:32
7. "Last Chance On the Stairway"   4:21
8. "Save a Prayer"   5:33
9. "The Chauffeur"   5:22
10. "Rio" (US album remix) 5:24
11. "My Own Way" (Carnival remix) 4:31
12. "Lonely In Your Nightmare" (US album remix) 4:52
13. "Hungry Like the Wolf" (US album remix) 4:11
14. "Hold Back the Rain" (US album remix) 6:32

CD 2:

CD Two
No. Title Length
1. "Last Chance On the Stairway" (the Manchester Square Demo) 5:04
2. "My Own Way" (the Manchester Square Demo) 4:39
3. "New Religion" (the Manchester Square Demo) 5:33
4. "Like An Angel" (the Manchester Square Demo) 5:03
5. "My Own Way" (original 7-inch version) 3:39
6. "Like An Angel"   4:43
7. "Careless Memories" (Live at the Hammersmith Odeon) 4:15
8. "The Chauffeur" (Blue Silver) (Early version) 3:54
9. "My Own Way" (Night version) 6:34
10. "Hungry Like the Wolf" (Night version) 5:14
11. "Rio" (Night version) 6:40
12. "New Religion" (Carnival remix) 5:15
13. "Hold Back the Rain" (Carnival remix) 7:01
14. "My Own Way" (Instrumental version) 6:35
15. "Hold Back the Rain" (Alternate remix) 6:41

This makes the remastered version available in iTunes, a 29 track-version.

Reception

Professional ratings
Review scores
Source Rating
AllMusic link
Robert Christgau C− link

Chart positions

Year Chart Position
1982 Australian Kent Music Report Albums Chart 1
UK Albums Chart 2
1983 Billboard 200 6

Legacy

In 2000, Rio was ranked #98 in Q magazine's "100 Greatest British Albums". In 2003, it was listed at #65 in the NME "100 Greatest Albums of All Time". In 2004, CMJ ranked it as #1 in their "Top 20 Most-Played Albums of 1982". In 2008 it was ranked 24th best British album of all time in a joint HMV Q poll.[6] It ranked #95 in Pitchfork Media's Top 100 Albums of the 1980s,[7] and is included in the list 1001 Albums You Must Hear Before You Die[8] In April 2013 Rio was voted number 3 in BBC Radio 2's Top 100 Favourite Albums of all time.[9]

Three decades later, John Taylor still held the album in high regard. "The writing on Rio is fantastic, all out. Essential Duran Duran," he recalled in his 2012 memoir, In the Pleasure Groove. He also had high praise for the band's musicianship. "Every one of us is performing ... at the absolute peak of our talents," he wrote. "There is no showboating. Every part is thoughtful, considered, part of a greater whole."[10]

In 2013 science-fiction movie Oblivion, in an apocalyptic world, a copy of Duran Duran's "Rio" can be seen briefly in a scene where Tom Cruise's character browses his old vinyl records collection, as part of the remnants of some better times for human civilization.

Videos

  1. "My Own Way" (1981)
  2. "Hungry Like the Wolf" (1982)
  3. "Save a Prayer" (1982)
  4. "Lonely in Your Nightmare" (1982)
  5. "Rio" (1982)
  6. "The Chauffeur" (1982)

Covers and tributes

The Duran Duran Tribute Album, a 1997 collection of cover versions, included the following tracks from Rio:

Other covers include:

Personnel

Also credited:

References

  1. ↑ "Rio" on All Music Guide. Retrieved on 13 August 2009
  2. ↑ NME (London, England: IPC Media). 1 May 1982. p. 42. Missing or empty |title= (help)
  3. ↑ Taylor, John (2012). In the Pleasure Groove: Love, Death & Duran Duran. London: Sphere. p. 177. ISBN 9780751549041.
  4. ↑ Taylor, Andy (2008). Wild Boy: My Life in Duran Duran. New York: Grand Central Publishing. pp. 120–121. ISBN 0-446-50930-2.
  5. ↑ Puterbaugh, Parke (12 May 1983), "Duran Duran: The little girls understand", Rolling Stone magazine (395): 62–65
  6. ↑ "Top 50 British albums poll". Word Magazine. Archived from the original on 2008-02-21. Retrieved 25 July 2012.
  7. ↑ "Staff Lists: Top 100 Albums of the 1980s". Pitchfork Media. 20 November 2002. Retrieved 23 February 2013.
  8. ↑ "1001 Albums You Must Hear - 2008 Edition". Rocklistmusic.co.uk. Retrieved 23 February 2013.
  9. ↑ "Top 100 Favourite Album Countdown - Live Updates". Bbc.co.uk. Retrieved 2013-09-16.
  10. ↑ Taylor, John (2012). In the Pleasure Groove: Love, Death & Duran Duran. London: Sphere. p. 178. ISBN 9780751549041.
Preceded by
Time and Tide by Split Enz		 Australian Kent Music Report number-one album
5–11 July 1982 		Succeeded by
Avalon by Roxy Music