My take on the “bad” piano note at the beginning of Violence of Summer is that it is 100% intentional. I think it adds color to the intro and almost has a crowing rooster effect to my ear. I love it!
Thing is, it's a weird thing to bring up like it ruins a song. Now to me, their weakest album's that overrated 1983 bit of silliness about the "Tiger" where lyrically nothing seems to make sense and there's so much drowning of the guitars with layers of rather uninspired keyboards it threatens to kill the record. Certainly dates it and the best thing on the album was the one thing they idiotically didn't PUT on the album-'Secret Oktober'. Where 'Union Of Snake' chorus just goes on and on, with no change to even make the constant repetition interesting like others would do. Great video, manic singing and lovely sax and instrumental breakdown are best things about a rather dated, befuddling song. What the hell does it all even mean? Now THAT'S writer's block! Or not blocked enough-just letting anything trickle out. But all need to take the blame for it turning out like that. Guess they made 'Rio' so perfect, a follow-up could only suffer, except "So Red The Rose" pulled things back to where they should be and comes across far more natural as a follow-up to "Rio", but thank God it was made AFTER their weakest original album, which I still own and know and keep, but it's still their least satisfactory. And that "Rio" album B-side 'Like An Angel' must stand as their worst ever song. Never thought they could make a truly horrible song 'til I heard this. So much wrong with it, yuck!
Serious is one of the best things they have ever done! Would not change a thing, especially that drumming with the ambient synths and guitar, just wow. Still sounds amazingly fresh 30 years on.
Definitely another sadly underrated gem! I remember when it came out when I was a senior in high school and I just couldn't get anyone to check it out (even if I taped it for them for free!). It just seemed like no one wanted to hear Duran Duran anymore at that point (and even at concerts during the tours for 'Big Thing' the year before, people in the audience around me were saying stuff like: 'I thought they'd broken up' and hadn't heard any of the new material). And it was sad, because I really think this era of their career has some great experimental and edgy stuff and a lot of it was way before it's time. Back when 'The Wedding Album' came out, there was the first generational shift in fandom (since some of the early fans were now parents and we also had a lot of new younger fans coming on board, discovering the band for the first time) and amongst fans we often talked about the delineation between what was now called 'Old School Fans' (pre-'Wedding Album') and 'New School Fans' ('Wedding Album' and onward). Now, obviously you could be BOTH of course, but I remember I used to always joke at the time that I was more of a 'Middle School Fan' -- as the albums 'Notorious', 'Big Thing' (my overall fave), and 'Liberty' were the albums I had the biggest emotional attachment to, as they were the music of my high school years and the time where I was at my Peak-Duranie-Passion (seriously, I had like 100+ Duranie penpals all over the world, I wrote for and read -- and later created! -- several Duran fanzines, I used to sign loads of petitions to get Duran played on the radio, etc...I WAS A TOTAL DURAN ACTIVIST! LOL). But sadly those albums get skipped over in Duran's discography by soooo many people. In fact, I have a joke with a friend of mine that every career retrospective I ever see on Duran Duran seems to just skip right over that period completely! Like it's early Duran up through Power Station and Arcadia and then right onto their 'comeback' with 'The Wedding Album'...and I'm always like: 'Dude, you just TOTALLY SKIPPED THREE AWESOME ALBUMS LIKE THEY DIDN'T EVEN EXIST! 🤦♀️'. Anyway, all that to say: Glad to see 'Liberty' getting some well-deserved kudos for once! ❤️
Hell, fucking yeah. I don't believe in this writer's block thing, bullshit. Kim Wilde and brother acted like they had it in 1983 when they brought out the superb 3rd album "Catch As Catch Can" which is easily one of the world's best albums in every way and musicianship, excellent writing, amazing melodies and perfect vocals all in the one package really don't come along that often! Simply cos of the retarded and utterly bewildering reception it got. If SImon REALLY had writer's block, he'd be muddling along like on that overrated 3rd album of theirs from 1983 when they DID rather fall down in quality and sense. "Liberty" is one of the best albums to start 1990 from a cool 80s act; even Kim's 1990 album was her first slight comedown as the amazing synth-rock, lyrically complex and rich musings of the 80s in all their multi-angled glory was given up for moderate soul musings which sounded rather basic for the Queen of Music to be doing 10 years into her career, but there you go. And as you say, if that's writer's block, keep getting it, Si! And as for "these days", they've been LASTING since 1990!
I love that we’re the same age. I bought Liberty the summer of 90 when I got back from spending the summer in Cambridge. I was about to start 11th grade. That summer for music was insane. Most of it was coming out of the UK. All of these new bands like Deee Lite, The Sundays, The Charlatans UK, Cocteau Twins had just released Heaven or Las Vegas. That Fall I saw all of them when they came through Chicago. I love your Channel and your aesthetics. Thanks so much.
Since Big Thing, I been eager to hear a new DD album. 5 days after my B-Day Liberty dropped. I was beyond excited. When I played it, I didn't hear John's base so clearly. It was the first time I was ever disappointed with DD, I never thought that could ever happen. I was kind of depressed about it. The drums and guitars were the main showcase covering up John. I didn't have great speakers at the time maybe that contributed to it (High School). I didn't stop playing it though, I was determined to appreciate it for what it is. It has grown on me but still not my most fav. I purchased the tape and CD at the time of release, when I was playing the CD in my car and when it got to Downtown, a friend riding with me thought I was playing a tape due to the slow intro to Downtown and said "I didn't realize you are playing a tape? Something is wrong with your tape. Where is the tape player?" Trying to stop the tape before it gets ruined. That tripped him out. He liked the song. Anyway...Liberty moments in time.
I saw a comment on a vid where someone posted 'Downtown' and they said it sounded like a 'drunk version' of 'Skin Trade'...and now I can't unthink that! 😆
It's the middle 8's that really stand out on this album. Some incredible transitions and chord sequences. Great to hear your feelings about these albums even if I don't always agree. Keep it up!
I was finishing an enlistment in the USAF in Germany and was headed back to the states to go to OCS to start life as a pilot. I shipped everything back to the states but my JVC tape player and 2 tapes, Liberty and The Stone Roses. I really came to like Liberty a lot, mainly on the strength of Violence of Summer, My Antarctica, First Impression and Liberty. Some of the weird Warren fragments seemed long winded. Good record though.
@@RedMugMusic Thank you to the American people for trusting me with their amazing jets. Varks, Bones n Buffs over 20 years and I always came back in one piece. Thank you to Duran Duran for 40 years of some of the best music these ears have ever heard. They are my wife's favorite band and I've always been grateful to them for giving her so many years of happiness. Hoping the new record takes the world by storm, Invisible is one helluva good start.
As a huge fan of Simon’s lyrics, Liberty was the first album where I felt conflicted. Not every song’s lyrics were as strong as I had come to expect from DD. It makes sense that Simon had writer’s block. It’s definitely noticeable.
Another cracking video, Brian! Thank you from across the pond in sunny Birmingham, England (I work a five-minute walk from the site of Duran Duran's first home - the Rum Runner). Serious, Violence of Summer and Read My Lips are three of my all-time favourites, especially Read My Lips. I love the rocky edge to it and think Warren's guitar work on RML is great. I just wish the bass line was pushed further to the front. One sound that makes Duran Duran recognisable is hearing those really hefty bass hooks. If they are engineered into the background, it sounds less like Duran Duran. I loved your comments on Venice Drowning. It's a great track, but I would've loved it to be slowed down a little and swapped the standard bass for fretless bass - it "feels" like a Japan song and it could've been a fabulous hommage to a little-known band who were a huge influence on Duran. Keep up the fabulous work, Brian!
Thank you so much Andrea. Being that you’re in Birmingham, I have to ask if it’s easy to buy Duran Duran merchandise in that area? I’ve been looking for some Duran Duran records for a giveaway and I can’t seem to find any unless I buy them online. So I’m just wondering if it’s easier for you. Don’t worry, I’m not asking for you to supply the merchandise. I’m just curious. Thanks for the comment and thanks for watching
@@RedMugMusic Hi Brian, Unfortunately, it's as tricky to get Duran Duran records here in the UK as it is anywhere else. Amazon is, regrettably, the best place to get them from here too. There isn't a big deal made in the city about the fact that one of the biggest-selling bands in the world comes from here. 40 years of putting Birmingham on the map and there is very little recognition of this. To my dismay, the under-35 year olds I work with have never heard of them. Such a shame, I feel. I really need to check out the Rum Runner Yard in Birmingham though - it's a pedestrianised area close to the site of the club. There might be a monument or plaque there. I hope you manage to find what you're looking for, Brian. Have a great day.
Liberty was released at the height of my DD mania so I'll always have a soft spot for it. Title track is great and many of them hold up, it feels like they were going 10 different directions at once though.
Serious is also one of my fave songs! Yet I always wondered why I couldn't absolutely LOVE this album, & this review finally answered that decades old question...the final execution. Though a great album, good intentions, but final cut was just not quite 💯
Another great review. Weirdly I never liked My Antarctica and listened to it again and not feeling the love. Agree on the other songs. If serious had come out during wedding album era it would have been a huge success on the charts.
Serious is one of my all time favorite DD songs. Hearing you talk of JT and your appreciation of AT, I would be interested to hear you review their solo outings. AT has Thunder and Dangerous and JT has Feelings Are Good and Other Lies, the Japan Album and Meltdown. Along with his stint in Terriistien(?) And his greatest hits Retreat into Art.
I remember buying Andy Taylor solo album When it came out but I can honestly say that I don’t remember much of it. I’ll definitely be digging for his and John Taylor’s music for future reviews. I’m already in the middle of listening to the devils with Nick rhodes and I actually kind of like it
Terroristen. I loved that era of JT, myself. I traveled all over the US to see his shows -- small intimate affairs where you could get up close and personal and there'd be less than 50 people in the room. And he played this Gibson Les Paul bass at the time that had the greatest growling tone to it -- so amazing! He even used to email me back and forth sometimes -- he's a super-sweet guy and surprisingly rather shy. At the time, I was a little sad that he went on to return to Duran because I loved watching him find himself and experiment with his vocals and playing style on his own, but it was still a nice little musical vacation from Duran at the end of the day. (So was Neurotic Outsiders -- I saw them play at the Viper Room in LA and IT WAS AMAZING.)
I’ve always really liked the Violence of Summer and could never understand why it didn’t chart better. I would have liked to hear how they played it live. Over the years, I have tried to find live footage of Duran playing Violence of Summer, but alas never have...
It’s a very good song that I don’t think the chorus is very catchy. Even Simon said that he wasn’t happy with the chorus of that song. That could translate into people not really wanting to hear it. I went on UA-cam to try to find you a live version but you’re right, anytime you see them performing the song live, it’s not actually live.
I have the cd longbox. Love the inner pictures at the amusement park. Serious is my favorite DD track next to Falling Angel ( b side) on the next album.
If you really want to hear all of Warren's guitar contributions on Liberty, check out his Machine Language releases. You will realize that a lot of the ambient guitar textures had their beginnings on those recordings.
Serious and My Antarctica are my favorites for this album. I only have this album on cassette and it’s in bad shape. I will go to my Spotify and listen to the entire album there since it is now available just to refresh my memory.
Liberty has always been a terrific album to me but released in the worst moment ever for DD cause there was the shift from a decade to another one and back then, before the Wedding Album, they were considered a band totally linked to the 80's. Obviously IMHO and with all due respect.
I remember the Tower records in store magazine had a great feature on the album with new photos and went in depth on the tracks aaaaaaand that's the only piece of media I could find like this. (at release) it was like a secret or something.
My Antarctica, Serious and the title track are incredibly good songs. What I've never understood is how Sterling was made an official member as drummer but these days they won't make a guitar player one.
I doubt you can really join a group after 40 years. You can support them, like Dom, but they are a tight unit. Same with The Stones and their bass player.
Thank you for making far more sense of what you said about this great album on your chart. You're literally taking it back, aren't you, when you said only the 1st 2 singles are the only likeable songs. Now you're complimenting loads, a real shock as I thought this might be a bitch-fest (which incidentally doesn't make sense as you seem to really love Duran), you get how good this album, or have rediscovered it. I love the stadium rock of it and I don't believe Simon had writer's block at all. I know a few who certainly seemed to in 1990, and for what it's worth, though I don't rate either of those over-loved groups as an album band, Duran entered 1990 WAY better than Depeche Mode and Pet Shop Boys. What you said about 'My Antarctica' (title misspelt) being a beautiful song and Simon's beautiful singing, the top chorus and everything-so bang on! Also compliments for one of my favs-'Can You Deal With It', which I never expected. I love the rock stadium sound this has got. Duran SHOULDN'T enter 1990 with their debut nor "Rio"-1990 a very different place from 1981 and all good artists know this. "Liberty" rocks and it came to me at a difficult time in 1997-John had just left the band, "Meddazzaland" didn't seem to work, and I just tuned out. It was rediscovering UK rock band Then Jerico's very cool "The Big Area" album (itself a stadium rocker put to record) that suddenly made me think THEY'D bridged the gap between the end of 80s "Big Thing" album goodbye and embracing of a rockier 1990. Then I realised quite soon that, far from being "their very worst" as tosser author Steve Malins who did their biography said, and others used to long say, is actually THEIR BEST 90s one and actually-get this-joint 2nd best with "Rio" for me.
@@RedMugMusic Yaayyyyyy! That's all I needed to hear. You must be a REAL real fan cos I just so used to so-called fans dismissing it out of hand when they're not outraged by it that is. Again love your compliments about the majority of the tracks, which tells me you really DO love the album on here, unlike the DD album chart you did where it sounded bad, but apparently wasn't, so cool.
@@RedMugMusic I would like to do a series on Duran Duran's albums - similar in conversational style to what you do, and also do a deep dive into my music collection in general. That said, I think it would be fun to leave the format open to discuss whatever fits my fancy. I'm a designer by trade, and I like variety. :)
My pick for their worst album. "First Impression" was slated to be the third single, but because the first 2 singles didn't chart as well as the record company hoped, the third single/video was scrapped.
I’ve never liked Serious or My Antarctica. Liberty is my favorite song on this album. First Impression and Read my lips don’t sound like Duran Duran, don’t fit with the rest of the album. Venice Drowning sounds like Arcadia to me.
It was just released at a bad time . Music was changing then alot of House Music on The Radio, bands like Blur, The Happy Mondays and The Stone Roses, Ned's Atomic Dustbin, The Charlatans UK, Jesus Jones, Soup Dragons were catching on Inxs had a hit with Suicide Blond then though .
Love this album although it has some of my least fave D2 songs in it like Hot Head...bad song! Serious is a beautiful song...one of my favorites too! All along the Water...nope! My Antartica....looove the Arcadia sound on this song!
This is the one Duran album that I was always dissapointed with, it's not rubbish, there's no bad Duran album in my books but this is my least favourite though I can't dismiss the 4 priceless gems amongst it all, Violence of Summer, Serious, My Antarctica & my favourite Venice Drowning. .. Downtown & Read My lips are ok.
Sorry, but Violence of Summer is a bit of a turd. Liberty is quite good, I actually like Hothead because, unlike you, I love the distorted and industrial way Warren plays sometimes. Serious and Antártica are the best. Happy to see that you pay attention to Read My Lips, I particularly love the way it sounds and It is the first time I have heard someone talking about it. That was an interesting review.
Too bad that Liberty bombed. With the sound of grunge coming out it seemed that Duran Duran got left behind. I thought this album is very good. I wish this album would get reissued but we may have to wait until the boxed anniversary set comes out.
No, I like poppy ( sometimes), it's just boring as hell. Where's the Duran hook or haunting? "And you will stay here- with meeeeeee" Now that's Duran!!
Liberty is one of my fave DD albums but it lacks a good production. It's too thin sounding. Critics and fans rank this album as one of their worst. I don't get it apart from the thin sound.
I think Liberty is a good, not great album. That said, Liberty has two of my favorite DD songs on it... Liberty and Serious. I think Liberty suffers because of a few reasons... When I look at the albums Liberty through Pop Trash I find one constant that to me seems out of place. It's Warren. He was the wrong guitarist for this band. He was ok on Notorious and Big Thing because is was just a session player in those days. I'd like to understand why he was given so much control??? I also think that Sterling Campbell is also out of place here. There was chemistry with this lineup on the previous tour but it just doesn't work on this album. Personally, I think think this album could have been a masterpiece. Could you imagine what would have been produced had Nile Rodgers and Steve Ferrone were on this? I knew DD missed the mark the minute I saw The Violence of Summer video for the first time. I could just tell... Liberty... One of the frustrating albums for me!
Just listened to ’Liberty’ all the way through last week for the first time in years and for me, nothing has changed since it came out. ‘Liberty’ and ‘Antarctica’ are still real good songs and ‘Violence’, ‘Serious’ and ‘First’ are still great songs. But the rest of them still stink. Dig the album cover and booklet, but all overall it is still the worst Duran album to me.
Liberty is my probably second to least favorite DD album. I just enjoy Serious. The rest is just dreadful. Maybe I'll give it another chance after this video!
I still find this album weak and difficult to listen to. At least the 'Pop Trash' album had a sort of 60s trippy vibe to it and felt British in it's approach to guitars. 'Liberty' was trying too hard to move into INXS's territory (even with the choice of producer. Like you I did like 'Serious' and 'My Antarctica' but I did like the things you didn't: the track 'Liberty' with it's echoey intro and 'Violence of Summer' , which had a 'Kinks' vibe to it. 'First Impression' was OK but too obvious as a stab at middle of the road 'rock', something that DD was never really meant to be. My absolute least favourite track was 'Venice Drowning', where I found it hard to forgive Simon Le Bon rhyming 'Jism' and 'Cataclysm'. 'Downtown' was dreary and just not good. Side 2 was something I never wanted to return to. Over produced and underwhelming, Liberty was a misstep, I remember at the time of it's release being excited DD were back as a 5 piece but upon playing it was so disappointed I was in tears that I thought the band I loved was going in a direction I didn't want to follow. Thank God for Ordinary World.
Serious and My anctarctica..I take them.The rest is pretty bad.People never accepted the new lineup with Sterling and Warren.Even the same-bring back Roger and Andy.And they were right.Sad end of the decade for them.Thanks god they came with Wedding album.
I actually really wanted to like it when it came out and I thought it was good but it has dated horribly! I listened to it again a few years and I thought it was dire! Other than Serious and My Antarctica it’s all rubbish! It’s like a horrible INXS tribute album!
I think the second half of the Eighties proved to be troubled times for DD. Firstly they went all American (Notorious), then adult pop (Big Thing), and finally this one, which is almost unlistenable, thanks to embarrassing tracks and awful, cheap, plastic arrangements. It sounds soulless, out of focus, pointless cheap American dance, for the most. And when it works (Serious), it sounds as if it belongs to a different album.
I loveddddd "LIBERTY' The title cut is my favorite Duran song.
My take on the “bad” piano note at the beginning of Violence of Summer is that it is 100% intentional. I think it adds color to the intro and almost has a crowing rooster effect to my ear. I love it!
I feel like I heard another version where it was taken out. I don’t know where I heard that but I’d like to find out.
I have heard it was done on purpose as well.
@@RedMugMusic If you find it, please post a link. I would love to hear it.
Thing is, it's a weird thing to bring up like it ruins a song. Now to me, their weakest album's that overrated 1983 bit of silliness about the "Tiger" where lyrically nothing seems to make sense and there's so much drowning of the guitars with layers of rather uninspired keyboards it threatens to kill the record. Certainly dates it and the best thing on the album was the one thing they idiotically didn't PUT on the album-'Secret Oktober'. Where 'Union Of Snake' chorus just goes on and on, with no change to even make the constant repetition interesting like others would do. Great video, manic singing and lovely sax and instrumental breakdown are best things about a rather dated, befuddling song. What the hell does it all even mean? Now THAT'S writer's block! Or not blocked enough-just letting anything trickle out. But all need to take the blame for it turning out like that. Guess they made 'Rio' so perfect, a follow-up could only suffer, except "So Red The Rose" pulled things back to where they should be and comes across far more natural as a follow-up to "Rio", but thank God it was made AFTER their weakest original album, which I still own and know and keep, but it's still their least satisfactory. And that "Rio" album B-side 'Like An Angel' must stand as their worst ever song. Never thought they could make a truly horrible song 'til I heard this. So much wrong with it, yuck!
I think seven and the ragged tiger is a masterpiece.
Serious is one of the best things they have ever done! Would not change a thing, especially that drumming with the ambient synths and guitar, just wow. Still sounds amazingly fresh 30 years on.
Agreed!
It holds up better than some of their more celebrated material.
Sterling's drumming is amazing !
Definitely another sadly underrated gem! I remember when it came out when I was a senior in high school and I just couldn't get anyone to check it out (even if I taped it for them for free!). It just seemed like no one wanted to hear Duran Duran anymore at that point (and even at concerts during the tours for 'Big Thing' the year before, people in the audience around me were saying stuff like: 'I thought they'd broken up' and hadn't heard any of the new material). And it was sad, because I really think this era of their career has some great experimental and edgy stuff and a lot of it was way before it's time.
Back when 'The Wedding Album' came out, there was the first generational shift in fandom (since some of the early fans were now parents and we also had a lot of new younger fans coming on board, discovering the band for the first time) and amongst fans we often talked about the delineation between what was now called 'Old School Fans' (pre-'Wedding Album') and 'New School Fans' ('Wedding Album' and onward).
Now, obviously you could be BOTH of course, but I remember I used to always joke at the time that I was more of a 'Middle School Fan' -- as the albums 'Notorious', 'Big Thing' (my overall fave), and 'Liberty' were the albums I had the biggest emotional attachment to, as they were the music of my high school years and the time where I was at my Peak-Duranie-Passion (seriously, I had like 100+ Duranie penpals all over the world, I wrote for and read -- and later created! -- several Duran fanzines, I used to sign loads of petitions to get Duran played on the radio, etc...I WAS A TOTAL DURAN ACTIVIST! LOL).
But sadly those albums get skipped over in Duran's discography by soooo many people. In fact, I have a joke with a friend of mine that every career retrospective I ever see on Duran Duran seems to just skip right over that period completely! Like it's early Duran up through Power Station and Arcadia and then right onto their 'comeback' with 'The Wedding Album'...and I'm always like: 'Dude, you just TOTALLY SKIPPED THREE AWESOME ALBUMS LIKE THEY DIDN'T EVEN EXIST! 🤦♀️'.
Anyway, all that to say: Glad to see 'Liberty' getting some well-deserved kudos for once! ❤️
Thank you for not babbling.
I appreciate it.
Violence Of Summer is poptastic! Serious is seriously serious. This record showed us they could still write proper pop tunes. Love4ever.
I love all their music it brings rhythm to my soul!!!
Warren brought legit guitar edge to DD. He did great things during his whole time with dd.
I could not agree more . He brought that (hard) rock edge and beyond .
Simon Le Bon with a writer's block is still a hundred times better than most of the stuff I hear these days.
🤣😆😂 ain’t that the truth.
Yes.
Hell, fucking yeah. I don't believe in this writer's block thing, bullshit. Kim Wilde and brother acted like they had it in 1983 when they brought out the superb 3rd album "Catch As Catch Can" which is easily one of the world's best albums in every way and musicianship, excellent writing, amazing melodies and perfect vocals all in the one package really don't come along that often! Simply cos of the retarded and utterly bewildering reception it got. If SImon REALLY had writer's block, he'd be muddling along like on that overrated 3rd album of theirs from 1983 when they DID rather fall down in quality and sense. "Liberty" is one of the best albums to start 1990 from a cool 80s act; even Kim's 1990 album was her first slight comedown as the amazing synth-rock, lyrically complex and rich musings of the 80s in all their multi-angled glory was given up for moderate soul musings which sounded rather basic for the Queen of Music to be doing 10 years into her career, but there you go.
And as you say, if that's writer's block, keep getting it, Si! And as for "these days", they've been LASTING since 1990!
excellent review ... great album of-course from perhaps the biggest DD fan in our galaxy !!!
Thanks Bruce
Gonna listen to it again tonight.
Thanks for the video !
doesn't have to be serious .
I love that we’re the same age.
I bought Liberty the summer of 90 when I got back from spending the summer in Cambridge. I was about to start 11th grade.
That summer for music was insane. Most of it was coming out of the UK. All of these new bands like Deee Lite, The Sundays, The Charlatans UK, Cocteau Twins had just released Heaven or Las Vegas.
That Fall I saw all of them when they came through Chicago.
I love your Channel and your aesthetics.
Thanks so much.
I love SERIOUS and I feel its among my top 5 Duran songs of all time!
I am loving this series! Liberty is such a great album! Serious, such an amazing amazing song! Keep em coming!
Thank you so much!! I will!
@@RedMugMusic Liberty was the 1st album didnt have backing tour for the this album
I never get tired of my antarctica..just perfect !
Rey much so
Since Big Thing, I been eager to hear a new DD album. 5 days after my B-Day Liberty dropped. I was beyond excited. When I played it, I didn't hear John's base so clearly. It was the first time I was ever disappointed with DD, I never thought that could ever happen. I was kind of depressed about it. The drums and guitars were the main showcase covering up John. I didn't have great speakers at the time maybe that contributed to it (High School). I didn't stop playing it though, I was determined to appreciate it for what it is. It has grown on me but still not my most fav. I purchased the tape and CD at the time of release, when I was playing the CD in my car and when it got to Downtown, a friend riding with me thought I was playing a tape due to the slow intro to Downtown and said "I didn't realize you are playing a tape? Something is wrong with your tape. Where is the tape player?" Trying to stop the tape before it gets ruined. That tripped him out. He liked the song. Anyway...Liberty moments in time.
I saw a comment on a vid where someone posted 'Downtown' and they said it sounded like a 'drunk version' of 'Skin Trade'...and now I can't unthink that! 😆
It's a ok album. Two of their best songs of all time is on this album Serious and My Antarctica. Downtown is a good song.
Serious and My Antarctica are some of my favorites
@@RedMugMusic love your review. Keep up the good work.
I agree, Downtown and Read My Lips are fantastic tracks, This is a great album!
I totally agree with both those tracks my Antarctica is haunting bass amazing
It's the middle 8's that really stand out on this album. Some incredible transitions and chord sequences. Great to hear your feelings about these albums even if I don't always agree. Keep it up!
I was finishing an enlistment in the USAF in Germany and was headed back to the states to go to OCS to start life as a pilot. I shipped everything back to the states but my JVC tape player and 2 tapes, Liberty and The Stone Roses. I really came to like Liberty a lot, mainly on the strength of Violence of Summer, My Antarctica, First Impression and Liberty. Some of the weird Warren fragments seemed long winded. Good record though.
Thank you for your service!!
@@RedMugMusic Thank you to the American people for trusting me with their amazing jets. Varks, Bones n Buffs over 20 years and I always came back in one piece. Thank you to Duran Duran for 40 years of some of the best music these ears have ever heard. They are my wife's favorite band and I've always been grateful to them for giving her so many years of happiness. Hoping the new record takes the world by storm, Invisible is one helluva good start.
As a huge fan of Simon’s lyrics, Liberty was the first album where I felt conflicted. Not every song’s lyrics were as strong as I had come to expect from DD. It makes sense that Simon had writer’s block. It’s definitely noticeable.
Your are so right
The older I become the much I love Liberty. It would have achieved top if they had Antartica got released as a single.
Liberty is also of my fav album! The songs I like most: Violence of Summer, Hothead, Read My Lips and Venice Drowning
Another cracking video, Brian! Thank you from across the pond in sunny Birmingham, England (I work a five-minute walk from the site of Duran Duran's first home - the Rum Runner).
Serious, Violence of Summer and Read My Lips are three of my all-time favourites, especially Read My Lips. I love the rocky edge to it and think Warren's guitar work on RML is great. I just wish the bass line was pushed further to the front. One sound that makes Duran Duran recognisable is hearing those really hefty bass hooks. If they are engineered into the background, it sounds less like Duran Duran.
I loved your comments on Venice Drowning. It's a great track, but I would've loved it to be slowed down a little and swapped the standard bass for fretless bass - it "feels" like a Japan song and it could've been a fabulous hommage to a little-known band who were a huge influence on Duran.
Keep up the fabulous work, Brian!
Thank you so much Andrea. Being that you’re in Birmingham, I have to ask if it’s easy to buy Duran Duran merchandise in that area? I’ve been looking for some Duran Duran records for a giveaway and I can’t seem to find any unless I buy them online. So I’m just wondering if it’s easier for you. Don’t worry, I’m not asking for you to supply the merchandise. I’m just curious. Thanks for the comment and thanks for watching
@@RedMugMusic
Hi Brian,
Unfortunately, it's as tricky to get Duran Duran records here in the UK as it is anywhere else. Amazon is, regrettably, the best place to get them from here too.
There isn't a big deal made in the city about the fact that one of the biggest-selling bands in the world comes from here. 40 years of putting Birmingham on the map and there is very little recognition of this. To my dismay, the under-35 year olds I work with have never heard of them. Such a shame, I feel.
I really need to check out the Rum Runner Yard in Birmingham though - it's a pedestrianised area close to the site of the club. There might be a monument or plaque there.
I hope you manage to find what you're looking for, Brian.
Have a great day.
Le bon songwriting on this album is amazing I still enjoy listening 2 this album👌👌👌👌
Liberty was released at the height of my DD mania so I'll always have a soft spot for it. Title track is great and many of them hold up, it feels like they were going 10 different directions at once though.
This album was when John started to hit his breaking point. I remember him even saying that he hardly even remembers this album.
Serious is also one of my fave songs! Yet I always wondered why I couldn't absolutely LOVE this album, & this review finally answered that decades old question...the final execution. Though a great album, good intentions, but final cut was just not quite 💯
Exactly
Another great review. Weirdly I never liked My Antarctica and listened to it again and not feeling the love. Agree on the other songs. If serious had come out during wedding album era it would have been a huge success on the charts.
It would have been HUGE!
Serious is one of my all time favorite DD songs. Hearing you talk of JT and your appreciation of AT, I would be interested to hear you review their solo outings. AT has Thunder and Dangerous and JT has Feelings Are Good and Other Lies, the Japan Album and Meltdown. Along with his stint in Terriistien(?) And his greatest hits Retreat into Art.
I remember buying Andy Taylor solo album When it came out but I can honestly say that I don’t remember much of it. I’ll definitely be digging for his and John Taylor’s music for future reviews. I’m already in the middle of listening to the devils with Nick rhodes and I actually kind of like it
Terroristen. I loved that era of JT, myself. I traveled all over the US to see his shows -- small intimate affairs where you could get up close and personal and there'd be less than 50 people in the room. And he played this Gibson Les Paul bass at the time that had the greatest growling tone to it -- so amazing! He even used to email me back and forth sometimes -- he's a super-sweet guy and surprisingly rather shy. At the time, I was a little sad that he went on to return to Duran because I loved watching him find himself and experiment with his vocals and playing style on his own, but it was still a nice little musical vacation from Duran at the end of the day. (So was Neurotic Outsiders -- I saw them play at the Viper Room in LA and IT WAS AMAZING.)
Probably in the minority, but this record is my 3rd fave album by DD. My Antarctica is my all time favorite song by them. It's timeless.
I’ve always really liked the Violence of Summer and could never understand why it didn’t chart better. I would have liked to hear how they played it live. Over the years, I have tried to find live footage of Duran playing Violence of Summer, but alas never have...
It’s a very good song that I don’t think the chorus is very catchy. Even Simon said that he wasn’t happy with the chorus of that song. That could translate into people not really wanting to hear it. I went on UA-cam to try to find you a live version but you’re right, anytime you see them performing the song live, it’s not actually live.
Agree with you on the song Serious
I have the cd longbox. Love the inner pictures at the amusement park. Serious is my favorite DD track next to Falling Angel ( b side) on the next album.
You hear and break down Duran Duran almost exactly the way I do.
Great minds
My sister and I were 16 when this came out. Serious and liberty are my favorite
If you really want to hear all of Warren's guitar contributions on Liberty, check out his Machine Language releases. You will realize that a lot of the ambient guitar textures had their beginnings on those recordings.
Serious and My Antarctica are my favorites for this album. I only have this album on cassette and it’s in bad shape. I will go to my Spotify and listen to the entire album there since it is now available just to refresh my memory.
Cassette is how I listened to the album too. Don’t have it anymore. I just stream on Apple Music.
Same
Serious is on my top 5 as well.
Liberty has always been a terrific album to me but released in the worst moment ever for DD cause there was the shift from a decade to another one and back then, before the Wedding Album, they were considered a band totally linked to the 80's. Obviously IMHO and with all due respect.
I remember the Tower records in store magazine had a great feature on the album with new photos and went in depth on the tracks aaaaaaand that's the only piece of media I could find like this. (at release) it was like a secret or something.
My Antarctica, Serious and the title track are incredibly good songs. What I've never understood is how Sterling was made an official member as drummer but these days they won't make a guitar player one.
I doubt you can really join a group after 40 years. You can support them, like Dom, but they are a tight unit. Same with The Stones and their bass player.
@@niebuhrsongs I agree! Good comparison
Don't give me a drink I don't wanna get to stoned😂😂😂😂😂
Duran Duran Good My Band 👍🙂
Thank you for making far more sense of what you said about this great album on your chart. You're literally taking it back, aren't you, when you said only the 1st 2 singles are the only likeable songs. Now you're complimenting loads, a real shock as I thought this might be a bitch-fest (which incidentally doesn't make sense as you seem to really love Duran), you get how good this album, or have rediscovered it. I love the stadium rock of it and I don't believe Simon had writer's block at all. I know a few who certainly seemed to in 1990, and for what it's worth, though I don't rate either of those over-loved groups as an album band, Duran entered 1990 WAY better than Depeche Mode and Pet Shop Boys. What you said about 'My Antarctica' (title misspelt) being a beautiful song and Simon's beautiful singing, the top chorus and everything-so bang on! Also compliments for one of my favs-'Can You Deal With It', which I never expected. I love the rock stadium sound this has got. Duran SHOULDN'T enter 1990 with their debut nor "Rio"-1990 a very different place from 1981 and all good artists know this.
"Liberty" rocks and it came to me at a difficult time in 1997-John had just left the band, "Meddazzaland" didn't seem to work, and I just tuned out. It was rediscovering UK rock band Then Jerico's very cool "The Big Area" album (itself a stadium rocker put to record) that suddenly made me think THEY'D bridged the gap between the end of 80s "Big Thing" album goodbye and embracing of a rockier 1990. Then I realised quite soon that, far from being "their very worst" as tosser author Steve Malins who did their biography said, and others used to long say, is actually THEIR BEST 90s one and actually-get this-joint 2nd best with "Rio" for me.
I critically love all music I listen to. It’s just how my brain works. Critically I can pick Liberty apart but personally i love the album.
@@RedMugMusic Yaayyyyyy! That's all I needed to hear. You must be a REAL real fan cos I just so used to so-called fans dismissing it out of hand when they're not outraged by it that is. Again love your compliments about the majority of the tracks, which tells me you really DO love the album on here, unlike the DD album chart you did where it sounded bad, but apparently wasn't, so cool.
Serious hands down is the best song on this album it should have been released to Radio.
Hands down
Violence Of Summer was on The Radio I think for 1 week only then disappeared.
Yeah it was a bad choice for a release
Best song on album is downtown. Sleazy and rocked
It should have been a single
I actually kinda want to start my own channel based on what I'm seeing here - still thinking, but maybe!
What would it be about?
@@RedMugMusic I would like to do a series on Duran Duran's albums - similar in conversational style to what you do, and also do a deep dive into my music collection in general. That said, I think it would be fun to leave the format open to discuss whatever fits my fancy. I'm a designer by trade, and I like variety. :)
@@tad030 very cool.
My pick for their worst album.
"First Impression" was slated to be the third single, but because the first 2 singles didn't chart as well as the record company hoped, the third single/video was scrapped.
I’ve never liked Serious or My Antarctica. Liberty is my favorite song on this album. First Impression and Read my lips don’t sound like Duran Duran, don’t fit with the rest of the album. Venice Drowning sounds like Arcadia to me.
It was just released at a bad time . Music was changing then alot of House Music on The Radio, bands like Blur, The Happy Mondays and The Stone Roses, Ned's Atomic Dustbin, The Charlatans UK, Jesus Jones, Soup Dragons were catching on Inxs had a hit with Suicide Blond then though .
what comes to mind for me with the song Hothead is LAZY. it just seems lazy. Serious, Liberty, My Antarctica, & First Impression are great songs.
Lazy is a really good word to use. Like Simon said they just lost focus. They got lazy
Love this album although it has some of my least fave D2 songs in it like Hot Head...bad song! Serious is a beautiful song...one of my favorites too! All along the Water...nope! My Antartica....looove the Arcadia sound on this song!
This is the one Duran album that I was always dissapointed with, it's not rubbish, there's no bad Duran album in my books but this is my least favourite though I can't dismiss the 4 priceless gems amongst it all, Violence of Summer, Serious, My Antarctica & my favourite Venice Drowning.
.. Downtown & Read My lips are ok.
Sorry, but Violence of Summer is a bit of a turd. Liberty is quite good, I actually like Hothead because, unlike you, I love the distorted and industrial way Warren plays sometimes. Serious and Antártica are the best. Happy to see that you pay attention to Read My Lips, I particularly love the way it sounds and It is the first time I have heard someone talking about it. That was an interesting review.
Serious is definitely in my top 3 tracks by Duran-if it wasn’t for this track I’d never listen to this album
🇧🇷🙌🙌🙌🙌🙂
*RANDY JUDAH TORREZ ❤️
Too bad that Liberty bombed. With the sound of grunge coming out it seemed that Duran Duran got left behind. I thought this album is very good. I wish this album would get reissued but we may have to wait until the boxed anniversary set comes out.
With all of the demos and b sides included.
I've never liked Serious.
My Antarctica is sheer genius.
Is Serious too poppy?
No, I like poppy ( sometimes), it's just boring as hell.
Where's the Duran hook or haunting?
"And you will stay here-
with meeeeeee"
Now that's Duran!!
But for the most part, I liked the Liberty album.
I played it back then and still do....
Liberty is one of my fave DD albums but it lacks a good production. It's too thin sounding. Critics and fans rank this album as one of their worst. I don't get it apart from the thin sound.
Simon said they lost focus while making the album. Creativity levels weren’t up to par but I still like the album. Simon Le Bons voice is amazing
Well. Compare with their present album…..liberty farmore better……since All you need is now LP …nothing surprised…me.
I think Liberty is a good, not great album. That said, Liberty has two of my favorite DD songs on it... Liberty and Serious. I think Liberty suffers because of a few reasons... When I look at the albums Liberty through Pop Trash I find one constant that to me seems out of place. It's Warren. He was the wrong guitarist for this band. He was ok on Notorious and Big Thing because is was just a session player in those days. I'd like to understand why he was given so much control??? I also think that Sterling Campbell is also out of place here. There was chemistry with this lineup on the previous tour but it just doesn't work on this album. Personally, I think think this album could have been a masterpiece. Could you imagine what would have been produced had Nile Rodgers and Steve Ferrone were on this? I knew DD missed the mark the minute I saw The Violence of Summer video for the first time. I could just tell... Liberty... One of the frustrating albums for me!
I agree with you because I think the songs are pretty magnificent. If only they had better direction, more focus and doing less drugs. Lol
Just listened to ’Liberty’ all the way through last week for the first time in years and for me, nothing has changed since it came out. ‘Liberty’ and ‘Antarctica’ are still real good songs and ‘Violence’, ‘Serious’ and ‘First’ are still great songs. But the rest of them still stink. Dig the album cover and booklet, but all overall it is still the worst Duran album to me.
Ditto
Liberty is my probably second to least favorite DD album. I just enjoy Serious. The rest is just dreadful. Maybe I'll give it another chance after this video!
….and let me know
I still find this album weak and difficult to listen to. At least the 'Pop Trash' album had a sort of 60s trippy vibe to it and felt British in it's approach to guitars. 'Liberty' was trying too hard to move into INXS's territory (even with the choice of producer. Like you I did like 'Serious' and 'My Antarctica' but I did like the things you didn't: the track 'Liberty' with it's echoey intro and 'Violence of Summer' , which had a 'Kinks' vibe to it. 'First Impression' was OK but too obvious as a stab at middle of the road 'rock', something that DD was never really meant to be. My absolute least favourite track was 'Venice Drowning', where I found it hard to forgive Simon Le Bon rhyming 'Jism' and 'Cataclysm'. 'Downtown' was dreary and just not good. Side 2 was something I never wanted to return to.
Over produced and underwhelming, Liberty was a misstep, I remember at the time of it's release being excited DD were back as a 5 piece but upon playing it was so disappointed I was in tears that I thought the band I loved was going in a direction I didn't want to follow. Thank God for Ordinary World.
Your rhyming comment had me in tears. LOL
@@RedMugMusic you need to listen to 'Bedroom Toys' on 'Astronaut' for another classic Le Bon-ism 😁
Serious and My anctarctica..I take them.The rest is pretty bad.People never accepted the new lineup with Sterling and Warren.Even the same-bring back Roger and Andy.And they were right.Sad end of the decade for them.Thanks god they came with Wedding album.
I actually really wanted to like it when it came out and I thought it was good but it has dated horribly! I listened to it again a few years and I thought it was dire! Other than Serious and My Antarctica it’s all rubbish! It’s like a horrible INXS tribute album!
I think the second half of the Eighties proved to be troubled times for DD. Firstly they went all American (Notorious), then adult pop (Big Thing), and finally this one, which is almost unlistenable, thanks to embarrassing tracks and awful, cheap, plastic arrangements. It sounds soulless, out of focus, pointless cheap American dance, for the most. And when it works (Serious), it sounds as if it belongs to a different album.