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Post by sueb1863 on Aug 14, 2010 18:29:49 GMT -5
Well, DD sure thought Timbaland was hot stuff! Most of the RCM interviews seemed to be mostly about how much they loved Timbaland and how "everything he touches turns to gold" (Nick). Except, apparently, for RCM!
And I agree that DD was/ is mostly driven by the desire for fame. Heck, Nick's main career goal was to be a pop star, according to Malin - just making music wouldn't be enough. They succeeded in their goal - so well, in fact, that they've never been able to shake the stigma of being known solely as an 80s band because they so completely dominated the early part of that decade. It was great at the time but not so great when you're trying to get taken seriously in 2010.
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Post by duranfan09 on Aug 15, 2010 9:41:10 GMT -5
This message was deleted by the original poster.
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Post by duranfan09 on Aug 15, 2010 9:42:18 GMT -5
Reading one of the interviews that Andy gave after leaving the band, it seems Timbaland was forced upon the band by Sony, who felt that they needed the input of a "big name producer" to get their creative juices flowing properly:
"We delivered the album (Reportage) to Sony and they rejected it. I knew it wasn’t ready. Roger and I didn’t want to present it but the rest of them did. There was a problem with our writing. Sony is a very difficult label. We didn’t have the capacity to look at what we were doing wrong and they wanted to outsource us to Timbaland. I wasn’t prepared to play to a drum machine or get a songwriter in. They made the worst-selling Duran record ever and it had nothing to do with me. Once the creative relationship went wrong, that was it for me."
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Post by Astronaut2005 Drummer on Aug 15, 2010 11:58:32 GMT -5
I just only want a new album from DD!
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Post by moonagedaydream on Aug 15, 2010 12:18:50 GMT -5
Well, DD sure thought Timbaland was hot stuff! Most of the RCM interviews seemed to be mostly about how much they loved Timbaland and how "everything he touches turns to gold" (Nick). Except, apparently, for RCM!And I agree that DD was/ is mostly driven by the desire for fame. Heck, Nick's main career goal was to be a pop star, according to Malin - just making music wouldn't be enough. They succeeded in their goal - so well, in fact, that they've never been able to shake the stigma of being known solely as an 80s band because they so completely dominated the early part of that decade. It was great at the time but not so great when you're trying to get taken seriously in 2010. ::Laughing at the Timba/RCM comment:: Yeah, and as pointed out, Timba's value as a producer started slipping even before the release of RCM. As for Nick and his pop star fantasy -- I'm sure he has revised his expectations since then.
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errbt
PAPER GOD
"untalented guitarist"
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Post by errbt on Aug 15, 2010 12:45:58 GMT -5
Reading one of the interviews that Andy gave after leaving the band, it seems Timbaland was forced upon the band by Sony, who felt that they needed the input of a "big name producer" to get their creative juices flowing properly: "We delivered the album (Reportage) to Sony and they rejected it. I knew it wasn’t ready. Roger and I didn’t want to present it but the rest of them did. There was a problem with our writing. Sony is a very difficult label. We didn’t have the capacity to look at what we were doing wrong and they wanted to outsource us to Timbaland. I wasn’t prepared to play to a drum machine or get a songwriter in. They made the worst-selling Duran record ever and it had nothing to do with me. Once the creative relationship went wrong, that was it for me." I wonder if ego is the biggest reason they can't bring themselves to invite Andy back in...considering he was right about being leery of Timbaland.
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Deleted
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Post by Deleted on Aug 15, 2010 13:08:50 GMT -5
They just need to do music that they like....and not try to sound contrived. For me personally, Astronaut was the perfect cd for the band at that stage...a brief reunion with Andy Taylor which was nice while it lasted. Simon hasn't totally lost his lyric ability...I think The Valley, RCM and She's Too Much, and even Skin Divers were interesting lyrics. I could have warned the band that Sony would be difficult, but I don't buy Andy's story that it was all Sony that brought Timbaland and Timberlake in...If you listen to Notorious it's not really that big of a departure in musical style. The remaining 4 seem very sincere about their passion for that album. I do think that the Falling Down single was a bit of a misstep and somewhat contrived. (I think that also led to poor album sales) Having said that I do like RCM , but it's not their best album. Important to note that 80's artists in general are not selling many records these days. Even U2's last cd seemed relatively disappointing in sales compared to earlier days.
For the new stuff, I'll withhold my final judgement until I hear the full songs, but I'm not impressed with the first few snippets so far.
My prediction is that the band will still have several great songs before it's all over, but it may be spread out over their next two or three recording projects (15 years) They will survive mostly on their 80's legacy and live shows (don't be afraid to throw in more obscure stuff though).
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Post by thetange on Aug 15, 2010 19:48:59 GMT -5
They just need to do music that they like....and not try to sound contrived. For me personally, Astronaut was the perfect cd for the band at that stage...a brief reunion with Andy Taylor which was nice while it lasted. Simon hasn't totally lost his lyric ability...I think The Valley, RCM and She's Too Much, and even Skin Divers were interesting lyrics. I could have warned the band that Sony would be difficult, but I don't buy Andy's story that it was all Sony that brought Timbaland and Timberlake in...If you listen to Notorious it's not really that big of a departure in musical style. The remaining 4 seem very sincere about their passion for that album. I do think that the Falling Down single was a bit of a misstep and somewhat contrived. (I think that also led to poor album sales) Having said that I do like RCM , but it's not their best album. Important to note that 80's artists in general are not selling many records these days. Even U2's last cd seemed relatively disappointing in sales compared to earlier days. For the new stuff, I'll withhold my final judgement until I hear the full songs, but I'm not impressed with the first few snippets so far. My prediction is that the band will still have several great songs before it's all over, but it may be spread out over their next two or three recording projects (15 years) They will survive mostly on their 80's legacy and live shows (don't be afraid to throw in more obscure stuff though). According to the band themselves, they were given a list of producers and Timbaland was the one they agreed on. It doesn't matter whether it was Timbaland or someone else - the point of what Andy is saying is that the record label knew that what they were collectively doing (including Andy - and he's admitting to this in his comments) wasn't up to snuff in terms of the writing. Most of the folks calling the shots at large record labels are not musicians or even music fans. From a business standpoint, it makes sense for the suits to say, "ok, your stuff isn't working.....so we want you to work with this producer with a track record of hits so that he/she can take the reigns so that we have a product we can sell". The problem in this instance is the band going along with it. If the band had something musically to say and a need to say it - they'd never have gone along with the label. It's become harder and harder for this band to write songs together.
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Post by stopdead on Aug 16, 2010 11:56:46 GMT -5
Knowing what I know about the record business, I doubt the band had much of a choice. They were contracted employees of Sony and doing what their bosses asked them to do. They made the most of it (as far as they're concerned) and the aftermath speaks for itself. I'm looking forward to #13 in part b/c they aren't answering to anyone. And I see Mark Ronson as a passionate DD fan who has the fan's best interests in mind. I don't think we'll be disappointed...
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Post by madoldlu on Aug 16, 2010 13:09:02 GMT -5
I wonder what Michael Patterson (Reportage producer) thought of the whole thing. And aren't the guys sick of following what the record companies say? Didn't they leave Capitol records for that reason? I thought part of their Sony deal was that they would get more creative freedom!
Anyway, I still think Duran should evolve naturally like Peter Gabriel, Aimee Mann or Crowded House (some Duran 80s contemporaries). Sure, they're not selling platinum records, but they're still making GREAT music they can be proud of.
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