Paper Gods after 1 Month
Oct 1, 2015 2:27:53 GMT -5
Dr Of The Revolution, madoldlu, and 9 more like this
Post by coolbarn on Oct 1, 2015 2:27:53 GMT -5
Hi guys,
Somebody in another thread was foolish enough (or should I say 'mad enough' ) to ask me for an in-depth review of every song from Paper Gods plus the bonus tracks. And I can never say no. Just ask my wife.
First up, before I get into this riveting review, let me state a couple of things. Firstly I was fortunate enough to hear Paper Gods well and truly before it was officially released. I refrained from posting reviews before it came out as a courtesy to the fans who weren't as fortunate as I was.
I listened to it at least three times a day for the first month (including to and from work, which made my journey a lot more pleasurable ) until I got to the stage where even my children started to complain about me listening to the same songs all the time (for the people playing at home my 9 year old son's favourite song from the album is Paper Gods followed by Danceophobia. Yes I am contemplating putting him up for sale on Ebay).
I have actually had a spell from it for a couple of weeks, and listened to it in its entirety so that I could write this review. After having 'time off' so to speak some things stood out to me. Some songs still have it, while others don't. I think it is a ballsy move for Duran Duran to try to appeal to fans that, in all honesty, will never hear their music and probably won't love it if they do. But a side effect of using modern recording techniques is that the songs could sound dated a lot sooner than they would have otherwise. A magnificent song like Ordinary World will never sound dated because it is just so damn good with appropriate sounding instrumentation. However I'm not sure Paper Gods will sound as good when it is 23 years old. And for a band who talked about their 'legacy' when they recorded it, this surprises me.
Another thing that stood out to me were some common themes on the album. A few songs had beginnings and/or endings that were way too long and drawn out. The old 'KISS principle' would have been well advised here.
Secondly unless otherwise stated I detest the use of synth bass when you have a bass guitarist the ability of John Taylor in the band. Duran should be utilising the Bass God as one of their strengths (which he is) and not relegating him to a bit-player on the album.
Thirdly the drumming on the album is very underwhelming overall. The use of crappy sounding electronic drums does the band a disservice, and the over-use of rolls on the hi-hats that is prevalent in today's very average music scene makes the drumming on Paper Gods sound desperate and dated already. AND WHAT THE HELL IS WRONG WITH HITTING A TOUGH-SOUNDING SNARE DRUM ON THE 2 AND 4 ROGER LIKE GOOD DRUMMERS HAVE BEEN DOING SINCE ROCK AND POP WAS INVENTED? That is without doubt my biggest criticism of the drumming on Paper Gods.
Lastly the guitar was down too low in the mix for my liking on pretty much every song. I know it was an electronic album, but to me some good songs suffer because of this and could have been much more enjoyable. I think the concert is going to rock unbelievably though
Now for the song break-down:
1) Paper Gods: For a decent track the beginning is terrible. Thirty seconds of chanting and the song proper doesn't start until over a minute into it. Yes I know it is the first song on the album and is attempting to build a mood, but I'm not into that arty sort of nonsense. If I have to wait for over a minute to hear something decent, then I'm not impressed whether it is the first song on the album or the 97th song. Any time I feel like I want to reach for the fast-forward button, then that is a fail in my book.
However when the song does get going it's pretty good. The bass actually sounds cool (it will be a while before I utter that phrase again), and Simon is in top form as well. The drums sound terrible in the song, very weak with rolls on the hats and a notable lack of snare. But the actual melodies and vocal melodies on both the verse and chorus are strong, and this helps make up for the disappointing drumming.
So the strong points of the title track is Simon's voice, John's bass, and the melodies. The song should have been cut in half and it would have been a lot more likeable; there is NO reason on God's green earth why it should go for seven minutes. The beginning minute is pants, and the 90 seconds of craptacular "Paper Gods falling down, Paper house paper town" is so boring you should not operate heavy machinery after listening to it.
Like with pretty much every song on the album - four minutes is enough guys. There is a lot to be said for 'short and sweet'.
2) Last Night In The City: When I first heard it I didn't really like it. Then it grew on me like most of the songs on Paper Gods. But after listening to it again before this review I am back to not really liking it. It gets off to a great start, Kiesza sounds fantastic, and the first 30 seconds of the song are awesome. It really sets up the song well and you think "Man, this is going to be fantastic!".
But it's all downhill from there. Cue the thumping drum beat. No snare drum. Roger's lucky that he is quite well endowed, because there are far too many songs on Paper Gods where his hands aren't doing as much as they should be, so at least that would give them something to do while his foot does all the work.
The guitar in the song is cool, but too low down in the mix as per the entire album. The song goes on for too long; considering how repetitive it is then 3:30 like Butterfly Girl would have been great. The last minute is unnecessary and unwelcome.
Last Night In The City is not a horrible song. There is only one horrible song on the album in my opinion. But for a song that allegedly is going to be a single, and the one that could get the young fans on board, then overall it is quite disappointing.
3) You Kill Me With Silence: This will sicken and infuriate many people because it is a fan-favourite, but to me You Kill Me With Silence is the one horrible song on the album. To me it is a Beach Boys attempt that gets everything wrong. For a start they are trying to cross the Beach Boys with Early Summer Nerves, which wasn't a decent song to rip-off in the first place. The chord changes in the verse are horrible, and the chorus is so boring it almost makes me want to put on The Sun Doesn't Shine Forever to wake me up. The drum sounds are terrible, and once again not enough snare is used on the song.
Simon sounds great on the track however. He is the only member of Duran Duran that performs better now than he did in the 80s. Since the reunion everybody else seems to have slightly declined in ability.
4) Pressure Off: Finally, four tracks in and we've come across a perfect sounding Duran Duran tune! Both guitars are great, but both should have been louder (especially Nile's rhythm guitar). The drums sound okay, the best on the album so far but they still aren't meaty enough in my opinion. Lower the keyboards, increase the guitars, and toughen up the drums, and you have an even better track!
Simon and Janelle both sound great. Overall it is a catchy, funky song, the type of which I was hoping for more of on Paper Gods. It is one of the album highlights. But outside of Cinderella Ride (another great song) I sadly didn't get enough of this type of music on the album. Maybe DD15 will have more of a funky, 'Notorious-vibe'?
5) Face For Today: Cool, two awesome songs in a row! It has the vintage 80s Duran Duran sound and is very catchy. The melody of that chorus is sublime! It is so good that not even Nick doing his best effort to totally ruin the song by using those stupid swirling keyboard sounds can affect it (sorry MyNick my love, I don't like dissing your boy and will be complimenting him later in the review, but when he uses that noise it makes me want to do a Van Gogh!).
The middle eight sounds cool and gets my head nodding (always a good sign ). Simon sounds great, and it is easily one of the album highlights. Great song!
6) Danceophobia: Well from a great song we have gone to an, ahem, not so great song. It starts out very nicely, with a really cool verse. So it's not all bad! But then we degenerate to a slightly worse pre-chorus, and then that abominable chorus which is worse than the one on All Along The Water. Add Roger's pathetic sounding drums and it starts sounding more like a piss-take ala Shotgun than it does an actual song.
The vocals on the song are hard to decipher (which is unusual for a Duran Duran track; most of their lyrics are quite easy to pick up on) and Lindsay Lohan doesn't sound like a doctor's arsehole. They could have gotten Mel Blanc as Bugs Bunny to voice the interlude and it would have sounded more convincing (they could have even had the patient say "What's up, Doc?" to add some realism).
Apparently Duran went through many iterations of Danceophobia before they agreed upon the final version. The other attempts must have been horrendous; surely there was a better chorus than the one they ended up going with?
Cool verse, horrible everything else.
7) What Are The Chances: Cool, back to quality again. Brilliant guitar, although too low in the mix. A great start to the song, and once again Simon sounds really good. The chorus is amazingly pretty, and it is a song that has held up well. I just listened to it, and it sounds as beautiful now as it did one month ago lol. But I think I will be thinking the same in the future too.
If I am it won't be because of those stupid rolls on the hats. The drums sound weak as per usual, and there is no discernible bassline. But the song is so good that I can overlook those things. Just like She's Too Much, Cry Baby Cry, and the verse of Box Full O' Honey were so good on RCM I could overlook the crappy rhythm section, the same can be applied to What Are The Chances which is such a great song. Depending on my mood it is the best track on the album.
8) Sunset Garage: The drums don't sound particularly great or tough, but at least you can hear them so that's a plus. The verse is okay. It's a decent song.
Funnily enough that is also my criticism of it. In my opinion Duran Duran are above making simply 'decent' music. They are better than that. And while I quite enjoy Sunset Garage when it's on, it doesn't have any attributes which would compel me to play it in the future. Sure I wouldn't turn it off it came on randomly, it's a pleasant track. But it doesn't grab me. It just seems to plod along (not easily done for an up-tempo track!) with no great instrumentation and no real tune. I like the 70s vibe, and the bass in the middle eight sounds cool, but overall it just isn't catchy enough to be a truly great Duran Duran song.
9) Change The Skyline: It sounds good until the thumping bass drum comes in signalling more dance music. The verse is okay, and the pre-chorus is actually pretty cool building on that verse. But then that horrible chorus kills all that momentum, and the slow, drawn-out vocal melody ruins the song:
IIIIIIIIIIIIIIII can chaaaaaaaaaaange the skyyyyyyyyyyyyyyliiiiiiiiiiiiiiiine
Tiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiime to chaaaaaaaaaaange the skyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyliiiiiiiiiiiiiiiine
The keyboard sounds are really good in it, and I enjoy Nick's little solo. To be honest I enjoyed the entire song more just listening to it again now than I ever did, so it has definitely grown on me. But even still it remains an average song, not terrible, but not outstanding either.
10) Butterfly Girl: This one IS outstanding. It is a very good song that is short and sweet. The drums actually sound strong and really nice, and the guitar is very good, especially the funky chords in that pre-chorus. I am on the fence about Frusciante's short solo; I think he could have done a better sounding piece to be honest. But Anna Ross sounds cool and it is a really good '70s sounding tune. Overall it is one of the best on the album in my opinion.
11) Only In Dreams: The beginning is way too long and boring. Seriously 90 seconds before we get some really cool music? But hang on, when that music does kick in, is that some cool bass guitar I hear? Fantastic, long time no hear Mr Awesome Bass. Of course we get some more weak sounding drums to counteract that, but the verse is quite decent and I really love the chord progressions. The chorus is okay as well, and overall it is quite a decent song.
Although once again the song should be chopped in half. The middle eight is boring, and the last 90 seconds of the song is pants.
12) The Universe Alone: One of the album highlights. I actually don't mind the handclap sounds in this one, and think they sound quite suitable and fit the song. It is a very pretty song. Simon sounds a little strained, but JUST pulls it off without sounding whiny. There are great funky guitar chords in the verse, and Frusciante's lead parts are awesome. Finally JT plays some of the amazing bass we know he is capable of, and it is easily his best playing on the album. I just long for the days when I was loving 12 tracks out of 12 for John's basslines, and not just 3 tracks out of 12.
But as good as the guitars are on The Universe Alone, to me it is the keyboards which are the highlight. Nick's synths and classical music sounds just make it such an atmospheric song, that to me it is the best ballad that Duran Duran have ever ended an album with. That distorted sound at the end sucks and is not likeable, but once again I'm prepared to overlook crap when the end result is just so good.
13) Planet Roaring: This is the worst bonus track in my opinion. The guitar is good but that's it. Once again we have thumping bass drum and minimal snare (although when Roger does hit it at 1:52 it sounds really cool, but that's where it ends). The verse isn't likeable, and the chorus is worse. Like Change The Skyline the vocal melody is too drawn out and extended:
Friiiiiiiiiiends we come here caaaaallllllllllling
Can you heeeeeeeeeear the planet rooooooaarrrrrrrring
Nooooooow the stars are faaaaaaaaaalllllling
We’ll be siiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiging to the moooooooooooorning.
14) Valentine Stones: This is a catchy song, and should have been on the main album. Cool funky guitar, but too low in the mix (surprise surprise). It is one of the few songs on the record that is electronic but still catchy. The pre-chorus is very cool, better than the actual chorus. At 3:30 it's a decent length song which is good. Although once again I have to ask "WHAT'S WRONG WITH SNARE ON THE 2 AND 4 ROGER"?
15) Northern Lights: More bollocks at the beginning of a song. It should have started at the 46 second mark. The bass sounds cool, and the verse reminds me a little of Virus. The highlight is the pre-chorus with its reggae-vibe. You think it's a really good track and just wait for the chorus to blow you away, but unfortunately the chorus loses momentum like it does on You Kill Me With Silence and Change The Skyline. Thankfully the second chorus is better, but it seems like Duran like to sabotage their initial chorus, which is a major part of any song.
The guitar is great, but, and everybody yell it out with me, SHOULD HAVE BEEN LOUDER IN THE MIX.
16) On Evil Beach: I really like the beginning of the song, and think it is has a nice melody overall. I also like the steel/calypso drum sound Roger uses on the song, plus also the keyboards between the first chorus and second verse. The bass is decent sounding, and I love how the song is short and sweet. One of the under-rated bonus tracks in my opinion.
17) Cinderella Ride: Finally, a track where the snare drum sounds great! Only took 17 songs to get there. I really like the verse, and to me it sounds like a sped up version of Salt In The Rainbow. I really like the chorus even though Nick uses that stupid swirling noise yet again, and the funky guitar chords are awesome as well even though, you guessed it etc. To me it is one of the stronger songs on the album, and I'm surprised that more bonus tracks didn't get a run on the main record. I like how the song fades out and isn't full of bollocks at the end. Unlike this review.
Well, for the people still reading, there you have it. If you don't like this review then either blame my parents or madoldlu for asking me to write it.
But keep the following in mind - I can be critical of something but still enjoy it. I have been very critical of parts of Paper Gods, but I can still overlook those flaws and still enjoy it. I'm just pointing out the things I don't find perfect, but at the end of the day it's still a good record and is the second best one they have released since the reunion.
The band seem to be happy, the concerts are getting rave reviews, and many Duran Duran songs sound better live than they do on the album. So I can't wait for the tour, and I think Duran have a few more great records left in them yet
Somebody in another thread was foolish enough (or should I say 'mad enough' ) to ask me for an in-depth review of every song from Paper Gods plus the bonus tracks. And I can never say no. Just ask my wife.
First up, before I get into this riveting review, let me state a couple of things. Firstly I was fortunate enough to hear Paper Gods well and truly before it was officially released. I refrained from posting reviews before it came out as a courtesy to the fans who weren't as fortunate as I was.
I listened to it at least three times a day for the first month (including to and from work, which made my journey a lot more pleasurable ) until I got to the stage where even my children started to complain about me listening to the same songs all the time (for the people playing at home my 9 year old son's favourite song from the album is Paper Gods followed by Danceophobia. Yes I am contemplating putting him up for sale on Ebay).
I have actually had a spell from it for a couple of weeks, and listened to it in its entirety so that I could write this review. After having 'time off' so to speak some things stood out to me. Some songs still have it, while others don't. I think it is a ballsy move for Duran Duran to try to appeal to fans that, in all honesty, will never hear their music and probably won't love it if they do. But a side effect of using modern recording techniques is that the songs could sound dated a lot sooner than they would have otherwise. A magnificent song like Ordinary World will never sound dated because it is just so damn good with appropriate sounding instrumentation. However I'm not sure Paper Gods will sound as good when it is 23 years old. And for a band who talked about their 'legacy' when they recorded it, this surprises me.
Another thing that stood out to me were some common themes on the album. A few songs had beginnings and/or endings that were way too long and drawn out. The old 'KISS principle' would have been well advised here.
Secondly unless otherwise stated I detest the use of synth bass when you have a bass guitarist the ability of John Taylor in the band. Duran should be utilising the Bass God as one of their strengths (which he is) and not relegating him to a bit-player on the album.
Thirdly the drumming on the album is very underwhelming overall. The use of crappy sounding electronic drums does the band a disservice, and the over-use of rolls on the hi-hats that is prevalent in today's very average music scene makes the drumming on Paper Gods sound desperate and dated already. AND WHAT THE HELL IS WRONG WITH HITTING A TOUGH-SOUNDING SNARE DRUM ON THE 2 AND 4 ROGER LIKE GOOD DRUMMERS HAVE BEEN DOING SINCE ROCK AND POP WAS INVENTED? That is without doubt my biggest criticism of the drumming on Paper Gods.
Lastly the guitar was down too low in the mix for my liking on pretty much every song. I know it was an electronic album, but to me some good songs suffer because of this and could have been much more enjoyable. I think the concert is going to rock unbelievably though
Now for the song break-down:
1) Paper Gods: For a decent track the beginning is terrible. Thirty seconds of chanting and the song proper doesn't start until over a minute into it. Yes I know it is the first song on the album and is attempting to build a mood, but I'm not into that arty sort of nonsense. If I have to wait for over a minute to hear something decent, then I'm not impressed whether it is the first song on the album or the 97th song. Any time I feel like I want to reach for the fast-forward button, then that is a fail in my book.
However when the song does get going it's pretty good. The bass actually sounds cool (it will be a while before I utter that phrase again), and Simon is in top form as well. The drums sound terrible in the song, very weak with rolls on the hats and a notable lack of snare. But the actual melodies and vocal melodies on both the verse and chorus are strong, and this helps make up for the disappointing drumming.
So the strong points of the title track is Simon's voice, John's bass, and the melodies. The song should have been cut in half and it would have been a lot more likeable; there is NO reason on God's green earth why it should go for seven minutes. The beginning minute is pants, and the 90 seconds of craptacular "Paper Gods falling down, Paper house paper town" is so boring you should not operate heavy machinery after listening to it.
Like with pretty much every song on the album - four minutes is enough guys. There is a lot to be said for 'short and sweet'.
2) Last Night In The City: When I first heard it I didn't really like it. Then it grew on me like most of the songs on Paper Gods. But after listening to it again before this review I am back to not really liking it. It gets off to a great start, Kiesza sounds fantastic, and the first 30 seconds of the song are awesome. It really sets up the song well and you think "Man, this is going to be fantastic!".
But it's all downhill from there. Cue the thumping drum beat. No snare drum. Roger's lucky that he is quite well endowed, because there are far too many songs on Paper Gods where his hands aren't doing as much as they should be, so at least that would give them something to do while his foot does all the work.
The guitar in the song is cool, but too low down in the mix as per the entire album. The song goes on for too long; considering how repetitive it is then 3:30 like Butterfly Girl would have been great. The last minute is unnecessary and unwelcome.
Last Night In The City is not a horrible song. There is only one horrible song on the album in my opinion. But for a song that allegedly is going to be a single, and the one that could get the young fans on board, then overall it is quite disappointing.
3) You Kill Me With Silence: This will sicken and infuriate many people because it is a fan-favourite, but to me You Kill Me With Silence is the one horrible song on the album. To me it is a Beach Boys attempt that gets everything wrong. For a start they are trying to cross the Beach Boys with Early Summer Nerves, which wasn't a decent song to rip-off in the first place. The chord changes in the verse are horrible, and the chorus is so boring it almost makes me want to put on The Sun Doesn't Shine Forever to wake me up. The drum sounds are terrible, and once again not enough snare is used on the song.
Simon sounds great on the track however. He is the only member of Duran Duran that performs better now than he did in the 80s. Since the reunion everybody else seems to have slightly declined in ability.
4) Pressure Off: Finally, four tracks in and we've come across a perfect sounding Duran Duran tune! Both guitars are great, but both should have been louder (especially Nile's rhythm guitar). The drums sound okay, the best on the album so far but they still aren't meaty enough in my opinion. Lower the keyboards, increase the guitars, and toughen up the drums, and you have an even better track!
Simon and Janelle both sound great. Overall it is a catchy, funky song, the type of which I was hoping for more of on Paper Gods. It is one of the album highlights. But outside of Cinderella Ride (another great song) I sadly didn't get enough of this type of music on the album. Maybe DD15 will have more of a funky, 'Notorious-vibe'?
5) Face For Today: Cool, two awesome songs in a row! It has the vintage 80s Duran Duran sound and is very catchy. The melody of that chorus is sublime! It is so good that not even Nick doing his best effort to totally ruin the song by using those stupid swirling keyboard sounds can affect it (sorry MyNick my love, I don't like dissing your boy and will be complimenting him later in the review, but when he uses that noise it makes me want to do a Van Gogh!).
The middle eight sounds cool and gets my head nodding (always a good sign ). Simon sounds great, and it is easily one of the album highlights. Great song!
6) Danceophobia: Well from a great song we have gone to an, ahem, not so great song. It starts out very nicely, with a really cool verse. So it's not all bad! But then we degenerate to a slightly worse pre-chorus, and then that abominable chorus which is worse than the one on All Along The Water. Add Roger's pathetic sounding drums and it starts sounding more like a piss-take ala Shotgun than it does an actual song.
The vocals on the song are hard to decipher (which is unusual for a Duran Duran track; most of their lyrics are quite easy to pick up on) and Lindsay Lohan doesn't sound like a doctor's arsehole. They could have gotten Mel Blanc as Bugs Bunny to voice the interlude and it would have sounded more convincing (they could have even had the patient say "What's up, Doc?" to add some realism).
Apparently Duran went through many iterations of Danceophobia before they agreed upon the final version. The other attempts must have been horrendous; surely there was a better chorus than the one they ended up going with?
Cool verse, horrible everything else.
7) What Are The Chances: Cool, back to quality again. Brilliant guitar, although too low in the mix. A great start to the song, and once again Simon sounds really good. The chorus is amazingly pretty, and it is a song that has held up well. I just listened to it, and it sounds as beautiful now as it did one month ago lol. But I think I will be thinking the same in the future too.
If I am it won't be because of those stupid rolls on the hats. The drums sound weak as per usual, and there is no discernible bassline. But the song is so good that I can overlook those things. Just like She's Too Much, Cry Baby Cry, and the verse of Box Full O' Honey were so good on RCM I could overlook the crappy rhythm section, the same can be applied to What Are The Chances which is such a great song. Depending on my mood it is the best track on the album.
8) Sunset Garage: The drums don't sound particularly great or tough, but at least you can hear them so that's a plus. The verse is okay. It's a decent song.
Funnily enough that is also my criticism of it. In my opinion Duran Duran are above making simply 'decent' music. They are better than that. And while I quite enjoy Sunset Garage when it's on, it doesn't have any attributes which would compel me to play it in the future. Sure I wouldn't turn it off it came on randomly, it's a pleasant track. But it doesn't grab me. It just seems to plod along (not easily done for an up-tempo track!) with no great instrumentation and no real tune. I like the 70s vibe, and the bass in the middle eight sounds cool, but overall it just isn't catchy enough to be a truly great Duran Duran song.
9) Change The Skyline: It sounds good until the thumping bass drum comes in signalling more dance music. The verse is okay, and the pre-chorus is actually pretty cool building on that verse. But then that horrible chorus kills all that momentum, and the slow, drawn-out vocal melody ruins the song:
IIIIIIIIIIIIIIII can chaaaaaaaaaaange the skyyyyyyyyyyyyyyliiiiiiiiiiiiiiiine
Tiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiime to chaaaaaaaaaaange the skyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyliiiiiiiiiiiiiiiine
The keyboard sounds are really good in it, and I enjoy Nick's little solo. To be honest I enjoyed the entire song more just listening to it again now than I ever did, so it has definitely grown on me. But even still it remains an average song, not terrible, but not outstanding either.
10) Butterfly Girl: This one IS outstanding. It is a very good song that is short and sweet. The drums actually sound strong and really nice, and the guitar is very good, especially the funky chords in that pre-chorus. I am on the fence about Frusciante's short solo; I think he could have done a better sounding piece to be honest. But Anna Ross sounds cool and it is a really good '70s sounding tune. Overall it is one of the best on the album in my opinion.
11) Only In Dreams: The beginning is way too long and boring. Seriously 90 seconds before we get some really cool music? But hang on, when that music does kick in, is that some cool bass guitar I hear? Fantastic, long time no hear Mr Awesome Bass. Of course we get some more weak sounding drums to counteract that, but the verse is quite decent and I really love the chord progressions. The chorus is okay as well, and overall it is quite a decent song.
Although once again the song should be chopped in half. The middle eight is boring, and the last 90 seconds of the song is pants.
12) The Universe Alone: One of the album highlights. I actually don't mind the handclap sounds in this one, and think they sound quite suitable and fit the song. It is a very pretty song. Simon sounds a little strained, but JUST pulls it off without sounding whiny. There are great funky guitar chords in the verse, and Frusciante's lead parts are awesome. Finally JT plays some of the amazing bass we know he is capable of, and it is easily his best playing on the album. I just long for the days when I was loving 12 tracks out of 12 for John's basslines, and not just 3 tracks out of 12.
But as good as the guitars are on The Universe Alone, to me it is the keyboards which are the highlight. Nick's synths and classical music sounds just make it such an atmospheric song, that to me it is the best ballad that Duran Duran have ever ended an album with. That distorted sound at the end sucks and is not likeable, but once again I'm prepared to overlook crap when the end result is just so good.
13) Planet Roaring: This is the worst bonus track in my opinion. The guitar is good but that's it. Once again we have thumping bass drum and minimal snare (although when Roger does hit it at 1:52 it sounds really cool, but that's where it ends). The verse isn't likeable, and the chorus is worse. Like Change The Skyline the vocal melody is too drawn out and extended:
Friiiiiiiiiiends we come here caaaaallllllllllling
Can you heeeeeeeeeear the planet rooooooaarrrrrrrring
Nooooooow the stars are faaaaaaaaaalllllling
We’ll be siiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiging to the moooooooooooorning.
14) Valentine Stones: This is a catchy song, and should have been on the main album. Cool funky guitar, but too low in the mix (surprise surprise). It is one of the few songs on the record that is electronic but still catchy. The pre-chorus is very cool, better than the actual chorus. At 3:30 it's a decent length song which is good. Although once again I have to ask "WHAT'S WRONG WITH SNARE ON THE 2 AND 4 ROGER"?
15) Northern Lights: More bollocks at the beginning of a song. It should have started at the 46 second mark. The bass sounds cool, and the verse reminds me a little of Virus. The highlight is the pre-chorus with its reggae-vibe. You think it's a really good track and just wait for the chorus to blow you away, but unfortunately the chorus loses momentum like it does on You Kill Me With Silence and Change The Skyline. Thankfully the second chorus is better, but it seems like Duran like to sabotage their initial chorus, which is a major part of any song.
The guitar is great, but, and everybody yell it out with me, SHOULD HAVE BEEN LOUDER IN THE MIX.
16) On Evil Beach: I really like the beginning of the song, and think it is has a nice melody overall. I also like the steel/calypso drum sound Roger uses on the song, plus also the keyboards between the first chorus and second verse. The bass is decent sounding, and I love how the song is short and sweet. One of the under-rated bonus tracks in my opinion.
17) Cinderella Ride: Finally, a track where the snare drum sounds great! Only took 17 songs to get there. I really like the verse, and to me it sounds like a sped up version of Salt In The Rainbow. I really like the chorus even though Nick uses that stupid swirling noise yet again, and the funky guitar chords are awesome as well even though, you guessed it etc. To me it is one of the stronger songs on the album, and I'm surprised that more bonus tracks didn't get a run on the main record. I like how the song fades out and isn't full of bollocks at the end. Unlike this review.
Well, for the people still reading, there you have it. If you don't like this review then either blame my parents or madoldlu for asking me to write it.
But keep the following in mind - I can be critical of something but still enjoy it. I have been very critical of parts of Paper Gods, but I can still overlook those flaws and still enjoy it. I'm just pointing out the things I don't find perfect, but at the end of the day it's still a good record and is the second best one they have released since the reunion.
The band seem to be happy, the concerts are getting rave reviews, and many Duran Duran songs sound better live than they do on the album. So I can't wait for the tour, and I think Duran have a few more great records left in them yet