After the band’s 1993 impassioned comeback single, Ordinary World which performed the unthinkable by providing Duran Duran a Number 3 hit in the USA and numerous number 1’s in all corners of the globe, a decade since ‘Is there something I should Know’ hit Number 1 in the UK, I felt somewhat deflated after listening to Medazzaland for the first time. My feelings on an album that failed to ignite the imaginations of a fan base that had previously came on board on the back of the success of The Wedding Album and of those stalwarts who screamed themselves hoarse at stadiums during the band’s tenure of the early to mid eighties, have not changed.
Medazzaland was the end result of bickering, in-fighting and the fact that there was no team effort involved. I just could not get my head around why Duran Duran would gamble and risk losing their second cusp of stardom just to ‘experiment’? The band were in no shape or form to begin testing their strengths and weaknesses, especially two years after the ill-timed release of a covers album and a whole four years since their last foray at the top end of the charts in 1993.
The band’s bassist (and crucially, one half of Duran Duran’s founders) John Taylor lost his appetite and departed. damn, it must have been bad for him to call it quits? That would then leave Simon Le Bon languishing in a state of turmoil while the Rhodes / Cuccurullo show sauntered on. Le Bon is clearly not at his best here. There are a few standouts - ‘Who do you think you are?’, ‘Out of my Mind’ and ‘Electric Barbarella’ but ultimately this album is as depressing and dark as you can get. It probably mirrors what was happening inside their minds at the time. How could it get as bad as this? From the uptempo, positive, inspired pop / rock creativity of The Wedding Album to the downright calamity of an album who’s artwork also featured an out-of-sorts effigy of Rio.
I was there at the beginning. I witnessed the continued assault by the media as the band lost their way in the late eighties, despite having the will to keep trying to bounce back. For me at least, the fightback began with 1990’s Liberty. No, it wasn’t the five star thriller the band so desperately needed but it did cement Warren Cuccurullo in place for a permanent role as a band member, guitarist, song writer and arranger. It’s worth remembering that without him there would be no Duran Duran now. Simon once said of him in an interview we did in 1993 “He gave us confidence in ourselves and to look at songs we got quite jaded with.”
So I do have issues with Medazzaland. It was the catalyst for another difficult spell in the wilderness - only this time it would be longer until the reunion in 2003 happened. Don’t get me wrong, I think Duran Duran have done well surviving this far down the line. They have been .s at reinvention but boy they do make work hard for themselves.
It’s great to see the album is now available for streaming, together with RCM, Astronaut and Pop Trash. It’s a different time now and with the right promo Medazzaland could reach the minds of a younger audience. Who knows, it may have not been a waste of time after all? It’s also a decent sign that we may have something physical to spend our money on later in the year.