Duran Duran: Arena (Recorded Around The World 1984) CD Track Listing

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Duran Duran Arena (Recorded Around The World 1984) (1984)
Arena (Japanese Pressing)\n\nOriginally Released 1984\nCD Edition Released 1987 ??\nRemastered CD Edition Released June 1, 2004\n\nAMG EXPERT REVIEW: N/A\n\nAMAZON.COM CUSTOMER REVIEW\nNot the best - but not the worst either, September 15, 2004\nReviewer: William Cooper (Lawrenceville, NJ USA)\nIn 1984, with three studio albums under their belts - Duran Duran released their first live album called "Arena". Just four albums into their young, but successful careers - it might seem early to release a live album, however at this time Duran Duran was as hot as any group. Their last two studio albums ("Rio" and "Seven and the Ragged Tiger") had made them the toast of MTV and Top 40 radio. In addition, the band had embarked on a very successful world tour, so it seemed a wise move to release the live album. This collection includes 9 tracks from that world tour as well as a new studio track called "Wildboys". A lot of people were very critical on the quintet's effort on "Arena". Some of this criticism is justifiable. Some of this criticism is unfair because there is some good work on this album that was done by the band. \n\nFirst for some of the bad news about "Arena" album. Arena makes some of the fundamental mistakes that many live albums make. This main mistake is not capturing the magic of one great performance, but rather forming a "best of" compilation of live performances from the band. I find when this is done, something is taken away from the individual live performances that are on here. It also immediately takes away from the continuity and flow of the CD. Since this isn't a single performance, we aren't made aware of what would have been the opening song, closing song, encore songs, etc. If you listen to other live albums like Fleetwood Mac's "The Dance" and Rush's "Rush in Rio", these capture most or all of the live performance on CD and stick to the original flow. The result is something magical and intangible - something that "Arena" really lacks. What is worse is the studio track, "Wildboys" is stuck right in the middle of the live tracks. \n\nAnother key point is we don't know where these recordings came from. The live recordings are credited from "recorded around the world". Yes all of the tour locations are listed by the month - but no specific tour dates and no specifics on where each track was recorded from. The only exception is the studio track - "Wildboys" is credited to being recorded in London. \n\nUnfortunately for "Arena" there are some other problems beyond the mistakes listed above. This collection just doesn't feel like a live CD. There is a minimum of crowd noise. There isn't a lot of interaction happening with the crowd (possibly the only part where there is true interaction is when Simon Le Bon asks the audience before "Hungry Like the Wolf" - 'Is Anybody Hungry?' - but even that doesn't get me doing handstands) Duran Duran had the reputation for being a very high energy band in the 1980s, yet most of this album doesn't have the high energy of a Duran Duran concert. \n\nHowever, despite the shortcomings above, there are some good things to point out about this collection. The set does a nice job at balancing out the works from the 3 studio albums - 3 songs from "Duran Duran", 4 songs from "Rio", and 2 from "Seven and the Ragged Tiger". I am disappointed that "The Reflex" or "New Moon on Mondays" were not included with this collection, but I think it also was a good thing to not include too much material from the last studio album. \n\nThe opening track is "Is There Something I Should Know". It isn't my favorite Duran Duran track, but I like that there is some horn music integrated toward the end of this song. To a lesser extent, "Planet Earth" and "Careless Memories" have some nice horns that give this a new spin to these tunes. WhatI find very interesting is on "Arena" the band tends to do a better job on the lesser known tunes. Tracks such as "New Religion", "Careless Memories", and "The Chauffeur" are terrific. The more popular tracks are also nicely done - "Hungry Like the Wolf", "Union of the Snake", "Save a Prayer", and "Planet Earth". I think one of the more creative things is the segue that is done between "The Seventh Stranger" and "The Chauffeur". While these songs are from two distinct albums, Duran Duran makes them seem like one seemless song. It's hard to tell that this is a product of the editing of the collection or if this is the way they were actually performed during the Tour. I think "The Chauffeur" is the most underrated track on this collection - it really has a true "haunting" quality as you listen to it. I think the real issue where I have with "Arena" is that Duran Duran does a nice job with the music on this collection - but it could have been so much more. This could have captured the passion and energy of the live concert much more consistently. \n\nAs for the new track "Wildboys". I don't think it's the best Duran Duran track, however I don't feel it's the worst. What I do notice is that Roger Taylor's drumming becomes more promient on this track and this seemed to carry over into when they would release the James Bond soundtrack song "A View to a Kill". \n\nAs for the liner notes - not terrific. There are some pictures of each of the band members that look like they were taken for teen magainzes. There are no lyrics. The band members and studio musicians are listed, but are not credited with any instruments. As mentioned above Tour Cities are listed. \n\nThe best way to summarize is that this isn't a terrible live album, but it isn't terrific. This is a live album that could have been so much more. If you love Duran Duran, this album probably won't disappoint - otherwise, this may not be a collection of interest.\n\n\nAMAZON.COM CUSTOMER REVIEW\nLackluster Live Album from Duran Duran., July 27, 2001\nReviewer: Addicted to the Groove (Boston, MA)\nIn the classic sense, this is a very mediocre live album by Duran Duran. Many fans get irked by that statement, but it's the sad and honest truth. In 1984, when Duran Duran peaked in popularity, Capitol dropped this record instead of a studio LP to capitalize on the band's popularity. While the material here isn't terrible, performances of "New Religion," "Is There Something I Should Know," and "Union of the Snake" come across as perfunctory at best. Simon LeBon sings off-key one time too many, and the band members Nick Rhodes, John Taylor, Roger Taylor, and Andy Taylor perform with a clean efficency that strips the performances of any spontaneity. The only half-worthwhile track is a song that isn't even live: the killer studio cut "Wild Boys," which went to Number Two in the fall/winter of 1984. Take it from a fan of this group: skip "Arena" and leave it for the diehards and completists. Duran Duran's studio albums are way better than this.\n\n\nAMAZON.COM CUSTOMER REVIEW\nAwesome music, even if Simon can't sing perfectly :-), November 30, 1998\nReviewer: Evan, galtem@gte.net (seattle, WA)\nAs a long time Duran fan I thought I'd throw in my 2 cents worth. Arena is a great live album and a must for any fan of their early, pre `86 work (it's the first tape I ever bought, way back in `84 ;-). Any fan will tell you that Simon isn't exactly the world's best singer, but the versions of Save a Prayer and especially The Chauffeur are incredible. The synths on Save a Prayer are even more lush and rich than on Rio. The clincher though is The Chauffeur, which blows the Rio version away. It has a great intro, a slightly less funky beat to it and is much more mystical sounding than on Rio -- excellent!!\n\n\nAMAZON.COM CUSTOMER REVIEW (Remastered Edition)\nBack to the "Arena" 20 Years Later., June 6, 2004\nReviewer: Addicted to the Groove (Boston, MA)\nWHAT IS IT? The 20th anniversary reissue of Duran Duran's live CD, digitally remastered and with two bonus tracks: the live versions of "Girls on Film" and "Rio." \n\nTHE PROS: Thanks to the remastering, the sound quality is a huge improvement over the original 1984 recording. The bonus tracks, especially the dynamic live version of "Girls on Film," are so good that they're almost worth the price of this CD. It makes you wonder why they weren't included in the first place. And, of course, we have the Nile Rodgers-produced "Wild Boys," a killer studio track that went to Number Two in the fall of 1984. \n\nTHE CONS: With a few exceptions, the audience is eliminated from the recording. As a result, you don't really feel a connection between the band and their fans. Also, the live versions are, for the most part, note-for-note replicas of the originals, although the kickass "Careless Memories" is a true standout. \n\nTHE BOTTOM LINE: Worth a purchase only for Duran Duran fans, even if they already have the original release. While its flaws remain, the remastering is top-notch, and the two extra tracks are worth checking out.\n\n\nAMAZON.COM CUSTOMER REVIEW (Remastered Edition)\nSpare Me...., August 19, 2004\nReviewer: J. Brady (PAWLEYS ISLAND, SC United States)\nAlthough I think Duran Duran made some of the finest pop singles of the Eighties, and some really great albums ( the first two are superb, as is Big Thing, from around 1989 ) this "live" album is just the pits. Thankfully we are spared the visual spectacle of Simon LeBon's lame, idiotic dancing, but we are subjected to his every grunt, whoop and "YEAH!" - clumsy, studied attempts at spontaneous audience interaction. And frankly, the band just doesn't SOUND that good ( perhaps due to the mixing ). I saw the 1984 Tour in Atlanta, Georgia, and I thought it was pretty good, although I never cared for all the extra musicians ( the sax player, the percussionist, etc ). I thought it made the songs sound a little too cluttered from the point of view of the arrangements themselves. I saw them again on the Big Thing tour years later and thought they sounded much better, a little more stripped down, and intimate. Of course, by that time the mania surrounding the band had died down considerably and there were far fewer screaming teens in the audience. Recommended for serious fans and completists only. \n( And by the way, the cover is just appalling. Those mullets .... UUUUGH! ) \n\n\nAMAZON.COM CUSTOMER REVIEW (Remastered Edition)\nBetter for the bonus tracks, but still a disappointment, June 17, 2004\nReviewer: Giacomo Holdini (Minneapolis, MN)\nArena was a major disappointment in its original incarnation. Duran Duran, one of the world's biggest bands in 1984, had just completed a major world tour, and their fans deserved a proper live album as a representation of the concerts on that tour. Instead, they got Arena, which was mixed and edited much more like a studio album. With a distant audience sound, a recording that sounded more processed than live, and smoothed down fades and edits between songs, Arena actually lent credence to the lie that Duran Duran was nothing more than a studio band. Matters were not helped any by the fact that one of the best tracks on the original release was the studio single, "The Wild Boys." Although it is a terrific song, its inclusion on a live album was, and remains, totally out of place. Subtract "The Wild Boys," and you were left with precisely nine live songs totaling under forty-five minutes in length: hardly a definitive example of what a Duran Duran concert was like in person.\nThis remastered version does little to improve the situation. Although the remastering adds greater clarity, texture and immediacy to the existing sound, the lackluster mix and slick edits are the same, as are the original song selection and order. If anything, the improved sound somehow makes the whole album sound even more sterile, since it clarifies just how much effort was put into making this album as "un-live" as possible.\n\nWhat makes this new disc worth having are the two bonus tracks, totally thrilling live versions of "Girls On Film" and "Rio." These two cuts possess what most of the rest of the album lacks: vigor, vitality, and a genuine interplay between band and audience. Along with "Careless Memories," they indicate just how good Arena could have been if it had been better conceived and executed. Tacked on to the end of the disc, however, these two tracks are true bonuses, doing nothing to improve the main body of the album.\n\nPerhaps someday EMI/Capitol will see fit to release a totally new live album documenting Duran Duran's 1984 tour, one that does justice to what the band was actually doing on stage at that time. Arena, simply put, does not. It remains a must-have for die-hard fans only. Everyone else should look elsewhere for their Duran fix.\n\n\nHalf.com Details \nProducer: Duran Duran, Nile Rodgers \n\nAlbum Notes\nDuran Duran: Simon Le Bon, Nick Rhodes, Andy Taylor, Roger Taylor, John Taylor.\nAdditional personnel: Andy Hamilton, Raphael Dejesus, B.J. Nelson, Charmaine Burch.\nRecorded live on tour in Australia, the United Kingdom, Japan, Canada, and the United States in 1984.\nARENA's high point is its one studio cut, the Nile Rodgers-produced single "The Wild Boys," a minimalist art-funk song that takes its title from William Burroughs, its found sound/cut-up production from Trevor Horn's Art of Noise, and its Spartan funk-pop groove from Prince. A musical Frankenstein creation, it's also an oddly effective single that was perhaps just slightly too weird for the band's teenybopper following; it was a lesser hit than the band's status would have otherwise signified. \nIt's that high public standing which created this live document, a recording made at various dates on the band's 1983-84 tour in support of its third album, SEVEN AND THE RAGGED TIGER. Drawing material from all three albums and focusing on hit singles such as "Hungry Like the Wolf" and "Rio," ARENA presents the songs in pristine versions that differ only slightly from the studio cuts. YEAR: 1984
This rock cd contains 10 tracks and runs 48min 1sec.
Freedb: 850b3f0a
Buy: from Amazon.com

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