Duran Duran bombed quietly with 1990's "Liberty" and then disappeared for three years, leading many to think their careers ended with the Eighties. So everyone was shocked when in 1993 they stormed back to the top of the pop charts. Their comeback success was deserved: "The Wedding Album" is Duran Duran's most colourful, dynamic and diverse offering, and ranks with 1982's "Rio" as one of their best.

I can't quite describe my feelings upon hearing the dreamy, soaring ballad "Ordinary World" for the first time in early 1993. It was like an old friend had returned after an absence of many years. Over ten years later, this first single from "The Wedding Album" retains all its anthemic power.

And then a funny thing happened: the second single, "Come Undone," was just as good! For the first time in nearly ten years, Duran Duran had two hit singles from the same album. The comeback was complete.

Fortunately "The Wedding Album" is more than just a "singles" album. As they did with "Notorious" (1986) and "Big Thing" (1988), Duran Duran continues to break new musical ground. Standout tracks include the Latin-tinged Milton Nascimento collaboration, "Breath After Breath," the Prince-style funk of "U.M.F.," and the hip-hop/ambient fusion of "Come Undone" and "Love Voodoo." More than just experiments, these songs are thoughtful compositions that successfully synthesize diverse genres with Duran's inimitable melodic sensibilities.

A minor complaint about "The Wedding Album" is that the weakest tracks, "Drowning Man" and "Shotgun," appear early on, disrupting the record's consistency. But the album quickly recovers with "Come Undone" and never looks back. "The Wedding Album" ends with a bang: the incendiary "Sin of the City," an epic tune about the tragic Happyland dance club fire, is an angry and passionate statement about urban exploitation. It's a scathing social comment that dispels the notion of Duran Duran as self-absorbed pretty boys.

More than merely a commercial comeback, "The Wedding Album" reaffirms Duran Duran's place among the premier pop bands of their generation. The wait was worth it.

As the synth-pop sound began to fade in the 1980s, many artists either reinvented themselves or found the themselves falling into obscurity. Bands such as Tears For Fears were very successful at changing their style. Tears For Fears had incredible success with a synthesizer based sound, but as they entered the 1990s, they successfully produced a more "natural" sound. Duran Duran originally didn't make such a change. Duran Duran were the darlings of MTV and radio in the early and mid 1980s. However, the band began to undergo some lineup changes and they didn't readily make such a change to produce something new and exciting. Duran Duran started the decade like gang-busters but late 80s albums such as "Notorious" and "Big Thing" were mediocre. From a synth-pop angle they weren't nearly as strong as the early 80s work. By 1990 their next album "Liberty" was a flop. This put Duran Duran in an unlikely position in 1993 - having to make a comeback. And boy do they ever make a comeback with "Duran Duran (The Wedding Album)". This album might be one of the most underrated albums of all time and should have even gotten Album of the Year consideration.

What made "The Wedding Album" such a great album? I think you have to go back to the late 80s when Duran Duran was undergoing lineup changes. When drummer Roger Taylor and guitarist Andy Taylor departed, musicians were needed to supplement them for the "Notorious" album. Enter Missing Persons alumni Warren Cuccurillo. Cuccurillo would take guitaring duties for Taylor. He would tour with the band, but played a studio musician role in the band for "Notorious" and "Big Thing". Cuccurillo had played with Frank Zappa and Missing Persons and had a different style - a more experimental and edgy style than the rest of Duran Duran. He became an full fledged member of the band for the "Liberty" album. Duran Duran was still very much out of focus due to business problems with the label, so "Liberty" bombed. The band then took three years to re-focus and put together what could be considered a radical departure from the synth pop days - "The Wedding Album".

It's clear that Cuccurillo's had a big influence on the band with this album. He helped to introduce many different elements that haven't been seen before. This includes a more natural guitar sound, rap and funk elements, and stronger lyrics - all not seen on a Duran Duran album ever. This is also the first where we hear of the very unlikely Duran Duran - Lou Reed connection (again thanks to Cuccurillo via his Frank Zappa Days). There is a terrific cover of Velvet Underground (Lou Reed's band) "Femme Fatale" and Duran Duran would later cover Reed's "Perfect Day" on their "Thank You" collection.

The first two songs "Too Much Information" and "Ordinary World" bring a more natural guitar sound. You wouldn't think this was the synth-pop band from the 1980s. "Too Much Information" starts out with the appropriate words "Destroyed by MTV..." (which seems appropriate by 1993 when they were making a comeback). There are some terrific lyrics that deal with advertising blitz in our society. "Ordinary World" and "Come Undone" show that Simon Le Bon can still belt out a great tune. "Come Undone" features background vocals by one of the best studio vocalists in the business - Tessa Niles.

The fourth track "Drowning Man" has a bit of a fused jazz-rock introduction. The song then progresses into a rap - and it works terrific. The song then has a heavy dance beat. Duran Duran had started out as an underground dance band and now it seems they have come full circle, but now do it with an updated sound. The fifth track has a major funk influnce - "Shotgun". It is less than a minute long, but it sounds almost like a Prince tune. Again, the band pulls this off perfectly. The eighth track is "UMF" is a combination of funk and rock. Again Duran Duran seems to come full circle with their roots - but 90s style.

There are signs of the old Duran Duran. "Love VooDoo" kind of reminds me of the "Notorious" days - not a bad song, but not great. "The song "None of the Above" might be a dark song of despair, but a catchy one. The interesting part is how it opens with some of the classic vocals you've heard from Simon Le Bon - "I am myself Alone.."

Duran Duran does something really different in the song "Breath Under Breath". This song opens with some keyboards and Le Bon's ballady lyrics. The song then has a segue into a Spanish-like guitar sound that is eventually followed by some vocals in Spanish. This is terrific stuff - and again a far cry from the "Hungry Like the Wolf" days.

The last two songs on the collection have a loose segue between them. "To Whom It May Concern" has a sound that easily fits in with the alternative rock trends that were starting during this time. However it is the catchy last song "Sin of the City" which is by far the best track in the album. It wraps the album up beautifully as it incorporates the rock, funk, darker lyrics, and even some of the old Duran Duran sounds into one package. This song could have easily burned up the dance floor in the clubs.

Finally the liner notes are very original. They are arranged to look like a scrapbook and each page is a work of art. It does production credits and some of the lyrics difficult to read, but it is by far one of the most original liner notes I have ever seen. This is one terrific collection. I think the deep Duran Duran fan will appreciate it and I also think Duran Duran gained a new fan base with this new direction. Highly recommended.

I have been a fan of this group since 1983. This has to be their best effort. Nick Rhodes is absolutely a GENIUS with the keyboards. It seems he is the only artist that really knows how to use his talent to compliment the song as a whole. If you listen to past albums, there is a definite progression to this album. Their earlier stuff sounds hollow compared to this. Their sound now is much more rich and mature (not that the early stuff wasn't good... it was!) EXCELLENT JOB FELLOWS! Rhodes is really showing off his abilities on this one. Simon Le Bon's voice and lyrics are absolutely hypnotic . . . as usual. Warren continues to prove his talent as a guitarist. EVERY song on this CD is very solid and well done. If you've ever had any doubts about the talent of Duran Duran, buy this CD. It will change your mind. I don't think any band is capable of pulling off such a broad range of styles like this one. Too bad the critics are so slow to get this concept.

This cd for me falls into the catagory of "I would never want to lose this cd, and if I do, it will be replaced ASAP!"

This Duran Duran album is a classic IMO. Ranks only second to my beloved Notorious album, but Wedding Album contains some rocking rocking tracks!

The way Duran Duran fused some new electronica sounds (like Come Undone, and Love Voodoo) with more acoustic-sounding tracks (like Ordinary World) is just a testament to their genius and cool music sense!

My track favorites are-Too Much Information (heavy on drums and guitar, very cool "harder" Duran!) Very fun driving song!

-Ordinary World..needs no explanation..just a real hot track..very somber, but also uplifting at the same time! Classic

-Love Voodoo-actually is one of the top 2 non single tracks for me. Very powerful and slinky..."Night after night I try to prove..that I can resist you"...very sexy! Very 'Come Undone' ish in production ... LOVE THIS SONG!

-Come Undone-classic DD! Great performed live in concert too

-None of the Above-Definitely a great Duran track..one of my favorite songs of all time! Cool fusing of electronica sounds and kind of acoustic guitar sounds! GREAT gem on this cd!

I also agree that this cd is an underrated gem from the '90's and an unbelievable DD cd!

I can't think of a band that's more '80s than Duran Duran, so it's ironic that the band released its most consistent record in 1993.

The song that brought me onboard was "Ordinary World", a sweeping, dramatic orchestral ballad that features an unforgettable acoustic-guitar riff, a great, confident Simon Le Bon lead vocal, and Warren Cuccurullo's fiercest guitar work. The album version on here is far superior to the truncated, remixed single version. "Come Undone" had one of the most morbid yet memorable hooks of that year ("Can't ever keep from falling apart"), and "Too Much Information" features unusually self-aware lyrics and opens the album on a strong note.

Duran Duran may be best known as a singles band, but I think it made a great record on this one. The band's output since then has been spotty, at best, but this disc is still a regular on my player.