This article appeared in the Atlanta Journal & Constitution:

Albums offer double dose of Duran Duran &endash; Tribute covers show staying power of group's hooks
by Doug Hamilton, staff writer

A Teen Beat dream, a commercial juggernaut, a surprising comeback story -- Duran Duran has been many things over the course of its 19-year career. But even the band's hard-core fans might admit that it hasn't exactly been worthy of a respectful musical homage. So what's with The Duran Duran Tribute Album? Fear not, pop snobs. This is a "tribute" in the postmodern, ironic sense, similar to recent "tributes" to the Carpenters and Saturday morning cartoon themes in which a bunch of smirky alternative acts get together to deconstruct and otherwise ridicule their subject. Here, the perpetrators are a passel of West Coast punk and ska bands, plus an ABBA tribute act thrown in for doubly ironic effect. But the impression you get isn't how clever these bands can be, it's how durable -- and flexible -- Duran Duran's songs are. Goldfinger may change the lyrics in "Rio" to "His name is Dio/Ronnie James Dio", but the tune's catchy chorus remains intact. And the weak reading of "Girls on Film" by Bjorn Again only makes you long to hear the coolly sensuous original. The best tracks -- Reel Big Fish's swinging ska take on "Hungry Like the Wolf" and the Mr. T. Experience's punked-up version of "Is There Something I Should Know?" -- walk the line between derision and affection, acknowledging that Simon LeBon and the boys might be hacks, but they're hacks with a knack for hooks.

Former trendsetters are wandering in search of theme in Medazzaland: The Duran Duran Tribute Album suggests that the group that gave us "Rio" and "The Reflex" is seen by it's contemporaries as an '80s artifact to be laughed at. But how does Duran Duran see itself ? It's hard to tell, judging from Medazzaland, the group's eighth studio album. The '90s have been good and bad for these new wave superstars who blazed trails in the early days of MTV with provocative, hedonistic videos. The group's 1993 self-titled album, a tasty slice of accessible pop, spawned two hit singles &endash; "Ordinary World" and "Come Undone" -- and reversed a long commercial slump. But bassist John Taylor left recently to pursue a solo career, leaving just two founding members, vocalist Simon LeBon and keyboardist Nick Rhodes (guitarist Warren Cuccurullo joined in 1989). This state of flux registers on the new album, which wanders aimlessly in search of a direction. The group tries to be cutting edge (the trip-hop title track) and retro ("Electric Barbarella"), anthemic ("Who Do You Think You Are ?") and mysterious ("Silva Halo"). The scattershot effect is off-putting, though occasionally a decent tune coalesces. "Electric Barbarella", the first single, would sound at home on Duran Duran's debut album, between "Planet Earth" and "Girls on Film", while the lovely ballad "Michael (You've Got A Lot To Answer For)" makes a nice showcase for LeBon's distinctive, keening vocals. Still, listening to the classic songs on the tribute album and Medazzaland back-to-back only shows you how much Duran Duran has lost its way. --Doug Hamilton