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Duran Duran return
By RICK OVERALL
Ottawa Sun

Duran Duran has come full circle.

The boys have gone from trendy new romantics to up-hill-and-on-the-way-out to rarified cool dudes on the edge of electronica -- all in one career. And now the band has hit its stride again with a blazing new disc titled Medazzaland. Currently rolling through a pair of Canadian stops, including Montreal on Sunday, the band seems refreshed in its new setup as trio. Nick Rhodes says they're happy about the primarily positive reaction to the disc and single "Electric Barbarella".

"As always we do tend to get a mixed reaction to our work but for us the main thing is that we are very proud about this album. We knew we had to make something really strong just to prove the relevance of Duran Duran." Rhodes says a lot of the problem with DD's image came from misunderstanding.

"When the band exploded and was all over MTV and MuchMusic we gained a huge audience but we lost a lot with it because the critics suddenly didn't want to know. It's been difficult to convince people we were something other than what was on the videos."

Constant hybridizing has been a way of life for this band, which most recently lost long time member John Taylor.

"With each album we feel like a brand new band and the public may be wondering if this will be a Duran Duran that we like. It's not as cut and dry as a new Rolling Stones record because we're constantly striving for new heights."

Medazzaland is one of the very best the band has recorded and is so because it covers a lot of mood and texture -- from the thumping "Big Bang Generation" to the exquisite layering of "Midnight Sun".

"All my favorite albums by other people are all over the place. The Beatles' White Album is like that because is goes together song by song and not necessarily in any sort of sequence. We flit from one thing to another and we as people like so much music ourselves that it rubs off. Duran Duran is at the end of the day the sum total of everything we've ever listened to and liked."

Rhodes isn't quite sure what to make of the fact that so many young fans speak the name Duran Duran in glowing terms &endash; there's even a tribute CD on the racks.

"This phenomenon seems to fluctuate and I guess it boils down to the fact that I'm just very glad to see some people have discovered us for the first time. The real fun of recording is getting through to people. We want people to dance to it and hear it on the radio. It's important to reach an audience."