''Medazzaland'' is the ninth studio album by English
new wave band
Duran Duran
Duran Duran () are an English Rock music, rock band formed in Birmingham in 1978 by singer and bassist Stephen Duffy, keyboardist Nick Rhodes and guitarist/bassist John Taylor (bass guitarist), John Taylor. With the addition of drummer Roger ...
. It was released on 14 October 1997 by
Capitol Records
Capitol Records, LLC (known legally as Capitol Records, Inc. until 2007) is an American record label distributed by Universal Music Group through its Capitol Music Group imprint. It was founded as the first West Coast-based record label of note ...
. The album was never officially released physically in Europe until 2022, and was solely released in North America, Latin America and Japan. It reached number 58 on the
''Billboard'' 200 and number 66 on ''
RPM
Revolutions per minute (abbreviated rpm, RPM, rev/min, r/min, or with the notation min−1) is a unit of rotational speed or rotational frequency for rotating machines.
Standards
ISO 80000-3:2019 defines a unit of rotation as the dimensionl ...
''s albums chart.
The front cover features a painting of the band by artist Andrew Day, who created the album artwork, including a pastiche of
Patrick Nagel
Patrick Nagel (November 25, 1945 – February 4, 1984) was an American artist and illustrator. He created popular illustrations on board, paper, and canvas, most of which emphasize the female form in a distinctive style, descended from Art Dec ...
's iconic cover for ''
Rio
Rio or Río is the Portuguese, Spanish, Italian, and Maltese word for "river". When spoken on its own, the word often means Rio de Janeiro, a major city in Brazil.
Rio or Río may also refer to:
Geography Brazil
* Rio de Janeiro
* Rio do Sul, a ...
''.
Background
The album is the follow-up to the poorly received
covers album ''
Thank You
"''Thank you''" (often expanded to ''thank you very much'' or ''thanks a lot'', or informally abbreviated to ''thanks'' or alternately as ''many thanks''Geoffrey Leech, ''The Pragmatics of Politeness'' (2014), p. 200.) is a common expression of ...
'', and bassist
John Taylor left the band in January 1997 before recording was complete. With only three members remaining –
Nick Rhodes
Nick Rhodes (born Nicholas James Bates, 8 June 1962) is an English keyboardist and producer, best known as a founding member, keyboardist, and only continuous member of the band Duran Duran. He is also informally monikered as "The Controller ...
,
Simon Le Bon
Simon John Charles Le Bon (born 27 October 1958) is a British singer. He is best known as the lead vocalist and lyricist of the new wave band Duran Duran and its offshoot Arcadia. Le Bon has received three Ivor Novello Awards from the British ...
and
Warren Cuccurullo
Warren Bruce Cuccurullo (born December 8, 1956) is an American musician, singer-songwriter, restaurant owner and former body builder who first worked with Frank Zappa during the 1970s. He was also a founding member of Missing Persons in the 1980s ...
– Duran Duran wrote and recorded several new tracks for the album, and re-recorded songs previously done with Taylor. His work remains on only four songs. Cuccurullo later stated that most of the finished album was reworked
TV Mania
TV Mania was a British-American electronic band founded in 1995 that consisted of keyboardist Nick Rhodes and guitarist Warren Cuccurullo (both of Duran Duran), long-time Duran Duran keyboard tech and collaborator Mark Tinley (a.k.a. Mark Ty-Whar ...
material originally written by himself and Rhodes.
The dismal performance of the album led in part to the dissolution of the band's contract with
EMI
EMI Group Limited (originally an initialism for Electric and Musical Industries, also referred to as EMI Records Ltd. or simply EMI) was a British transnational conglomerate founded in March 1931 in London. At the time of its break-up in 201 ...
after almost two decades. EMI gave the band ownership rights and the master tapes to the ''Medazzaland'' album, as well as several unreleased audio and videotapes of their 1995 and 1997 concerts. It was rumoured that the band would independently release the album in the UK, but they went on to sign with
Hollywood Records
Hollywood Records is an American record label of the Disney Music Group. The label focuses in pop, rock, alternative, hip hop, and country genres, as well as specializing in mature recordings not suitable for the flagship Walt Disney Records l ...
and released ''
Pop Trash
''Pop Trash'' is the tenth studio album by English new wave band Duran Duran. It was released on 19 June 2000 by Hollywood Records. ''Pop Trash'' was the band's first release after parting ways with EMI, with whom they had been signed since 198 ...
'' instead. Even though ''Medazzaland'' was available in Europe as an import or digital download, it was only in 2021 (when the band signed a deal for the album with BMG), when it was officially released in the UK on various digital platforms. A physical 25th anniversary release on CD and coloured vinyl followed in 2022.
Singles
Prior to the album's release, the band shopped some of the tracks around Hollywood
movie studio
A film studio (also known as movie studio or simply studio) is a major entertainment company or motion picture company that has its own privately owned studio facility or facilities that are used to make films, which is handled by the production ...
s in an attempt to get some songs onto popular film
soundtrack album
A soundtrack album is any album that incorporates music directly recorded from the soundtrack of a particular feature film or television show. The first such album to be commercially released was Walt Disney's ''Snow White and the Seven Dwarfs'' ...
s.
Paramount Pictures
Paramount Pictures Corporation is an American film and television production company, production and Distribution (marketing), distribution company and the main namesake division of Paramount Global (formerly ViacomCBS). It is the fifth-oldes ...
eventually included "
Out of My Mind" on the soundtrack to the
Val Kilmer
Val Edward Kilmer (born December 31, 1959) is an American actor. Originally a stage actor, Kilmer found fame after appearances in comedy films, starting with ''Top Secret!'' (1984) and ''Real Genius'' (1985), as well as the military action film ...
film ''
The Saint
The Saint may refer to:
Fiction
* Simon Templar, also known as "The Saint", the protagonist of a book series by Leslie Charteris and subsequent adaptations:
** ''The Saint'' (film series) (1938–43), starring Louis Hayward, George Sanders an ...
''. The single featured future ''Medazzaland'' track "Silva Halo" as a B-side, along with a discarded album track, "Sinner or Saint", the title referencing the film.
In March 1997, the soundtrack and single for "Out of My Mind" were released internationally on
Virgin Records
Virgin Records is a record label owned by Universal Music Group. It originally founded as a British independent record label in 1972 by entrepreneurs Richard Branson, Simon Draper, Nik Powell, and musician Tom Newman. It grew to be a worldwid ...
, marking the first time a Duran Duran release had been released on an imprint other than EMI/Parlophone/Capitol. The single peaked at number 21 on the UK chart in May. The music video for "Out of My Mind" was filmed by director
Dean Karr
Dean Karr (born February 22, 1965) is an American photographer and director. A prolific creative, Karr has photographed dozens of album covers and directed a substantial amount of music videos, commercials, and films.
Early life and education ...
at
Český Krumlov Castle
Český Krumlov Castle is a castle in Český Krumlov in the South Bohemian Region of the Czech Republic. It dates back to 1240 when the first castle was built by the Vítkovci family, the main branch of the powerful Bohemian family Rosenberg.
...
in
Český Krumlov
Český Krumlov (; german: Krumau, , or ''Böhmisch Krumau'') is a town in the South Bohemian Region of the Czech Republic. The historic centre with the Český Krumlov Castle complex is protected by law as an urban monument reservation, and sin ...
, Czech Republic.
The lead single, "
Electric Barbarella
"Electric Barbarella" is the 29th single by Duran Duran, and the first official single from the album ''Medazzaland''. In 1997, the single and album were released only in the United States; "Electric Barbarella" was not issued as a single in t ...
" (a nod to the film ''
Barbarella'', from which the band took their name), was released on 16 September in the United States, and peaked at number 52 on the
''Billboard'' Hot 100 on 1 November. It was touted as the first ever song available for digital purchase/download on the internet, and a handful of different mixes were created for the song. An 'exclusive'
Dom T Dom or DOM may refer to:
People and fictional characters
* Dom (given name), including fictional characters
* Dom (surname)
* Dom La Nena (born 1989), stage name of Brazilian-born cellist, singer and songwriter Dominique Pinto
* Dom people, an et ...
remix was made available for download in the US for 99 cents by the company
Liquid Audio Liquid Audio Inc was a US software company based in Redwood City, California.
Formed in 1996, Liquid Audio developed a major standard, multiple software clients, and a client/server media distribution system for streaming and downloading audio on t ...
. However, this pioneering move annoyed many American retailers as they saw it as infringing on their retail territory and they either refused to stock the album or provided little to no promotion of the disc. The music video, directed by
Ellen Von Unwerth, involved a
robot sex doll and had to be mildly censored before receiving airplay on
MTV
MTV (Originally an initialism of Music Television) is an American cable channel that launched on August 1, 1981. Based in New York City, it serves as the flagship property of the MTV Entertainment Group, part of Paramount Media Networks, a di ...
or
VH1; by the time the modified video was delivered, the song had already fallen off the charts. The single artwork featured an illustration based on the model used in Von Unwerth's video and was created by artist Andrew Day, the first of his commissions for the band.
Release
The album was eventually released on 14 October 1997 in North America and Japan. Due to poor sales, plans for a UK release were pushed back, and, later, shelved indefinitely by EMI/Capitol. It was not physically released in any other area of the world for many years, although in July 2008 the album was made available to buy digitally through
iTunes Store
The iTunes Store is a digital media store operated by Apple Inc. It opened on April 28, 2003, as a result of Steve Jobs' push to open a digital marketplace for music. As of April 2020, iTunes offered 60 million songs, 2.2 million apps, 25,00 ...
in Europe and the US.
[Duran Duran Official Websit]
"Pop Trash and Medazzaland on iTunes!"
July 2008. In 2021, BMG picked up the rights to the album with a planned 25th anniversary release in 2022. The album was also available in Mexico (both in CD and cassette formats), Brazil, Argentina, and Venezuela.
Title and composition
The album's title was inspired by Le Bon's treatment with the mind-altering drug
midazolam
Midazolam, sold under the brand name Versed among others, is a benzodiazepine medication used for anesthesia and procedural sedation, and to treat severe agitation. It works by inducing sleepiness, decreasing anxiety, and causing a loss of a ...
during dental surgery, leaving him in a disconnected state for some time afterwards.
The music varies widely, from the sleazy bounce of "Electric Barbarella" and the dissonant "Big Bang Generation", to the bitter austerity of "Silva Halo" and the simple acoustic sweetness of "Michael You've Got a Lot to Answer For", concluding with the self-deprecating swagger of "Undergoing Treatment". Overall, the album has a heavily layered, processed feel, with clear influences from the
electronica
Electronica is both a broad group of electronic-based music styles intended for listening rather than strictly for dancing and a music scene that started in the early 1990s in the United Kingdom. In the United States, the term is mostly used to r ...
genre of the late 1990s.
Other notable songs on the album include "Medazzaland", the first Duran Duran song to feature Nick Rhodes, not Simon Le Bon, on vocals, and "So Long Suicide", a reaction to the
death of Kurt Cobain
On April 8, 1994, Kurt Cobain, the lead singer and guitarist of the American rock band Nirvana (band), Nirvana, was found dead at his home in Seattle, Washington (state), Washington. Forensics investigators later determined he had died three da ...
, among other things. The song "Buried in the Sand", with lyrics by Rhodes, was written about John Taylor's departure from the group. Le Bon has said that the song "Michael You've Got a Lot to Answer For", was written for his good friend
Michael Hutchence
Michael Kelland John Hutchence (22 January 1960 – 22 November 1997) was an Australian musician, singer-songwriter and actor. Hutchence co-founded the rock band INXS, which sold over 75 million records worldwide and was inducted into th ...
, former lead singer of the band
INXS
INXS (a word play, phonetic play on "in excess") were an Australian Rock music, rock band, formed as The Farriss Brothers in 1977 in Sydney, New South Wales. The band's founding members were bassist Garry Gary Beers, main composer and keyboar ...
. Hutchence died just a month after the album's release.
Track listing
All tracks are produced by TV Mania in association with Syn Pro Tokyo except where noted.
;Notes
* signifies an associate producer
* signifies an additional producer
;Sample credits
* "Buried in the Sand" contains a sample of "Raga Jaijaiwanti" by
Ustad Sultan Khan
Ustad Sultan Khan (15 April 1940 – 27 November 2011) was an Indian ''sarangi'' player and classical vocalist belonging to ''Sikar Gharana''. He was one of the founding members of the Indian fusion group Tabla Beat Science, with Zakir Huss ...
(courtesy of Navras Records)
Personnel
Duran Duran
*
Nick Rhodes
Nick Rhodes (born Nicholas James Bates, 8 June 1962) is an English keyboardist and producer, best known as a founding member, keyboardist, and only continuous member of the band Duran Duran. He is also informally monikered as "The Controller ...
– keyboards, spoken word (track 1), synth bass (track 13)
*
Simon Le Bon
Simon John Charles Le Bon (born 27 October 1958) is a British singer. He is best known as the lead vocalist and lyricist of the new wave band Duran Duran and its offshoot Arcadia. Le Bon has received three Ivor Novello Awards from the British ...
– vocals (tracks 2 to 13)
*
Warren Cuccurullo
Warren Bruce Cuccurullo (born December 8, 1956) is an American musician, singer-songwriter, restaurant owner and former body builder who first worked with Frank Zappa during the 1970s. He was also a founding member of Missing Persons in the 1980s ...
– guitar, bass (tracks 3 to 6 and 8 to 10), synth bass (track 13), background vocals (track 5)
Additional musicians
*
John Taylor – bass (tracks 1, 2, 7 and 11)
*
Steve Alexander – live drums (tracks 1, 2, 5, 7, 10 and 11)
*
Anthony J. Resta
Anthony J. Resta is a Canadian record producer and musician. A multi-instrumentalist, he is a known for his use of vintage audio equipment. He has earned twelve RIAA certification, RIAA certified gold and multi-platinum awards and has been featur ...
– live drums (tracks 2, 3, 5, and 8 to 13), mixing (tracks 1 to 5 and 7 to 13), additional production (tracks 1, 8 and 13), additional rhythm and programming
* Dave DiCenso – live drums (track 4)
*
Tim Garland
Tim Garland (born 19 October 1966) is a British jazz saxophonist, composer, and bandleader. His compositions draw from modern jazz and classical concert music.
Career
Garland was born in Ilford, Essex and grew up in Canterbury, Kent. He starte ...
– treated soprano sax solo (track 9)
*
Talvin Singh
Talvin Singh OBE (born 1970) is an English musician, producer, and composer. A tabla player, he is known for creating an innovative fusion of Indian classical music and drum and bass. Singh is generally considered involved with an electronica ...
– tabla and santoor (tracks 4)
* Jake Shapiro – cello (track 10)
*
Ustad Sultan Khan
Ustad Sultan Khan (15 April 1940 – 27 November 2011) was an Indian ''sarangi'' player and classical vocalist belonging to ''Sikar Gharana''. He was one of the founding members of the Indian fusion group Tabla Beat Science, with Zakir Huss ...
– sarangi (track 8)
* Sally Stapleton – background vocals (track 2)
* Madeleine Farley – background vocals (track 6)
* Mayko Cuccurullo – ultra high vocal effects (track 1)
*
Clem Burke
Clement Burke (born Clement Anthony Bozewski; November 24, 1954) is an American musician who is best known as the drummer for the band Blondie from 1975, shortly after the band formed, throughout the band's entire career. He also played drums f ...
– live drum fill (track 3)
Production
*
TV Mania
TV Mania was a British-American electronic band founded in 1995 that consisted of keyboardist Nick Rhodes and guitarist Warren Cuccurullo (both of Duran Duran), long-time Duran Duran keyboard tech and collaborator Mark Tinley (a.k.a. Mark Ty-Whar ...
– mixing (track 6), production
* Syn Pro Tokyo – associate producer
*
Mark Tinley
Mark Ty-Wharton (born Mark Tinley; 18 March 1963) is a British music technologist, informal logician and public speaker who specialises in presentations using sound art. He is best known for his work as a guitarist, programmer, sound engineer and ...
– mixing (track 6), engineering and programming
* Tim Paddock – additional engineering at Metropolis Studios
* Bob St. John – mixing (tracks 1 to 5 and 7 to 13), mix engineering, additional production (tracks 1, 8 and 13)
* Gareth Ashton – mixing assistant
*
Dave Collins
David S. Collins (born October 20, 1952) is a former outfielder in Major League Baseball from to .
Collins is one of three players to have made it to the major leagues who played for the Rapid City Post 22 American Legion baseball program in ...
– mastering (tracks 1 to 11 and 13)
* Henk Kooistra – mastering (track 12)
* Duran Duran – art direction
* Andrew Day – art direction, artwork, photography
*
Ellen von Unwerth – photography
* Katrin Geilhausen – photography
Charts
Notes
References
Bibliography
*
External Links
*
{{Authority control
1997 albums
Capitol Records albums
Duran Duran albums