There aren't that many Halloween albums out there and so tip your masks to for giving us a treat this spooky season.
鈥淒anse Macabre鈥� is a 13-track 鈥� even the number is unsettling 鈥� mix of playfully dark original tunes and some seasonably appropriate covers, like Talking Heads鈥� "Psycho Killer" and Billie Eilish鈥檚 "Bury a Friend." It all works better than you expected, a seminal '80s band luxuriating in the thick synth dance hooks of an over-the-top holiday.
The 鈥� a gothic slice of disco with an arch Simon Le Bon singing the band's signature word soup: 鈥淶ombie in the back room, nuns in the bed/Kids in KISS makeup toasting the bread.鈥�
The band's original lineup 鈥� Le Bon, Nick Rhodes, Roger Taylor, John Taylor and Andy Taylor 鈥� gather for a fine 鈥淩io鈥�-era sounding 鈥淣ightboat鈥� and the unmistakably funky enlivens 鈥淏lack Moonlight,鈥� the album's high point.
But there are also some nasty tricks, like the band's quizzical take on Eilish鈥檚 鈥淏ury a Friend.鈥� They've gone big when the original was brilliantly small and Le Bon has adopted a slight Eastern European accent, maybe going for a vampiric feel. 鈥淰haht do you vhant from me? Vhy don't you run from me?鈥� he sings. It's a total car crash.
Better is the cover of The Rolling Stones鈥� 鈥淧aint It Black,鈥� while their 鈥淧sycho Killer鈥� 鈥� featuring 鈥� is a cool, funky take. Duran Duran do a respectful cover of The Specials鈥� 鈥淕host Town鈥� but they unwittingly unspookify it with too many horns.
Listeners who get halfway through the band's original 鈥淪uper Lonely Freak鈥� will suddenly 鈥� and not quite seamlessly 鈥� get an extended blast of Rick James' 鈥淪uper Freak.鈥� It's like biting into a Snickers but it transforms into a Starburst 鈥� not altogether unwelcome but weird nonetheless.
Duran Duran are better off just sticking with their own music and ditching the covers. Halloween may be all about pretending to be someone else, but the boys in Duran should just be themselves.
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AP music reviews:
Mark Kennedy, The Associated Press
