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Red Carpet Massacre

EMAILPRINTby Duran Duran

Duran Duran reviews
61
8.6 User Score:

Generally favorable reviews

Based on 20 critic reviews
How did we calculate this?

Based on 57 votes
Read user comments
Rate this album >

Album Info

Label: Epic

Release Date: 13 November 2007

Discs: 1 disc

Genre(s): Rock, Pop

Summary

The band's first new album since 2004 finds them without singer/guitarist Andy Taylor and featuring guests Timberland and Justin Timberlake.

What The Critics Said

All critic scores are converted to a 100-point scale. If a critic does not indicate a score, we assign a score based on the general impression given by the text of the review. Learn more...

83

Entertainment Weekly

Duran Duran have updated their sound just enough to feel relevant, without embarrassing themselves in the process--no mean feat for a band in the throes of a midlife crisis.

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80

Amazon.com

The contributions of that tag-team of hitmakers take nothing away from the tightness and characteristic chic of the band--that they enhance the hypnotic sheen of Duran Duran, rather than subjugate it--makes a certain sense.

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70

Boston Globe

While Simon Le Bon's tenor is still in top form, his lyrical prowess remains hit and miss as do some of the late-in-the-album tracks. But this is one record the diehard Durannies should find room for in their collections.

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70

All Music Guide

While Duran Duran have worked steadily since their 1993 comeback, "The Wedding Album," they haven't always sounded as stylish and creatively tuned-in as they do on 2007's Red Carpet Massacre.

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70

Blender

With Simon LeBon sharpening his typically abstract lyrics and everyone bolstering the contrasting, constant hooks, Timbaland perfects the rock-techno fusion his solo album fumbled, while Duran emphasize their willfully plastic extremes. They’ve never sounded this pretty and severe.

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60

PopMatters

Red Carpet Massacre sounds like a remix of a great Duran Duran album, and for that it’s merely good.

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60

NOW Magazine

So, Danja hooked up Duran Duran with some seriously dope beats and nasty Neu-ish grooves for Red Carpet Massacre, way hipper stuff than they even know. The downside is that Simon LeBon is still singing and writing all the lame lyrics.

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60

Rolling Stone

Timberland gives the Fab Five a sleek funk track on 'Nite-Runner,' which could have been a leftover from "FutureSex/LoveSounds." Justin Timberlake even arrives to gloss it up--as far as Duran Duran are concerned, the union of the Timber-Snake is on the rise.

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60

The Guardian

The group's decision to concentrate on what keyboardist Nick Rhodes calls "the groove factor" has resulted in one of their more adventurous releases, in the sense that there's plenty of groove, but not much of the tunefulness that was behind their biggest hits.

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60

Billboard

Simon LeBon and company have a lot of baggage, and their latest effort doesn't match the neon-lit glory days of yesteryear.

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60

Observer Music Monthly

Between the odd pretty guitar motif ('She's Too Much') and marching drum roll ('The Valley') the pile-driving beatwork and rapping cameos only highlight the fact that the weakest element here is Duran themselves.

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60

Uncut

If you’re willing to overlook Simon Le Bon’s always peculiar lyrics and occasionally strained singing, 'Red Carpet Massacre' is actually pretty impressive.

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60

Spin

Justin Timberlake, Timbaland anf Timbo's partner Nate "Danja" Hills, provide a reasonably good return on investment. [Dec 2007, p.118]

60

Mojo

Rather than sounding like an '80s soft-rock rehash, they have worked with up-to-the-minute beat merchants Timbaland and Nate 'Danja' Hills to create a dramtic, contemporary pop concoction. [Dec 2007, p.98]

60

Q Magazine

Less impressive are the band's own art-rock statements. [Dec 2007, p.116]

50

Sputnikmusic

Red Carpet Massacre feels almost like a weird sort of jam session between band and producers, and the quality is about as patchy and uneven as that description implies.

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50

Dot Music

Red Carpet Massacre is largely just a ham-fisted example of what happens when fame, ego and squandered major label cash equate to a sad, missed opportunity.

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50

Vibe

When all three work with the group, they invigorate Red Carpet....But when Danja is left to his own devices, problems arise. [Dec 2007, p.108]

40

New Musical Express

And it sounds... bloated and uncomfortable. Time for another re-think.

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38

Pitchfork

The problem isn't that Red Carpet Massacre pushes Duran Duran out of their comfort zone. The problem is that they sound just a little too comfortable there to make the most of bad situation.

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What Our Users Said

The average user rating for this album is 8.6 (out of 10) based on 57 User Votes

Note: User votes are NOT included in the Metascore calculation.

Terry S. gave it a9:
Duran Duran achieves the best of both culture and nature here. They deliver high art and innovation but not at the expense of a rhythm that hooks into your visceral substrate and raises your blood pressure. I prefer DDs own tracks (The Valley; Box Full O Honey ; Tricked Out ; and Last Man Standing) to the collaborative works but Skin Divers is a seamless work. I do think DD is overrating Falling Down and I'll never really understand who Nite Runner is supposed to appeal to. These tracks strike a juvenile chord that shows Timberlake's handprints (sound very Boy Band), but I loved the album overall. I just wish DD produced more tracks like The Valley (my new favorite). I don't understand why the album received such negative reviews by the music pundits. However the album might deviate from the ideal (and our high standard for DD), even their 3rd or 4th best track is better than anything else I hear on the billboard charts.

Fran gave it a9:
Fresh and contemporary Durans groovin' on the 21st century!

jeff f gave it an8:
i listened to this album free, 8 times before buying itbecause i havnt liked an entire duran duran album since notorious. And even though i wanted a harder rocking more mysterious sound from them, i couldnt help but fall for the infectious melodies and footmoving rhythmns. This is just a really fun, dance-pop record, with a few slow songs thrown in, and theres not a bad song in he bunch, theyre all as catchy as hell. Couldnt keep up my resistance, i had to buy it!

Rayne gave it a9:
It seemed that Timbaland's help did pretty much good to DD sound. These songs are just next to perfection!!!

Objective Guy gave it a6:
Hmm...an example of how user reviews can't really be used since too many dedicated fans bias the score....

Imrich L. gave it a10:
The best one since Notorious.

Majo gave it a10:
Great, I like it!!! Best album since Big Thing! All songs are fantastic except Falling Down, because this track is too sweet for me. My favorites are She´s Too Much, Tricked Out, Zoom In and Nite-Runner.

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