Big Thing
is
Duran Duran
's most disappointing album, mainly because the band sounds cold and extremely isolated from their music. Both
"I Don't Want Your Love"
and
"All She Wants Is"
made it into the Top 40, but the album only climbed as high as number 24 on the charts. For
,
chose
novelty
over
pop
conventionalism, giving
a tawdry, unkempt feel that does emit droplets of
charm, while
grinds and clanks along with a rather unfavorable tempo, which gained most of its attention because of its unorthodox style.
was now making music apropos for seedy burlesque parlors while surrendering their
roots, which many fans just couldn't get used to.
is short on inviting melodies, attractive rhythms, or hooks of any sort. Instead, the band opted for femme fatale lyrics and emotionless rhythms, lost in a bizarre no-man's land of danceclub
pop/rock
. Outside of the two singles, both
"Do You Believe in Shame"
(a number 30 hit in the U.K.) and
"Lake Shore Driving"
hold up the best, but efforts such as
"Palomino,"
"Too Late Marlene,"
and the title track lack an established feel, sounding more like experiments than
rock
songs. Throughout the whole of
seems more interested in stringing together ambiguous, unconcentrated musical utterances than creating any form of pleasurable music. ~ Mike DeGagne