This album comes to me in a gray suit with the sleeves pushed up and seduces me away to frolic on its yacht in Saint-Tropez while paparazzi snap pics of us from a helicopter. Duran Duran captured all the glamour, energy and biggness of the 80’s right from the intro to the title track, with its syncopated synth, busy, funky bass line, and sultry saxophone overlaid with growling and roaring at the climax. What a rush! I was struck by “New Religion,” how much it reminded me of RHCP–that bass! The album is consistently strong, but the other two classics here are “Hungry Like the Wolf” and “Save a Prayer.” I'll just take this moment to put it out in the universe somewhere how much I love “Save a Prayer.” I just can't get enough of this song; it thrills and mesmerizes me still, though I have heard it loads of times. This is one of those kinds of songs that, as I've learned over the years, is like catnip to me. Moody, minor keys, sort of mysterious, sensual, melodic but with a little dissonance, rhythmic and grounded with that bass. Sometimes I mention songs like these and Joel will say, “Oh yeah, Chino covered that.” So apparently Chino Moreno shares this specific taste. He should cover “Save a Prayer!”