I got my hands on the recently released Duran Duran – Rio DVD, which gets the documentary treatment from Eagle Vision’s excellent Classic Albums video series. You’ve probably seen Classic Albums on VH-1 Classic featuring Meat Loaf’s Bat Out Of Hell, Def Leppard’s Hysteria, Queen’s A Night At The Opera, etc.

I first discovered the series when I moved into my new house and got my first DVR. I set my DVR to record every single scheduled episode and after watching a couple of episodes, I was HOOKED!

The television broadcasts run an hour in length, so one of the benefits of picking up the DVD editions is that there is always bonus material. Typically there is at least 30 minutes of additional footage, and the Duran Duran DVD packs on an extra hour for a total running time of 124 minutes! And by the way, the bonus material isn’t the typical leftover interview outtakes – these are fully produced unused segments.

The Classic Albums DVD succeeds in all of the areas in which former Duran Duran guitar player Andy Taylor’s recent DD book failed and finally delivers a truly interesting portrait of Duran Duran in the 80s. If you’ve seen any of the Classic Albums videos, you know that one of the best parts of the series, is seeing the artist break down isolated tracks (drum tracks, vocal tracks, etc.) in a studio from the original multi-track tapes. Hearing Rhodes’ isolated keyboard parts and tales on how they achieved particular sounds and effects on Rio is choice stuff. Andy Taylor is of course absent from the interviews on this DVD, but is well represented in the discussion and amazing archival live footage from the period interspersed throughout the program.

Duran Duran – Classic Albums : RIO Sneak Preview

There is plenty of material on this DVD that surprised even me, the huge Duran Duran fan. Learning that Simon LeBon was inspired lyrically by Springsteen while writing “The Chauffeur,” for example. Some of the best material on the DVD can be found once you get to the bonus segments, particularly the lengthy discussion by Duran Duran’s former management detailing what it took to finally break the band in the U.S. There’s also plenty of discussion/insight about the band’s legendary music videos and also interviews with the designers who did the album artwork for Rio. I realized last night that even though I thought I did, I don’t have the Duran Duran videos on DVD. I’ll need to take care of that ASAP!

I’ve seen at least one episode of Classic Albums where the featured band looked bored discussing the album, and that certainly isn’t the case here. In fact, I was surprised at how engaged Duran Duran members were in the interviews for this DVD. It’s no surprise that they remain proud of their achievements with Rio after all of these years. Duran Duran – Rio is essential viewing for DD fans and children of the 80s who will love this DVD. Duran Duran – Rio features new interviews with the entire classic DD lineup minus Andy Taylor, former manager Paul Berrow, Russell Mulcahy who directed the videos, John Sykes from MTV, and others that were a key part of Duran Duran’s success in the 80s.

Relevant Links:

Purchase Classic Albums: Duran Duran – Rio from Amazon: DVD

Duran Duran official website

Eagle Vision official website