Rio (Duran Duran album)


Rio is the second studio album by English new wave band Duran Duran, originally released worldwide on 10 May 1982. It reached number two in the United Kingdom and number one in Australia and Canada.
The album was re-released in the United States in November 1982. It earned a Gold disc on 1 March 1983, and was certified Platinum on 26 April 1983, eventually reaching Double Platinum status. It peaked at number six on the Billboard 200 album chart in the US on 12 March 1983, and remained on the chart for 129 weeks.

Recording

The first songs recorded for Rio were demo recordings of "Last Chance on the Stairway", "My Own Way", "New Religion" and "Like an Angel", all recorded at EMI's Manchester Square studio in August 1981, along with demos of "The Chauffeur" and "Save a Prayer" recorded by engineer Bob Lamb at his home studio. "My Own Way" was originally released as a single in November 1981, with "Like an Angel" as the B-side. The single version had a production influenced by disco and American R&B. It was re-recorded for the album with a significantly different arrangement and production. The rest of the album was recorded in the early months of 1982 at Air Studios in London with producer and engineer Colin Thurston.
The band experimented with different sounds to record the album. On the song "Lonely in Your Nightmare" John Taylor plays fretless bass to give the bass a more melodic sound. The ballad "Save a Prayer" was built around a delicate and complex sequencer track. "New Religion" has been described as containing "a rapping, schizophrenic Le Bon in conversation with a funky rhythm section". The intense "Hold Back the Rain" was edited down from the original almost ten minute recording. "The Chauffeur" is an all electronic piece created by Nick Rhodes with lyrics and vocals by Simon Le Bon.
The recording of the album also included the use of various sound effects such as tapes played in reverse, the sound of ice cubes dropped into a glass and excerpts from a BBC recording of nature sounds.

Promotion and release dates

The Rio album was first released worldwide on 10 May 1982, peaking at #2 in the UK in its second week of release. The image on the album's distinctive purple cover was painted by artist Patrick Nagel. The cover itself was designed by Malcolm Garrett.
John Taylor takes credit for the title. " was something I had thrown into the mix," he recalled in 2012. He was particularly fascinated with the idea of Brazil, and "Rio, to me, was shorthand for the truly foreign, the exotic, a cornucopia of earthly delights, a party that would never stop."
The second single, "Hungry Like the Wolf", was released in the UK on 4 May 1982. It peaked at #5 in the charts on 26 June 1982.
The band had their own plans and ambitions for promotion. They reunited with director Russell Mulcahy, and planned the release of a full length video album—eleven videos for the best songs off of the Duran Duran and Rio albums. The band travelled to Sri Lanka and Antigua between tour dates to film the memorable videos for the singles "Rio", "Hungry Like the Wolf" and "Save a Prayer", as well as the lesser-known "Lonely in Your Nightmare" and "Night Boat" — the latter video being a creepy zombiefest set on a deserted island.
While filming the videos, guitarist Andy Taylor contracted a tropical virus and was hospitalised on his return to England. This forced the delay of the band's European tour, and the record company decided to hold the release of the third single until the band was ready to promote it again.
"Save a Prayer" was finally released on 9 August 1982, and peaked at #2 on the UK charts in mid September 1982, becoming the album's biggest hit. On 1 November 1982, the single "Rio" was released worldwide. It peaked at #9 in the UK in December 1982.

US and Canada release

The United States and Canada version was first released on Capitol's Harvest Records label and had the same songs and mixes as the UK version, but did not perform well on the US Billboard chart.
Meanwhile, the band had worked with producer David Kershenbaum to create some new dance mixes for their twelve-inch club singles. In September, EMI collected the remixes and released them on an EP called Carnival. It included the songs "Rio", "Hold Back the Rain", "My Own Way", "Hungry Like the Wolf", and "New Religion", and was released in the United States, Canada, Spain, the Netherlands, Japan and Taiwan.
Following the success of the Kershenbaum remixes, Capitol changed its marketing strategy, selling Duran Duran in the US no longer as a New Romantic band but instead as a dance band. Frustrated with their lack of success in the US, the band capitalised on the moment and pressed Capitol to allow them to issue a remixed and remastered version of the Rio album in the United States and Canada. The company agreed, and brought Kershenbaum back to remix more songs from the album.
Remixed "Night Versions" of "Hungry Like the Wolf" and "Hold Back the Rain" were later released on CD on the compilation in 1998, and "My Own Way" was released in the 2003 Singles Box Set 1981–1985. On 3 December 1982, the Kershenbaum album remix was used for the "Hungry Like the Wolf" single. This was released in the US some six months after its initial UK release. The single included both the album version and the Carnival remix. It peaked at #3 in the US on 26 March 1983.
Part of the continued success of the album was due to the very popular videos, in heavy rotation on MTV. The video album Duran Duran was released to coincide with the US re-issue of the "Rio" single on 11 March 1983, four months after its original release. This single included the Kershenbaum 7-inch remix of "Rio" and peaked at #14 in US on 14 May 1983.

Versions on CD

Until 2009, all official versions of the Rio album released on CD used a version made specifically for the original CD release, which is nearly identical to the original UK album version, but with a shortened version of the video version of "Lonely in Your Nightmare", a previously unreleased alternate version of "Hold Back the Rain", and the UK single version of "Save a Prayer".
The booklet cover for the limited edition of the 2001 remaster used an alternate version of the famous Nagel cover painting, submitted by the artist along with the first when he completed the commission.
On 7 April 2009, Duran Duran's official website announced that Rio would be reissued as a 2 CD Collector's Edition on in the UK, and in the US. This edition includes the album's original UK vinyl release tracks, but adds substantially more to make this a definitive edition. This reissue reached #185 on the UK Albums Chart.

Reception and legacy

In 2000, Rio was ranked #98 in Q magazine's "100 Greatest British Albums". In 2003, it was listed at #65 in the NME "100 Greatest Albums of All Time". In 2004, CMJ ranked it as #1 in their "Top 20 Most-Played Albums of 1982". In 2008 it was ranked 24th best British album of all time in a joint HMV Q poll. It ranked #95 in Pitchfork's Top 100 Albums of the 1980s, and is included in the list 1001 Albums You Must Hear Before You Die In April 2013, Rio was voted number 3 in BBC Radio 2's Top 100 Favourite Albums of all time.
Three decades later, John Taylor still held the album in high regard. "The writing on Rio is fantastic, all out. Essential Duran Duran," he recalled in his 2012 memoir, In the Pleasure Groove. He also had high praise for the band's musicianship. "Every one of us is performing ... at the absolute peak of our talents," he wrote. "There is no showboating. Every part is thoughtful, considered, part of a greater whole."

Covers and tributes

The Duran Duran Tribute Album, a 1997 collection of cover versions, included the following tracks from Rio:
Other covers include:
All songs written and arranged by Duran Duran.

UK original LP: EMI 3411

;Side one
  1. "Rio" – 5:33
  2. "My Own Way" – 4:51
  3. "Lonely in Your Nightmare" – 3:50
  4. "Hungry Like the Wolf" – 3:41
  5. "Hold Back the Rain" – 3:59
;Side two
  1. "New Religion" – 5:31
  2. "Last Chance on the Stairway" – 4:21
  3. "Save a Prayer" – 5:33
  4. "The Chauffeur" – 5:10
;Side one
  1. "Rio" – 5:33
  2. "My Own Way" – 4:51
  3. "Lonely in Your Nightmare" – 3:50
  4. "Hungry Like the Wolf" – 3:41
  5. "Hold Back the Rain" – 3:59
;Side two
  1. "New Religion" – 5:31
  2. "Last Chance on the Stairway" – 4:21
  3. "Save a Prayer" – 5:33
  4. "The Chauffeur" – 5:12
;Side one
  1. "Rio" – 5:24
  2. "My Own Way" – 4:31
  3. "Lonely in Your Nightmare" – 4:52
  4. "Hungry Like the Wolf" – 4:11
  5. "Hold Back the Rain" – 6:32
;Side two
  1. "New Religion" – 5:31
  2. "Last Chance on the Stairway" – 4:18
  3. "Save a Prayer" – 5:33
  4. "The Chauffeur" – 5:12
;Side one
  1. "Rio" – 5:24
  2. "My Own Way" – 4:31
  3. "Lonely in Your Nightmare" – 4:52
  4. "Hungry Like the Wolf" – 5:14
  5. "Hold Back the Rain" – 6:32
;Side two
  1. "New Religion" – 5:31
  2. "Last Chance on the Stairway" – 4:18
  3. "Save a Prayer" – 5:33
  4. "The Chauffeur" – 5:12
  1. "Rio" – 5:33
  2. "My Own Way" – 4:51
  3. "Lonely in Your Nightmare" – 3:50
  4. "Hungry Like the Wolf" – 3:41
  5. "Hold Back the Rain" – 3:47
  6. "New Religion" – 5:31
  7. "Last Chance on the Stairway" – 4:18
  8. "Save a Prayer" – 5:25
  9. "The Chauffeur" – 5:12
  1. "Rio" – 5:33
  2. "My Own Way" – 4:51
  3. "Lonely in Your Nightmare" – 3:50
  4. "Hungry Like the Wolf" – 3:41
  5. "Hold Back the Rain" – 3:47
  6. "New Religion" – 5:31
  7. "Last Chance on the Stairway" – 4:18
  8. "Save a Prayer" – 5:25
  9. "The Chauffeur" – 5:12
Notes
Notes
This makes the remastered version available in iTunes a 29 track-version. Remastered by Steve Rooke at Abbey Road Studios.

Personnel

Duran Duran
Guest musician
Production

Weekly charts

Year-end charts

Chart Position
Canada Top Albums/CDs 9
US Billboard 20013

Certifications