Liberty (album)
Encyclopedia
Liberty is the sixth studio album
by Duran Duran
, released on . It entered the top 10 in the UK albums chart, and garnered a #6 hit for the single "Serious" in Japan.
and drummer Sterling Campbell
were made permanent band members and given songwriting credits, although Campbell would leave in early 1991, before the band began work on their subsequent hit The Wedding Album
.
Writing and rehearsing for the album took place intermittently between May and July 1989; demo sessions
took place in August and September, and final recording began on 9 October at Olympic Studios
, with producer Chris Kimsey
and engineer Chris Potter
. Recording, production and overdubbing
of the many keyboard and vocal layers dragged on until March 1990, and the result was an album that many fans and critics considered bland and overproduced.
In a 1998 interview with Goldmine
magazine, bassist John Taylor admitted that he was struggling with his drug addictions during recording of the album. He said, "When we were in rehearsal, it seemed like we had a great album, but we weren't able to parlay it into a great album in the studio, whatever. I can just remember smoking hash oil
, that's all I can really remember about making that album."
Vocalist Simon Le Bon
commented "We went into a barn in Sussex and started jamming away, and before we got finished, it was like, 'Right we've got the album, let's go and record it now.' And I don't think we got it right; I don't think we were paying enough attention. We were quite self-conscious at the time as well, the way things had been going, and it kind of made us stand outside of ourselves to do the album. But out of that came two of the best songs Duran's ever come up with, 'Serious' and 'My Antarctica,' they're really, really beautiful songs. I don't think it's a bad album, but there's definitely weak spots on it, definitely. I mean, something like 'Violence Of Summer
,' it just didn't have a proper chorus, great verse though. Just not paying enough attention, we just lost our concentration."
A bootleg recording
of the demo sessions for the album, titled Didn't Anybody Tell You? surfaced in 1999. Many unreleased, scrapped songs from the Liberty sessions were heard by the public for the first time:
When asked about the bootleg, John Taylor said, "I like coming across things that I've forgotten about. That I've forgotten that we recorded. That's what's really exciting about the Didn't Anybody Tell You bootleg, because there's so many songs on there that never got finished. They just take me back to that moment. Actually, what I like about that album is that the Liberty album - when we were rehearsing it, when we were writing it was gonna be a great album. I really felt it was gonna be a great album. When we got in the studio I fell apart and the production just wasn't right. It turned out to be a very mediocre album, but at the demo stage, which is what that [bootleg] album is all about, I think there's a great album in there. Could have been great songs."
with:
Album
An album is a collection of recordings, released as a single package on gramophone record, cassette, compact disc, or via digital distribution. The word derives from the Latin word for list .Vinyl LP records have two sides, each comprising one half of the album...
by Duran Duran
Duran Duran
Duran Duran are an English band, formed in Birmingham in 1978. They were one of the most successful bands of the 1980s and a leading band in the MTV-driven "Second British Invasion" of the United States...
, released on . It entered the top 10 in the UK albums chart, and garnered a #6 hit for the single "Serious" in Japan.
Recording
Liberty is the first Duran Duran album to feature songwriting credits outside the original five band members. Guitarist Warren CuccurulloWarren Cuccurullo
Warren Bruce Cuccurullo in Brooklyn, New York is an American rock musician who worked with Frank Zappa, was a founding member of Missing Persons, and has been a long term member of Duran Duran. He also has some notoriety in the porn industry after making nude appearances in a magazine and...
and drummer Sterling Campbell
Sterling Campbell
Sterling Campbell in New York City, New York, is an American rock drummer who has worked with numerous high-profile acts. He rose to attention in 1986, touring with Cyndi Lauper on her her True Colors World Tour, in 1986, and in 1987, joined Duran Duran...
were made permanent band members and given songwriting credits, although Campbell would leave in early 1991, before the band began work on their subsequent hit The Wedding Album
Duran Duran (1993 album)
Duran Duran is the seventh studio album and the second self-titled album by Duran Duran, released on 23 February 1993. The cover art by Nick Egan features wedding photos from the parents of the four band members.Recording of the album was completed in early 1992 with an impending release by...
.
Writing and rehearsing for the album took place intermittently between May and July 1989; demo sessions
Demo (music)
A demo version or demo of a song is one recorded for reference rather than for release. A demo is a way for a musician to approximate their ideas on tape or disc, and provide an example of those ideas to record labels, producers or other artists...
took place in August and September, and final recording began on 9 October at Olympic Studios
Olympic Studios
Olympic Studios was a renowned independent commercial recording studio located at 117 Church Road, Barnes, South West London, England. The studio is best known for the huge number of famous rock and pop recordings made there from the late 1960s onward....
, with producer Chris Kimsey
Chris Kimsey
Christopher Kenneth Kimsey is a record producer, mixer and musician most famous for having co-produced The Rolling Stones' Undercover and Steel Wheels albums...
and engineer Chris Potter
Chris Potter (producer)
Chris Potter is a British music producer and mixer, most famous for his work as long-term collaborator and producer of The Verve and Richard Ashcroft....
. Recording, production and overdubbing
Overdubbing
Overdubbing is a technique used by recording studios to add a supplementary recorded sound to a previously recorded performance....
of the many keyboard and vocal layers dragged on until March 1990, and the result was an album that many fans and critics considered bland and overproduced.
In a 1998 interview with Goldmine
Goldmine (magazine)
Goldmine, established in 1974, is an American magazine that focuses on the collectors' market for records, tapes, CDs, and music-related memorabilia. Each issue features news articles, interviews, discographies, histories, current reviews on recording stars of the past and present. Discographies...
magazine, bassist John Taylor admitted that he was struggling with his drug addictions during recording of the album. He said, "When we were in rehearsal, it seemed like we had a great album, but we weren't able to parlay it into a great album in the studio, whatever. I can just remember smoking hash oil
Hash oil
Hash oil is a resinous matrix of cannabinoids produced by a solvent extraction of cannabis. Hash oil is a concentrated product with a high THC content, which generally varies between 70% and 90%. Related honey oil is a specific type of hash oil made from the more potent parts of the cannabis plant...
, that's all I can really remember about making that album."
Vocalist Simon Le Bon
Simon Le Bon
Simon John Charles Le Bon is an English musician, best known as the lead singer, lyricist and musician of the band Duran Duran and its offshoot, Arcadia.-Early life:...
commented "We went into a barn in Sussex and started jamming away, and before we got finished, it was like, 'Right we've got the album, let's go and record it now.' And I don't think we got it right; I don't think we were paying enough attention. We were quite self-conscious at the time as well, the way things had been going, and it kind of made us stand outside of ourselves to do the album. But out of that came two of the best songs Duran's ever come up with, 'Serious' and 'My Antarctica,' they're really, really beautiful songs. I don't think it's a bad album, but there's definitely weak spots on it, definitely. I mean, something like 'Violence Of Summer
Violence Of Summer
"Violence of Summer " is the 21st single by Duran Duran, and the first single from the 1990 Liberty album.Having finished the 1980s with the Decade singles compilation, Duran Duran found the 1990s a new challenge, in which success would initially elude them...
,' it just didn't have a proper chorus, great verse though. Just not paying enough attention, we just lost our concentration."
A bootleg recording
Bootleg recording
A bootleg recording is an audio or video recording of a performance that was not officially released by the artist or under other legal authority. The process of making and distributing such recordings is known as bootlegging...
of the demo sessions for the album, titled Didn't Anybody Tell You? surfaced in 1999. Many unreleased, scrapped songs from the Liberty sessions were heard by the public for the first time:
- "Bottleneck"
- "Money on Your Side"
- "Dream Nation"
- "In Between Woman"
- "Worth Waiting For"
- "My Family" (played live 1989)
When asked about the bootleg, John Taylor said, "I like coming across things that I've forgotten about. That I've forgotten that we recorded. That's what's really exciting about the Didn't Anybody Tell You bootleg, because there's so many songs on there that never got finished. They just take me back to that moment. Actually, what I like about that album is that the Liberty album - when we were rehearsing it, when we were writing it was gonna be a great album. I really felt it was gonna be a great album. When we got in the studio I fell apart and the production just wasn't right. It turned out to be a very mediocre album, but at the demo stage, which is what that [bootleg] album is all about, I think there's a great album in there. Could have been great songs."
Track listing
- "Violence of Summer (Love's Taking Over)" – 4:22
- "Liberty" – 5:01
- "Hothead" – 3:31
- "Serious" – 4:21
- "All Along the Water" – 3:50
- "My Antarctica" – 5:01
- "First Impression" – 5:28
- "Read My Lips" – 4:30
- "Can You Deal With It" – 3:47
- "Venice Drowning" – 5:13
- "Downtown" – 5:23
Bonus disc (Japan only)
As with the previous release of Big Thing, Toshiba-EMI would release Liberty in a two-disc set, with a 3-inch CD (CD3) of remixes:- "Yo Bad Azizi" – 3:03
- "Throb" – 4:25
- "Violence of Summer (Love's Taking Over) (The Story Mix)" – 3:18
Singles
- "Violence Of Summer (Love's Taking Over)Violence Of Summer"Violence of Summer " is the 21st single by Duran Duran, and the first single from the 1990 Liberty album.Having finished the 1980s with the Decade singles compilation, Duran Duran found the 1990s a new challenge, in which success would initially elude them...
" (July 1990) - "Serious" (October 1990)
Personnel
Duran Duran are:- Simon Le BonSimon Le BonSimon John Charles Le Bon is an English musician, best known as the lead singer, lyricist and musician of the band Duran Duran and its offshoot, Arcadia.-Early life:...
- Vocals - Nick RhodesNick RhodesNick Rhodes is an English musician, is best known as the keyboardist of the pop rock band Duran Duran...
- Keyboards - John Taylor - Bass
- Warren CuccurulloWarren CuccurulloWarren Bruce Cuccurullo in Brooklyn, New York is an American rock musician who worked with Frank Zappa, was a founding member of Missing Persons, and has been a long term member of Duran Duran. He also has some notoriety in the porn industry after making nude appearances in a magazine and...
- Guitar - Sterling CampbellSterling CampbellSterling Campbell in New York City, New York, is an American rock drummer who has worked with numerous high-profile acts. He rose to attention in 1986, touring with Cyndi Lauper on her her True Colors World Tour, in 1986, and in 1987, joined Duran Duran...
- Drums
with:
- John JonesJohn Jones (record producer)John Idris Jones is a musician and record producer who has worked with Duran Duran and many high-profile rock and pop musicians.-Background:...
- Programming and additional keyboards - Tessa NilesTessa NilesTessa Niles is an English singer, best known as a backing singer for a wide variety of artists.-Early life and career:Born in Kent, Niles began her professional singing career, as both a lead and a backing vocalist, in 1979...
- Background Vocals - Carol KenyonCarol KenyonCarol Kenyon , is a British singer. She was born c. 1959.Although primarily known as a session vocalist on many albums and singles by a variety of prominent artists, as well as in many concerts, Kenyon has also released several singles as a solo artist...
- Background Vocals - Bernard FowlerBernard FowlerBernard Fowler is an American musician, songwriter, producer, and actor. He has provided backing vocals with The Rolling Stones for over 20 years on recordings and tours, and has been a featured guest vocalist on the majority of solo albums released by the members of that band. He has also been a...
- Background Vocals - Stan HarrisonStan HarrisonStan Harrison is an American saxophonist who is also accomplished in playing other woodwind instruments, namely the horn, flute and clarinet. He has also written music for television. Harrison released his first solo album The Ties That Blind in 2000 on his own record label...
- Saxophone - Roddy LorimerRoddy LorimerRoddy Lorimer is a Scottish musician who has performed with a number of bands, including Blur, Gene, The Rolling Stones, The Who, Eric Clapton, Suede and The Waterboys. He is currently a member of the horn section Kick Horns....
- Trumpet - Luis JardimLuís JardimLuís Alberto Figueira Gonçalves Jardim is a Portuguese percussionist, born in the Madeira Island, best known for his work with producer Trevor Horn.-Family:Jardim is a cousin of Alberto João Jardim...
- Percussion