For October, the Mental Jukebox is dialing it way back to the eighties and going deep. Deep cuts have always been an important element of music listening to me because they’re often the songs that resonate with me most. Deep cuts are usually the ones that the true fans appreciate most. I like my singles and hits, but I love my deep cuts.
Most fans say Rio is Duran Duran’s best album. Which makes it interesting that some of these deep cuts aren’t celebrated more. All the accolades seem to go to the big U.S. singles “Rio” and Hungry Like The Wolf”, Live Aid darling “Save a Prayer” and the universally appreciated closing track, “The Chauffeur”. But the album is stacked from beginning to end. You can’t count out the European disco-tinged single “My Own Way”, the new wave banger “Hold Back The Rain”, the omnious epic “New Religion” that got some attention on the live album Arena, and then there’s Track 7: “Last Chance On The Stairway”.
A deep cut that could’ve been a single. Sounds about right for an outfit like Duran Duran. The shimmery synth lines from Nick Rhodes and bumpy bass lines from John Taylor make “Last Chance On The Stairway” one of my favorite cuts from Rio. But what brings it over the edge for me is the instrumental bridge, featuring a conga drum interlude from Roger. It’s vintage Duran Duran. Everything the fans love about the band, but somehow, strangely, gets overlooked and overshadowed by the big MTV-promoted tracks.
“And sometimes I'm caught in a landslide.”