A great title track is par for the course when it comes to great albums. If the title track doesn’t cut it, what does that say about the album itself? This month, the Mental Jukebox will be playing some of my favorite title tracks – inspired by @NicolaB_73’s music Twitter challenge, #TopTitleTracks.

MTV was my introduction to a lifelong passion of music. I didn’t realize it at the time, but all those videos from the early to mid eighties were a cumulative spark. No other band had the presence that Duran Duran did during that era. Each music video oozed cool. “Girls On Film”, “Planet Earth”, “Rio”, “Hungry Like The Wolf”, “Union Of The Snake”, the list goes on. Some of those videos were like mini movies.

Who can forget the yacht scene in “Rio”? But it’s the song itself – not the images – that earns the highest accolades. John Taylor has a treasure trove of killer bass lines, and “Rio” is often cited as one of his best. The bass line, in fact, could’ve been a song all on its own. Dig a cool sax solo? “Rio” has that too, played by longtime Duran Duran collaborator, Andy Hamilton. Among dozens and dozens of catchy pop singles from the band, “Rio” remains one of their best.

“And when she shines, she really shows you all she can.”