Customer Reviews

Seven And The Ragged Tiger

5 star:		(32)
4 star:		(16)
3 star:		(8)
2 star:		(4)
1 star:		(1)

 

 

"Seven And The Ragged Tiger" fully established Duran Duran as a household name and it was at this point in their career that they were considered "teen idols" with their GQ good looks and heavily aired MTV videos. The album had three hits beginning with "The Reflex", "Union Of The Snake" and "New Moon On Monday". But the album clearly had more catchy pop/new wave songs such as "Of Crime And Passion", and "Shadows On Your Side", both of with had "hit" potential. This was Duran Duran's last pop/new wave release before a change in musical style, as is evidenced in their next album, produced the funk laden hits "Notorious" and "Skin Trade". This latest remastered edition of "Seven And The Ragged Tiger" is greatly improved with enhanced bass, midrange and increased output. If you enjoy listening to eighties new wave pop, then this would be an excellent addition to one's cd collection. Highly Recommended!

Yes I am old. I was in high. School when this record came out. You could not get away from it. Now I think the first two Duran Duran records are classics but this record was a group that was too big for their own good. When this cd came out in the 80's Duran Duran were so big that anything they pit out would sell. Hence this cd being a hit. The Reflex, New Moon on Monday
and Union of the snake are some of the weakest songs they ever did. The concert film on the DVD is the reason to buy this package. It is a different cut of arena without all the audio drop outs. Great show at the peek of their popularity. It also has the 15 min version of the video for New Moon on Monday. Which is a total peice of crap. This is what happened in the 1980's when record companies started throwing tons of money to make videos. Duran Duran's earlier videos were much better and cost half the price. If you want a great DVD buy this if you want great cd's buy the first cd or Rio.

This review is relatively the same as the one I did for the other Duran Duran re-issue...

This is a terrific "box set" with 2cd and one dvd...plus mini poster and mini band member cards...

Disc one is good, but it's just the original album, no outtakes or b sides....

Disc two has some terrific remixes and b sides and a few live tracks as well...

Disc three (dvd) gives you the videos, plus a "full" concert of their album tour, which is where they filmed the video for "The Reflex", which is not included in the concert list...instead it's a seperate video...

I recommend getting the re issue set, along with their self titled debut.

You know, throughout the eighties I was a guitarist into all of the so called "hair bands" of the time such as Motley Crue, Van Halen, Joe Satriani, Ozzy, Sabbath etc. My circle of friends, also musicians, were of like tastes and would shun the likes of a Duran Duran.At leat publicly they would.I say that simply because I loved these guys but would never have admitted doing so at the time.
What does that have to do with respect to Duran Duran or this album in particular?
Good question with a very simple answer.
Its all about the songwriting not the sound and or style.
My personal preferance with respect to style and sound is constantly changing.But a good song is a good song no matter how it is presented.
That being said, this album is full of good songs.
It's as simple as that.

1. Reflex---This is the unmixed version. There is no "fle-fle-fle-fle-flex", sadly, and is not as good as the one on the Greatest CD and in the concerts I've viewed, but it's ok. I've gotten used to it. I still miss the alternate opening.

2. News Moon on Monday---Good song. Hard to say why a song is good. I like the way it sounds. The lyrics are incomprehensible but weird in an interesting way because you'll never come across sentences like these again in your life. Distinguished, maybe. I like the video more than this particular song though. No offense to those who like it.

3. (I'm Looking For) Cracks in the Pavement---Very weird song. The music is a little annoying but catchy. The words paint a picture of a very disturbed man. Read the lyrics to the songs for your self. You can find them on the internet.

4. I Take the Dice --- Tune's pretty good. Lyrics are interesting.

5. Of Crime and Passion---Tune's not that great but ok. Words are incomprehensible. But I like it anyway.

6. Union of the Snake--Great tune. I read somewhere that Simon says the song is about the unconscious mind (the snake) breaking through the consciousness, or at least the fear that this will occur. If you watch the video for this song with that interpretation in mind, wow, it's great.

7. Shadows on Your Side---Don't like the opening with the parallels to the band being "shackled" and forced to play for an audience because it's too blatant for me. I like obscure lyrics better.

8. Tiger Tiger---I think it's purely instrumental, but not sure. Never listened to all of this one.

9. Seventh Stranger---I love the title (the title of the album too) and the song is great. Maybe the fact that "seven" is in the title makes it seem meaningful because "7" is a meaningful number, which is brought up in the song, kind of. The music to this one is great though there are times when it grates at my nerves for some reason but overall terrific song, the lyrics especially. Once again, you can find the lyrics on the internet.

So overall this is worth 3 to 4 stars. At first, without really listening to the songs, I thought it would be a bad collection, but I really took to it, once giving the songs a shot.

This band really takes me back to my teenage years.Fun and exciting times they were.My favourite song on this album would probably be New Moon On Monday.My classmates and I used to have fun playing New Moon On Monday,Union Of The Snake,The Reflex and dozens of thier other hits during our spare time.We were Duran Duran-aholics!

(...)Duran Duran's third album is a postmodern exercise is avant garde rock. Comparing these guys to Roxy Music is insane since Roxy Music would be nothing without Duran Duran. Just get this album now.

By the time Duran Duran's 1983 "Seven and the Ragged Tiger" came out, its platinum success was all but guaranteed. At that point, the Birmingham-based group was already a staple on MTV and had their first two albums in Billboard's Top Ten. Typically, each Duran Duran album sounds different from the one that preceded it, and the weirdly named "Seven and the Ragged Tiger" is no exception. They replaced producer Colin Thurston (who did the first two records) with Alex Sadkin and Ian Little, who were responsible for Duran Duran's smash hit "Is There Something I Should Know." The result is a slightly arty, more sophisticated sound that bears no resemblance to their 1981 self-titled debut. The record spawned three top ten singles, one of which, "The Reflex," went on to become their first American Number One single. Other interesting album cuts are the dynamic "Of Crime and Passion," "Shadows on Your Side," and the sax-flavored instrumental "Tiger Tiger." "Seven and the Ragged Tiger" has been remastered (there are no bonus tracks), and the sound quality is a decent improvement over the original CD pressing. Narrow-minded rock connoisseurs may scoff at both this band and this album, but "Seven and the Ragged Tiger" is still a fine effort from Duran Duran in its original, five-member lineup.

Duran Duran became mega stars after their second album, Rio, became a smash hit worldwide thanks in equal parts to radio friendly songs and glamorous videos. Their third album, the bizarrely titled Seven & The Ragged Tiger, is again filled with big hooks and hits, but also with a bit more of an edge. The album's first single, "Union Of The Snake" is one of their most challenging and experimental songs. The song has a catchy hook built around a slinky guitar riff and a Moroccan vibe. There is a jazzy saxophone solo in the break and is flush with synth flourishes that give the song a mysterious and sensual sound. It peaked at number three on the charts. "New Moon On Monday" was the second single and is a straightforward song in the classic new romantic vein. The band produced a Thriller like, 20-minute video to accompany the song involving some bizarre underground resistance group in France. It helped propel the song to peak at number ten. The third single became the band's first US number one, "The Reflex". The album version differs from the single, which was remixed, as it doesn't have the female vocals that are some prominent in the single version. It is still catchy and quite memorable and one can tell upon first listen why it was smash hit. Other songs have a shiny sound including "(I'm Looking For) Cracks In The Pavement" and "I Take The Dice". The last two songs return the band to the edgier sound that appeared on the last few tracks on their first album. The haunting instrumental "Tiger Tiger" segues into the hauntingly beautiful "The Seventh Stranger" creating two of the finest moments in the band's history.

DURAN DURAN'S SEVEN AND THE RAGGED TIGER IS ONE OF THE GREATEST ALBUMS OF ALL TIME. THIS ALBUM WAS A GIGANTIC SUCCESS WITH OVER A MILLION COPIES SOLD DURING ITS DEBUT, DURAN DURAN'S SEVEN AND THE RAGGED TIGER WENT PLATINUM IMMEDIATELY. THIS ALBUM HELPED THEM BECOME EVEN MORE GIGANTICALLY SUCCESSFULL THAN THEY ALREADY WERE PRIOR, CONTINUING ON THEIR MASSIVE CLIMB IN SUCCESS LEADING TO THEIR TODAY LEGENDARY STATUS, AS ONE OF THE BIGGEST BANDS IN HISTORY. THIS ALBUM CONTAINS GREAT HIT SINGLES LIKE- THE REFLEX, NEW MOON ON MONDAY, AND UNION OF THE SNAKE. ALL TOP 10 SINGLES. THE REFLEX WAS #1 ON THE BILLBOARD POP ALBUM CHART FOR 2 WEEKS. DURAN DURAN STARTED THEIR WORLD WIDE MASSIVE ARENA TOURS THE YEAR THIS ALBUM CAME OUT. anyone who listens to this great album will easily see why DURAN DURAN ARE GIGANTIC LEGENDS WHO CONTINUE TO GROW IN POPULARITY EVERY YEAR. DURAN DURAN CURRENTLY HAVE A STAR ON THE HOLLYWOOD WALK OF FAME. DURAN DURAN ARE THE GREATEST BAND IN HISTORY, AND ARE GREAT LEGENDS. I HIGHLY RECOMEND THIS GREAT MASTERPIECE OF AN ALBUM TO EVERYONE.