Duran Duran – Astronaut

I like this album a lot and it has a great sound. The pressing is not flawed (only the beginnings and ends crackle more than usual). The cover and inner are of good quality. I recommend it.
Played on:
Technics SL-100C, Audio Technica VM-95ML (occasionally VMN95-E or C), Rega Fono Mini A2D MK2, Technics SU-G700M2, Yamaha NS-777

Sounds amazing very clean and punchy with good dynamics highly recommend 5 stars here

What could have been a great album was ruined by obvious voice correction software.

Fuzzy and distorted vocals all the way through; and I am not talking about the intentional distortions / effects either.

I have tried several times over the years to listen to this all the way through but have never succeeded.

Tonight I made it to track 8 and had to switch it off as by this time my ears were just hearing a cacophony of noise instead of actual music.

Mine looks and plays fine. It’s quiet and no floor noise. I would say I thought the recording was a bit flat and bass shy. Good tracks though

Nowhere is the original year of release listed, 2004, wondering why.

This was a welcome comeback, but ultimately frustrating since Epic put out two of the weakest tracks as singles. The title track, Nice, and the last 5 songs are excellent, but the rest are blah. Had “Nice” been the first single they might have had a hit. As it was, Sunrise bombed at #89 on the pop chart.

This disc is a sight for sore eyes, I'll tell you right now. Two decades have ed since the original line-up of Duran Duran were together and it's been tough to slough through, believe me. There have been some flashes of talent (Notorious, Decade, The Wedding Album and Medazzland) but for every one of those there have been some horrible releases. You know what they are.

Now with their first actual new release since Arena, the boys have given us quite an album to slap into the player. Opener "(Reach up for the ) Sunrise" is so infectious that I'm still singing along and "Need You More!" is even more of an instant classic. "What Happens Tomorrow" is where you really see the abilities of this band shine very brightly. LeBon's vocal work hasn't sounded this good in years.

Astronaut is a space-age romp through the cosmos with Nick Rhode's keyboard prowess hitting home. "Bedroom Toys" is thoroughly hip hop in nature; this band have never denied their love of this style. And it works, damnit!

It's just great to have a guitarist and a drummer back in the band instead of studio goons and has-beens filling their shoes. Andy and Roger do indeed make "Astronaut" a welcome showing for Duran Duran. Together again, these five are poised to take over the world just as they did during their reign in the 80s. A lot of people expressed doubts about the feasibility of a re-united Duran Duran, here's mud in your eye.

Reviewed 2004

Mine was all good. I‘m happy with the cover and the art-sleeves. Pressing is okay, no reason to spend tears 😁 Sounds better than Medazzaland.

The condition this came in was shameful, the inserts were split at the seams (on both inserts), the inserts nearly tore in half due to how much static had built up inside the inserts, it was incredibly tough to pull out (both vinyls). The sleeve came damaged too, having an ugly crease in the corner. Seeing most people had only received side C and D/second LP twice, I'm at least grateful I have the correct LPs, but this is still ridiculous!

Sounds fantastic, very crisp and clear. This repress is long overdue and so thankful to finally have it!