Duran Duran - Big Thing

Duran Duran's Big Thing comes here in its 2010 remastered form, a sharp reminder of the 1988 album where the band dived headfirst into house, funk and dance culture.

By the late 1980s the group had slimmed down to a trio of Simon Le Bon, Nick Rhodes and John Taylor, and they were determined not to be trapped by their early-decade image. Big Thing was the result: bolder, stranger and more experimental than anything they had done before, absorbing the new sounds coming out of clubs in Chicago and London. It remains one of the most interesting chapters in their story.

I Don't Want Your Love is a sleek, synth-funk single with a clipped groove that still sounds great on a dancefloor. The title track is a punchy, aggressive opener, while All She Wants Is pulses with a hypnotic, almost house-inspired beat. Then the album turns inward, with Do You Believe in Shame? offering a moody, emotional ballad that showed a more reflective side to the band.

For fans who only know the early hits, this is a revealing listen. It captures a band in transition, unafraid to take risks, and the remaster brings out every crisp synth and slap of bass.