Duran Duran - Thank You [2LP]

Duran Duran's Thank You spreads out across two LPs here, giving the band's daring 1995 covers album more breathing room than its original single-disc vinyl ever allowed.

Coming after the success of The Wedding Album, the record found Simon Le Bon, Nick Rhodes, John Taylor and Warren Cuccurullo paying tribute to the artists who shaped them, with production from the band and John Jones. The song choices were bold, ranging from Bob Dylan and Led Zeppelin to Public Enemy and Elvis Costello.

Their version of Lou Reed's "Perfect Day" drew high praise from Reed himself, a lush, slow-blooming reading that ranks among the band's most affecting vocals. "White Lines (Don't Do It)" brings in Melle Mel and members of the Furious Five for a slick, high-energy reworking, while "911 Is a Joke" might be the most audacious swing on the whole record.

Elsewhere, "Lay Lady Lay" turns dreamy and nocturnal, "Watching the Detectives" slinks into easy-listening territory, and the lone original, "Drive By", slips in near the end alongside Led Zeppelin's title track.

It divided critics on release, which only makes it more fun to revisit now. This is a snapshot of a great band taking big swings with other people's songs, and two LPs give every one of those swings plenty of space.