Rio is the second studio album by the English pop rock band Duran Duran, released on 10May 1982 through EMI. Produced by Colin Thurston, the band wrote and demoed most of the material before recording the album at AIR Studios in London from January to March 1982. The band utilised more experimentation compared to their debut album, from vibraphone and marimba to the sound of a cigarette being lit and cracking ice cubes. Andy Hamilton played a saxophone solo on the title track "Rio".
A new wave, synth-pop, pop rock and dance-rock album with musical elements such as disco and funk, Rio is mostly composed of fast, upbeat numbers, with some slower synthesiser-based ballads. Lead vocalist Simon Le Bon's lyrics cover topics from chasing one's dreams to pursuing a love interest. Bassist John Taylor conceived the title, which the band felt represented the optimistic and exotic tone of the album. The cover artwork, painted by Patrick Nagel and designed by Malcolm Garrett to resemble 1950s cigar packaging, is considered one of the greatest of all time.
Duran Duran shot music videos for many of the album's tracks, all of which helped spearhead the 1980s MTV revolution. Accompanied by three worldwide hit singles, Rio peaked at number two in the United Kingdom and remained in the chart for 110 weeks. Initially unsuccessful in the United States, the album was remixed by Capitol Records to better match American radio at the time; the remixed album spent 129 weeks on the Billboard chart, reaching number six. The band toured the US and Europe throughout the latter half of 1982.
Rio initially received mixed-to-negative reviews from critics, who commended the melodies but disparaged the lyrics. Retrospective reviewers consider Rio timeless and the band's best work, praising its instrumentation and band performances. With the album, Duran Duran were forerunners in the Second British Invasion of the 1980s, helping ensure the success of other English artists throughout the decade. It has since made appearances on best-of lists and has been reissued several times.
Background and development
Duran Duran released their self-titled debut album in June 1981. Aided by the album's highly successful third single "Girls on Film", the album peaked at number three in the UK and remained in the charts for over two years. With the album, Duran Duran had established themselves as one of the biggest new pop groups of 1981. Around July, they began writing songs for their second studio album, spending time at their resident nightclub the Rum Runner in Birmingham like their debut. The band's label, EMI Records, doubled their budget for the new record. Feeling pressure in England, the band briefly withdrew to a secluded château in France to continue writing. Keyboardist Nick Rhodes later stated:
On 28 August 1981, synth-pop, and disco-rock album, that contains elements of dance, Rhodes later described the album's sound as "elegant punk".
Of the album's nine tracks, the first seven ("Rio" to "Last Chance on the Stairway") are faster and more upbeat numbers, while the last two ("Save a Prayer" and "The Chauffeur") are slower and atmospheric synthesiser-based ballads. In Ultimate Classic Rock, writer Annie Zaleski described the rhythm section of John Taylor and Roger Taylor as "formidable" and "locked into grooves with nimble precision", with Rhodes's synthesisers adding "artsy textures" and Andy Taylor's "blazing guitar acrobatics" bringing "ferocity and heft" to the tracks; In 2024, it was revealed that cover girl was based on a photograph of the fashion model Marcie Hunt in the February 1981 issue of Vogue France.
Malcolm Garrett, who had designed the cover artworks for the band's singles and first album, had "no more than a week" to complete the final sleeve design. Garrett, who had yet to hear the title track, stated that Rio "made me think of cigars and cigar packaging. The whole idea of something Latin and something Cuban and South American." Disliking album sleeves at the time having a plain image on the front and nothing on the back, he wrapped the painting around the front and back of the sleeve, later saying it was a conceptual choice: "You've got to go through the picture to get to the album." Like cigar packaging, initial pressings had a physical sticker sealing the LP shut, In a mix-up between the band and the Japanese label, Nagel's second rejected image was used for the Japanese single release of "My Own Way", issued months ahead of Rio. Rhodes later quipped: "No one had told the Japanese label that we hadn't actually bought that one."
A lyric sheet and a band portrait appears in the LP liner. Deliberately incongruous to the album title, Duran Duran were photographed on the top of the British Petroleum Building, the tallest building in London at the time, against a modern nighttime skyline. They wore Antony Price suits, which they used for the subsequent music videos. Photographer Andy Earl recalled: "Because their music was so electronic, I wanted to try and create that energy in the picture. Just before the end of the exposure, I kicked the tripod, and that's what gives it this fizzy, electronic and glamorous look. Which, to me, captured the music and what they were all about."
Promotion
Music videos
Music videos were shot for six of Rio nine tracks. Russell Mulcahy, who had directed the video for "Planet Earth", worked with Duran Duran on videos for "Hungry Like the Wolf", "Save a Prayer" and "Lonely in Your Nightmare" in Sri Lanka, one for "Rio" in Antigua and one for "The Chauffeur" in London without the band's involvement; another video was commissioned for the single version of "My Own Way". Former film student Marcello Anciano acted as storyboard artist and art director for all the videos. The Sri Lanka videos emphasised the exotic location; "Hungry Like the Wolf" saw Le Bon cast as an Indiana Jones-type character, while "Save a Prayer" utilised elephants and found the band atop a mountain inspecting stone temples. While there, Rhodes and John Taylor were homesick, while Andy Taylor contracted a fever from the water, requiring his hospitalisation on his return to England. The guitarist was "very run-down" for the subsequent Australian and Japanese tours throughout the second half of April 1982 and had an oxygen mask at the side of the stage for the shows. He fully recovered for the "Rio" shoot, which found the band sailing aboard yachts.
Duran Duran earned a large advance from EMI to film the videos, particularly the Sri Lanka ones, said to range between £30,000 and £55,000. The label had strong faith in the group and wanted videos prepared in advance before Rio release. Both the band and EMI had ambitious plans for promotion and devised the release of a full-length video album consisting of the best songs from both Duran Duran (1981) and Rio. Le Bon had declared the medium's importance in an interview with Smash Hits earlier in the year, stating, "I take video very seriously. I see it as an artform. Most people see it as a promotional device.[...] Videos are the 'talking pictures' of today's music industry." Rhodes and Roger Taylor also spoke about it to the Associated Press later in the year. Other band members were more reserved, particularly John Taylor.
thumb|alt=MTV logo|Rio became one of the earliest and most successful albums to receive a large bulk of their promotion through [[MTV.]]
Although video albums originated as early as 1979, EMI's parent corporation, Thorn, intended for the proposed Duran Duran album to sell exquisitely in the VHS and home video markets. At the time, Britain saw the significance of music videos and, with programmes such as Top of the Pops, audiences were accustomed to watching bands perform on television. In America, music videos played a lesser role in promotion, as labels felt they were insignificant compared to radio. MTV, which launched in August 1981, soon provided a shift in this perspective, primarily due to the videos of British bands played on the channel. One of MTV's original VJs, Alan Hunter, later stated that while American artists took more literal approaches when producing videos, "the music of the young New Wave romantics [such as Duran Duran] lent itself better to a more ephemeral interpretation, or a little looser interpretation." Commenting on the more stylised British videos at the time, MTV co-founder John Sykes said:
Release
EMI issued "Hungry Like the Wolf" as the lead single from the album on 4May 1982; Duran Duran mimed to the song on Top of the Pops nine days later. Entering the UK Singles Chart at number 35, it reached the top ten by the end of May, and peaked at number five in late June. "Save a Prayer" was released in England as the second single on 9August 1982, backed by a remix of "Hold Back the Rain", which charted at number two in the UK. Shortly before the European tour began, EMI issued interviews Le Bon made with Smash Hits and The Face as a 7″ picture single, titled An interview with Simon Le Bon. John Taylor injured his hand during the tour but fully recovered before a month-long UK tour that commenced on 30October. Two days later, "Rio" appeared as a single in England and America, reaching number nine in the former. In November,
| rev2 = Record Mirror
| rev2score =
| rev3 = Smash Hits
| rev3score = 5½/10
| rev4 = The Village Voice
| rev4score = C−
Rio received mixed-to-negative reviews on release. Critics commended the melodies but ridiculed the lyrics.
| rev2 = Classic Pop
| rev2score =
| rev3 = The Encyclopedia of Popular Music
| rev3score =
| rev4 = Pitchfork
| rev4score = 7.3/10
| rev5 = PopMatters
| rev5score = 8/10
| rev6 = Q
| rev6score =
| rev7 = Record Collector
| rev7score =
| rev9 = Spin Alternative Record Guide
| rev9score = 9/10
| rev10 = Uncut
| rev10score = 8/10
| subtitle = Retrospective reviews
Critics have retrospectively declared Rio Duran Duran's finest work.
Rio cover artwork has been deemed iconic and one of the greatest of all time by publications such as Billboard, Rolling Stone and VH1. In 2006, Ernest Simpson of Treblezine wrote that with the Clash's London Calling (1979), "rarely does an album cover truly fit the style and attitude within" and Rio "not only encapsulated the slick new wave of the stylish band, but also the early '80s in general". while The Word ranked it number 24 is a similar list of the 50 best British albums in 2008. Pitchfork named it the 95th best album of the 1980s in 2002. A year later, NME ranked Rio the 65th greatest album of all time. A decade later in 2013, BBC Radio 2 placed it at number three in a list compiling their "Top 100 Favourite Albums of All Time". In lists compiling the best new wave albums, Ultimate Classic Rock and Paste placed it at numbers 4 and 24, respectively. Despite its acclaim, Malins finds that Rio is often not as highly revered as other records of the time, such as ABC's The Lexicon of Love, the Human League's Dare and Simple Minds' New Gold Dream (81–82–83–84).
The album was included in the 2018 edition of Robert Dimery's book 1001 Albums You Must Hear Before You Die.
Reissues
Rio was first released on CD in early 1984 and was one of the first CDs issued by EMI in the UK and the US. This release contained Enhanced CD material featuring the music videos for "Rio", "Hungry Like the Wolf" and "Save a Prayer", plus memorabilia and a link to the band's official website. The European limited-edition booklet cover used an alternate version of the Nagel cover painting. The original CD version was used rather than the original LP version, with EMI claiming that it was due to master tape research issues as a result of there being several different versions of the album.
Rio was again reissued as a two-disc Collector's Edition on 7September 2009 in the UK, and 6October 2009 in the US. This edition includes the original LP release tracks and the US Kershenbaum remixes, along with several other tracks that were either previously unavailable officially on CD, or were only available on Singles Box Set 1981–1985 (2003). The release was packaged with the Live at Hammersmith '82 DVD, which Record Collector Joel McIver felt was superior to Rio. This reissue received mixed reviews. Commentators felt the bonus tracks were mostly disposable and not worth the price tag, although some welcome the presence of several "night versions" and the US mixes. Parlophone repackaged this edition as a two-disc set, featuring the US album mixes, demos, assorted B-sides and five remixes.
Notes
- The US LP reissue uses the US album remixes of "Rio", "Lonely in Your Nightmare", "Hungry Like the Wolf", and "Hold Back the Rain", along with the Carnival remix of "My Own Way". Later pressings of this reissue use the night version of "Hungry Like the Wolf", mixed by Colin Thurston.
- The original CD and 2001 Enhanced CD reissue use an edit of the video mix of "Lonely in Your Nightmare", a previously unreleased alternate mix of "Hold Back the Rain", and the UK single edit of "Save a Prayer".
Personnel
Album credits adapted from AllMusic:
Duran Duran
- Simon Le Bon – lead vocals, vibraphone on "New Religion", ocarina on "The Chauffeur", marimba on "Last Chance on the Stairway"
| 3
|-
|-
|-
|-
! scope="row"|UK Albums Chart
| 2
|-
! scope="row"|US Billboard Top LPs & Tape
| 6
|}
{| class="wikitable sortable plainrowheaders" style="text-align:center"
|+2024 weekly chart performance for Rio
! scope="col"| Chart (2024)
! scope="col"| Peak<br />position
|-
! scope="row"| Croatian International Albums (HDU)
| 6
|-
|-
|}
Year-end charts
{| class="wikitable sortable plainrowheaders" style="text-align:center"
|+1982 year-end chart performance for Rio
! scope="col"| Chart (1982)
! scope="col"| Position
|-
! scope="row"| Australian Albums (Kent Music Report)
| 24
|-
! scope="row"| New Zealand Albums (RMNZ)
| 16
|-
! scope="row"| UK Albums (BMRB)
| 5
|}
{| class="wikitable sortable plainrowheaders" style="text-align:center"
|+1983 year-end chart performance for Rio
! scope="col"| Chart (1983)
! scope="col"| Position
|-
! scope="row"| Canada Top Albums/CDs (RPM)
| 9
|-
! scope="row"| New Zealand Albums (RMNZ)
| 38
|-
! scope="row"| UK Albums (Gallup)
| 20
|-
! scope="row"| US Billboard Top LPs & Tape
| 13
|}