Thank You (Duran Duran album)

Thank You is the eighth studio album by the English pop rock band Duran Duran. It was released on 27 March 1995 by Parlophone. Consisting of cover versions, the album performed moderately on the charts, reaching number 12 on the UK Albums Chart and number 19 on the US Billboard 200, but received negative reviews from critics.

Thank You
Studio album by
Released27 March 1995 (1995-03-27)
Recorded1992–1994
Genre
Length54:26
LabelParlophone
Producer
Duran Duran chronology
Duran Duran
(1993)
Thank You
(1995)
Medazzaland
(1997)
Singles from Thank You
  1. "Perfect Day"
    Released: 13 March 1995[1]
  2. "White Lines (Don't Do It)"
    Released: June 1995
  3. "Lay Lady Lay"
    Released: 1995 (Italy and Brazil only)

The title track, ("Thank You", originally by Led Zeppelin) originally appeared in an edited form (5:06) on the soundtrack to the 1994 film With Honors. A still shorter edit (4:32) later appeared on Encomium: A Tribute to Led Zeppelin, a month before the full version was included on this album.

Critical reception

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Professional ratings
Review scores
SourceRating
AllMusic     [2]
The Encyclopedia of Popular Music     [3]
Entertainment WeeklyC[4]
Rolling Stone     [5]
The Rolling Stone Album Guide     [6]
Select     [7]
Spin2/10[8]

The two singles from the album were covers of Grandmaster Melle Mel's "White Lines (Don't Don't Do It)" and Lou Reed's "Perfect Day". "Lay Lady Lay" was a single in Italy and in Spain.

J. D. Considine of Rolling Stone said "some of the ideas at play here are stunningly wrongheaded, like the easy-listening arrangement given Elvis Costello's 'Watching the Detectives' or the version of Zeppelin's 'Thank You' that sounds like the band is covering Chris DeBurgh. But it takes a certain demented genius to recognize Iggy Pop's 'Success' as the Gary Glitter tune it was meant to be or to redo '911 Is a Joke' so it sounds more like Beck than like Public Enemy."[5]

In 2006, the album was declared the worst album of all time by Q magazine.[9]

"Perfect Day" was the first single from Thank You and became a moderate hit, peaking at number 28 on the UK Singles Chart. In the US the song narrowly failed to crack the Billboard Hot 100, only "bubbling under" as high as number 101 from 24 June to 8 July 1995. The B-side of the single was a version of the Velvet Underground's song "Femme Fatale", previously available in 1993, on Duran Duran's Wedding Album.[10]

Lou Reed said on the electronic press kit that accompanied the album that Duran Duran's version of "Perfect Day" was "the best cover ever completed of one of my own songs".[11]

Track listing

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Bonus tracks on Japanese release
No.TitleWriter(s)Original artistLength
13."Diamond Dogs"David BowieDavid Bowie6:10
14."Femme Fatale"Lou ReedThe Velvet Underground and Nico4:22
Total length:64:58
Perfect Day UK single disc 1
No.TitleWriter(s)Original artistLength
1."The Needle and the Damage Done"Neil YoungNeil Young2:06

Personnel

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Duran Duran

Additional musicians

  • Roger Taylor – drums on "Perfect Day" and "Watching the Detectives"
  • Steve Ferrone – drums on "White Lines" and "Crystal Ship"
  • Tony Thompson – drums on "I Wanna Take You Higher"
  • Anthony J. Resta – drums on "White Lines", "Lay Lady Lay", "911 Is a Joke", "Ball of Confusion" and "I Wanna Take You Higher Again"
  • Terry Bozzio – drums on "Success", "Thank You" and "Drive By"
  • Abe Laboriel Jr. – drums on "Lay Lady Lay" and "I Wanna Take You Higher Again"
  • John Jones – additional keyboards, guitars, and vocals
  • Jonathan Elias – Moog synthesizer on "Crystal Ship"
  • Bruce Dukov – violin
  • Henry Ferber – violin strings
  • Ron Folsom – violin strings
  • Armen Garabedian – violin strings
  • Berj Garabedian – violin strings
  • Michelle Kikuchi-Richards – violin strings
  • Joy Lyle – violin strings
  • Maria Newman – violin strings
  • Pamela Goldsmith – viola
  • Scott Haupert – viola
  • Suzi Katayama – cello
  • Lee Oskar – harmonica on "Watching the Detectives" and "I Wanna Take You Higher"
  • Flo & Eddie – background vocals on "Success"
  • Grandmaster Flash & the Furious Five – background vocals on "White Lines" and "I Wanna Take You Higher"
  • Grandmaster Melle Mel – background vocals, rapping on "White Lines"
  • Curtis King – background vocals on "I Wanna Take You Higher"
  • Lamya – background vocals on "White Lines" "I Wanna Take You Higher" and "Drive By"
  • Maxanne Lewis – background vocals on "Ball of Confusion"
  • Tessa Niles – background vocals on "Perfect Day" and "Watching the Detectives"

Technical

Charts

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Chart performance for Thank You
Chart (1995) Peak
position
Australian Albums (ARIA)[12] 63
Austrian Albums (Ö3 Austria)[13] 25
Belgian Albums (Ultratop Flanders)[14] 34
Belgian Albums (Ultratop Wallonia)[15] 16
Canada Top Albums/CDs (RPM)[16] 15
Dutch Albums (Album Top 100)[17] 34
European Albums (Music & Media)[18] 36
German Albums (Offizielle Top 100)[19] 50
Hungarian Albums (MAHASZ)[20] 30
Italian Albums (Musica e dischi)[21] 17
Japanese Albums (Oricon)[22] 27
Swiss Albums (Schweizer Hitparade)[23] 44
UK Albums (OCC)[24] 12
US Billboard 200[25] 19

Certifications

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Certifications for Thank You
Region Certification Certified units/sales
Canada (Music Canada)[26] Gold 50,000^
United States (RIAA)[27] Gold 500,000^

^ Shipments figures based on certification alone.

References

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  1. ^ "New Releases: Singles" (PDF). Music Week. 11 March 1995. p. 33. Retrieved 8 August 2021.
  2. ^ Erlewine, Stephen Thomas. "Thank You – Duran Duran". AllMusic. Retrieved 18 January 2019.
  3. ^ Larkin, Colin (2011). The Encyclopedia of Popular Music (5th concise ed.). Omnibus Press. ISBN 978-0-85712-595-8.
  4. ^ "Thank You Review". Entertainment Weekly. Archived from the original on 31 July 2012.
  5. ^ a b "RollingStone.com: Thank You : Duran Duran : Review". Rolling Stone. Archived from the original on 30 November 2005.
  6. ^ Sheffield, Rob (2004). "Duran Duran". The Rolling Stone Album Guide (4th ed.). Simon & Schuster. ISBN 0-7432-0169-8.
  7. ^ Morris, Mark (4 April 1995). "Duran Duran: Thank You". Select. p. 93. Retrieved 5 September 2017.
  8. ^ Hannaham, James (May 1995). "Duran Duran: Thank You: Capitol". Spin. p. 96. Retrieved 25 August 2017.
  9. ^ "The worst album in the world... ever!". The Independent. 26 March 2006. Retrieved 9 January 2019.
  10. ^ "Bottom Feeders: The Ass End of the '90s, Vol. 23". Popdose.com. 11 June 2012. Retrieved 5 December 2013.
  11. ^ Thank You EPK, 1995.
  12. ^ Ryan, Gavin (2011). Australia's Music Charts 1988–2010 (PDF ed.). Mt Martha, Victoria, Australia: Moonlight Publishing. p. 89.
  13. ^ "Austriancharts.at – Duran Duran – Thank You" (in German). Hung Medien. Retrieved 18 January 2019.
  14. ^ "Ultratop.be – Duran Duran – Thank You" (in Dutch). Hung Medien. Retrieved 18 January 2019.
  15. ^ "Ultratop.be – Duran Duran – Thank You" (in French). Hung Medien. Retrieved 18 January 2019.
  16. ^ "Top RPM Albums: Issue 9143". RPM. Library and Archives Canada. Retrieved 18 January 2019.
  17. ^ "Dutchcharts.nl – Duran Duran – Thank You" (in Dutch). Hung Medien. Retrieved 18 January 2019.
  18. ^ "European Top 100 Albums" (PDF). Music & Media. Vol. 12, no. 15. 15 April 1995. p. 29. OCLC 29800226 – via World Radio History.
  19. ^ "Offiziellecharts.de – Duran Duran – Thank You" (in German). GfK Entertainment Charts. Retrieved 18 January 2019.
  20. ^ "Album Top 40 slágerlista – 1995. 18. hét" (in Hungarian). MAHASZ. Retrieved 19 January 2019.
  21. ^ "Classifiche". Musica e dischi (in Italian). Retrieved 29 May 2022. Select "Album" in the "Tipo" field, type "Duran Duran" in the "Artista" field and press "cerca".
  22. ^ デュラン・デュランのアルバム売り上げランキング [Duran Duran's album sales ranking] (in Japanese). Oricon. Archived from the original on 1 August 2013. Retrieved 18 January 2019.
  23. ^ "Swisscharts.com – Duran Duran – Thank You". Hung Medien. Retrieved 18 January 2019.
  24. ^ "Official Albums Chart Top 100". Official Charts Company. Retrieved 18 January 2019.
  25. ^ "Duran Duran Chart History (Billboard 200)". Billboard. Retrieved 18 January 2019.
  26. ^ "Canadian album certifications – Duran Duran – Thank You". Music Canada. 24 April 1995. Retrieved 18 January 2019.
  27. ^ "American album certifications – Duran Duran – Thank You". Recording Industry Association of America. 14 June 1995. Retrieved 18 January 2019.
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