Duran Duran: Duran Duran (Harvest ST12158)

BIRMINGHAM, ENGLAND'S Duran Duran, yet another entrant in the let's-play-synth-disco-with-silly-costumes chart sweepstakes, had a recent hit with a wretchedly tedious piece of routine ass-wag called 'Planet Earth'. On the strength of that single, they serve no purpose whatsoever, but their album contains more creative and diverse noises and thoughts than all the real and would-be Spandau Ballets put together. They affect the typical "futurist" pose in look and instrumentation, but with a little obligatory Roxy Music sound, and a vocalist with only some stentorian pomp, Duran Duran has substance sorely lacking in their stylemates.