Side 1 of Duran Duran is about as exciting and consistent as new wave gets: a long, moody electro-dance intro leads into "Planet Earth" with Rhodes' synth swooping, hissing, and voicing a convincing "sax" solo over a supple Chic-like groove from the rhythm section. "Girls On Film," besides being a great song, is the most convincing piece of funk from English white boys on record. After a fashion-camera sound effect intro, a precise but huge-sounding syncopated drum groove rolls in accompanied by spine-snapping bass, quivery synth washes and Le Bon's lyric about the vicious glamour of supermodeling (three of the Duranies later married fashion models).

"Is There Anyone Out There" keys on Taylor's punchy guitar and another fine melody, and "Careless Memories" charges through on an ominous techno beat and Le Bon's toughest singing.

The band's second album, Rio, recorded shortly after the debut, is another superbly-produced new wave gem. Rio displays a wide sonic palette: the familiar rocking alterna-disco of the title track, "Hungry Like the Wolf," "My Own Way," and "Hold Back the Rain"; a jazz-and-jangle sound of slippery fretless bass and guitar arpeggios on "Lonely In Your Nightmare"; angular Gang of Four-type punk-funk muscle on "New Religion"; and a lush, engulfing wall-of-synths cushion on the alterna-ballad "Save a Prayer."

Together, the first two Duran Duran albums sold over 3 million copies in the U.S. alone, verified that a band could be dancey and ballsy at the same time, and solidified the commercial appeal of new wave at a critical juncture in the music's development. In addition, the Duranies helped establish the power of music video (and its primary outlet MTV) as a marketing tool through a series of enormously popular clips featuring the fashionable, photogenic band. Yeah.