The New Oldies: #2 Album of the Year 2023: Duran Duran – Danse Macabre

Something seems to be missing these days. It seems that record companies, radio stations, and streaming services are pushing some the great established musicians to the background. As a result these veteran artists are not getting the attention they deserve. Enter the Top 10 Album Countdown: The New Oldies. The main point is simple – to make this list you must have at least 20 years of producing established music. The album by the artist must have been released between November 1st, 2022 and October 31st, 2023.

#2 Duran Duran – Danse Macabre

Coming in at Number 2 on the 2023 New Oldies Countdown is Duran Duran’s Danse Macabre. This is the sixteenth album by Duran Duran and now in their fifth decade of doing music, Duran Duran is delivering some of their best material in years. This album follow’s up Future Past which finished as the #1 Album of the Year on the New Oldies Countdown in 2021. It was released on October 27, 2023 – just four days before the 2023 deadline for the New Oldies list. It’s a combination of three new tracks, covers, reimaged old Duran Duran material, and one mashup.

Duran Duran is well-known for changing things up from album to album. This time they do an album with a Halloween theme. I haven’t ranked all-time Halloween-themed albums, but this one is a good as it gets. The album has a slight haunting spin, but it still reminds me of a good Halloween party. I basically can see Oingo Boingo performing Deadman’s Party as the opener for Duran Duran delivering this album.

The six covers have a wide range of musical genres: Billie Eilish’s Bury a Friend, Cerrone’s Supernature, the Rolling Stones’ Paint It Black, Siouxsie and the Banshees’ Spellbound, the Specials’ Ghost Town, and Talking Heads’ Psycho Killer. Meanwhile the reimaged Duran Duran tracks are deeper cuts than one might expect: 1981’s Night Boat, 1983’s Secret Oktober (as Secret Oktober 31st) and 1993’s “Love Voodoo”. The new tracks are Black Moonlight, Confession in the Afterlife, and of course the title track Danse Macabre. There is a mashup called Super Lonely Freak with is incredible. Super Lonely Freak mashes up original Duran Duran material with Rick James’ Super Freak. The mashup might be the star of this album, but every track delivers quite well.

Don’t let the covers and reimages fool you. This album is quite original in its approach and musical style. It’s something worthy of a Hall of Fame band.