The Music
While the albums Duran Duran and Rio were seen by many as masterpieces from start to finish, the sheen was starting to wear thin on Seven and the Ragged Tiger. In the documentary film Extraordinary World, filmed a decade later, Rhodes described the sound as "barely controlled hysteria, scratching beneath the surface".
"Restores danger and menace to a band that was veering dangerously close to the insipid." (Melody Maker)
"Pathetic, useless, no good. It's pretentious, pompous and possibly the first chapter in their decline." (Record Mirror)
"It's apparent that Seven and the Ragged Tiger's content has the band moving ever so slightly into a dance club arena, with the songs leaning more toward their ability to produce a sexier sound through electronics and instrumentation than through a firm lyrical and musical partnership. Even the unreleased tracks trade Duran Duran's handsome edginess for a shinier sound, heard mainly on "I Take the Dice" and "Cracks in the Pavement." It's here that Le Bon and Taylor's personalities begins to get overshadowed by the demand to produce a more synth-snazzy and fashionable style of music." (Mike DeGagne, Allmusic Review: Seven and the Ragged Tiger)
The variety in musical style was expanded upon in the members' side projects during the band's ensuing hiatus. Le Bon and Rhodes focused on the atmospheric, layered sound found in "Tiger Tiger" in their project, Arcadia, while John and Andy Taylor joined with Robert Palmer and members of Chic to create Power Station, built around the rock sound seen developing in "Of Crime and Passion".
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