Quick- what's cute, highlighted and tanned all over? But seriously, Rio is a far better record than some would suggest. Duran Duran at times could be more than pretty faces, and this record helps to prove that. While some of the songs blend into one another and sound like drivel, quite a few "classic" 80's songs are on here- "Rio", "Hungry Like the Wolf" and "Save a Prayer". By far, the best song on here is "The Chauffeur", a chilling, slow-paced tale about a driver's infatuation with his passenger. To this day, the line "Sing Blue Silver" remains the three words every Duranie knows. They may have had other records or bigger hits, but Rio is the one Duran Duran worth owning.

This album put Duran Duran on the map in the U.S., with the hit single "Hungry Like the Wolf". Follow up releases included the title track "Rio" with its stellar bass track, and the slower "Save a Prayer". It was to be their last showing on "respectable" radio, as their next album saw them relinquished to the 'repeat it to death' Top 40 cheese stations. This album is summer personified; with dreamy synth lines, and care-free, fun, and sexy vocals. The most artful song on the album is "The Chauffeur", which combines a brilliant bit of sequencing from keyboardist Nick Rhodes with seemingly nonsequeter psychadelic lyrics from singer Simon LeBon. See the video however, and the brilliance of the track becomes evident: It is a love song personifying a relationship between the sun and the moon as they chase each other across the sky.