The Seventh Stranger - What's the real story?

[highway1pch]

With the first three Duran Duran albums spinning in my car's CD changer, I've been enjoying my revisit to the early years of this band.

One of the standouts is the final track of Seven & The Ragged Tiger, [i]The Seventh Stranger[/i].

This song is like a successful blend of [i]Save A Prayer[/i] and [i]The Chauffeur[/i], the closing tracks of the previous album, Rio.

The lyrics are lush and the production is so vivid.

Why wasn't this song released as a single?

Why didn't this song get the promotion of a Duran Duran video?

Was this song originally intended as the title track for Seven And The Ragged Tiger?

Is the previous instrumental track on the album, [i]Tiger, Tiger[/i], related to The Seventh Stranger?

There seems to be some level of controversy, as previously discussed on NWO:
http://www.nwoutpost.com/forum/topic.as ... h,stranger


the seventh stranger

Those words are all remainders
Echoes growing in the heart of twilight
They lay back laughing at naivety's star
Awaken all those whispers in the dusty shadow of a
passing favour
I wouldn't say that you were ruthless or right
I couldn't see from so far
Was I chasing after rainbows
One thing for sure you never answered when I called
And I wiped away the water from my face
To look through the eyes of a stranger
For rumours in the wake of such a lonely crowd
Trading in my shelter for danger
I'm changing my name just as the sun goes down
In the eyes of a stranger

Can't tell the real from reflections
When all these faces look the same to me
In every city such a desolate dream
Some days are strange to number
some say the seventh sounds a little bit stranger
A year of Sundays seems to have drifted right by
(I could have sworn) in one evening
And I'm not seized in desperation
No steel reproaches on the table from before
But I still can feel those splinters of ice
I look through the eyes of a stranger
For rumours in the wake of such a lonely crowd
Trading in my shelter for danger
I'm changing my name just as the sun goes down
In the eyes of a stranger

I must be chasing after rainbows
One thing for sure you never answer when I call
And I wipe away the water from my face
To look through the eyes of a stranger
For rumour in the wake of such a lonely crowd
Trading in my shelter for danger
I'm changing my name just as the sun goes down
Walking away like a stranger
From rumours in the wake of such a lonely crowd
Trading in my shelter for danger
I'm changing my name just as the sun goes down
In the eyes of a stranger

written by/copyright: Duran Duran
© 1983 Tritec Music Ltd.

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[KYYX4ever]

Yum!

Simon had stated sometime ago that he and Nick had wanted "The Seventh Stranger" released as a single, but the music execs at Capital didn't agree. They wanted to focus on the danceglampop aspect of the band. Anyway, Simon & Nick were always partial to this song. And yes, it gave rise to the LP title and concept.

[SomebodySomewhere]

The execs at Capitol were smart. This wouldn't have done much.

There were hundreds of bands out there who were completely screwed by poor single choices, but Duran Duran were pretty much never one of them. I think the only minor mistake was putting out "My Own Way" instead of "Hold Back the Rain" or "Last Chance on the Stairway." And since "My Own Way" became a big European hit, well...

If Capitol were going to go four singles on "Seven," then I could see "Stranger" being the fourth. Since they only did three, they picked the right ones.

[newwavepunkgirl]

'My Own Way' was the first single I bought myself! The single version is way faster than the album version and came out before 'RIO' in the UK I knwo that because Duran Duran were still wearing their pixie boots!

Devolution is real

[obs]

Yeah, My Own Way was a single before Rio came out. I guess it's kind of like Tears For Fears' Mother's Talk, where they didn't like the original version and re-did the track.

[zalasta]

interesting, I didn't know that My Own Way came out so far in advance of Rio. Learn something new everyday!

But I agree that DD's singles were pretty decent overall, up until "Notorious". I thought Skin Trade was a GREAT track, but I didn't see much commercial appeal in it, and certainly not with Meet El Presidente. I thought American Science would have been better, but to me - Vertigo was the song that should have been the 2nd single. Had they done a remix/edit similar to what they did with The Reflex and tightened it up a bit, I think it would have followed "Notorious" into the Top 10.


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[bpdp3]

I have an interview in an old issue of Trouser Press where members of the band say they regret releasing "My Own Way" as a single, that it was a mis-step for them. It's certainly not my favorite track on Rio but it's not THAT bad....

I too would've gone with "Last Chance on the Stairway".

Not in front of my record collection now but will be sure to make a point of rehearing "Seventh Stranger" when I get the chance.

[obs]

My pick from Rio would have been "Hold Back the Rain".


[i]But I agree that DD's singles were pretty decent overall, up until "Notorious".[/i]

I quite like the whole Notorious album. According to that Remember the Eighties, it's getting the remastered treatment, along with Big Thing.

"DURAN DURAN's 'Big Thing' and 'Notorious' albums are thought to be the next DD albums to receive the remaster and reissue treatment and are expected to be released in October with 'Notorious' coming out as an expanded two CD package. The 80s Updated 18 Jul 2006"

Arcadia should have been done before this.

[zalasta]

[quote][i]Originally posted by obs[/i]
<br>My pick from Rio would have been "Hold Back the Rain".


[i]But I agree that DD's singles were pretty decent overall, up until "Notorious".[/i]

I quite like the whole Notorious album. According to that Remember the Eighties, it's getting the remastered treatment, along with Big Thing.

"DURAN DURAN's 'Big Thing' and 'Notorious' albums are thought to be the next DD albums to receive the remaster and reissue treatment and are expected to be released in October with 'Notorious' coming out as an expanded two CD package. The 80s Updated 18 Jul 2006"

Arcadia should have been done before this.
[/quote]


wow, that is GREAT NEWS... both of those albums are in desperate need of remastering, and I can't wait to hear what the 2nd disc on Notorious might be. I would also love for a remastered Arcadia CD to see the light of day..... it really goes hand-in-hand in many ways with Notorious.


- - -
www.BluespaceRadio.com
New Wave and beyond... music without boundaries.