This article uses bare URLs for citations. Please consider adding full citations so that the article remains verifiable. Several templates and the Reflinks tool are available to assist in formatting. (Reflinks documentation) (August 2011)

Red Carpet Massacre is the twelfth studio album by English pop rock band Duran Duran. It was released on 19 November 2007 in Europe, and on 13 November in the United States.

Most of the music on the current incarnation of the album was completed in late 2006 after the departure of band member Andy Taylor, when music producer Timbaland began working with the band.

For the week of 19 November, Red Carpet Massacre debuted at #36 on the U.S. Billboard 200 chart, selling about 29,000 copies in its first week.^[1] However, the following week the album fell to #116. For the week of 26 November, the album debuted at #44 in the UK, becoming the 2nd poorest UK Chart entry in the band's career, after Pop Trash from 2000. The album entered the Italian chart at #10. As of 2 May 2008, the album has moved 88,000 copies in the U.S.^[2] The album spent only three consecutive weeks in the Billboard 200 chart. Also in the U.S., it was completely ignored by critics.

It was the band's only other album released with Epic Records. The band parted ways with Sony Music in 2009.

Early sessions[link]

The band did its initial recording for its follow-up to Astronaut with producer Michael Patterson between September 2005 and April 2006. Roger Taylor said in March 2006, "The record will be in some ways a homage to our roots as a band, more direct and a return to our dance and 'new wave' origins", and that they had brought fifteen tracks to near completion.^[3]

The record was provisionally titled Reportage and expected in late May 2006 with a summer tour to follow, but as reported in Billboard, the new album was delayed as guitarist Andy Taylor had a falling-out with the rest of the band for unknown reasons, and eventually the material was shelved altogether in favour of recording Red Carpet Massacre.^[4][5]

In early October, vocalist Simon Le Bon announced that the band had recorded three songs with famed hip hop producer Timbaland, his protégé Nate "Danja" Hills and engineer Jimmy Douglass at Manhattan Center Studios during September.^[6] Trade magazine Billboard reported that one of those tracks was "Nite-Runner", featuring Justin Timberlake, which at the time was expected to be the first single from the album. Two additional songs on which the band worked with Timbaland were titled "Skin Divers" and "Zooming In". Also mentioned were two other tracks: "48 Hours Later" and "Transcendental Mental", that were not used on the album.^[4]

Andy Taylor leaves the band[link]

Andy Taylor did not perform at any of Duran Duran's October shows and had not participated during the New York sessions with Timbaland, and on October 25, a message posted on the band's site announced: "As of last weekend [...] the four of us have dissolved our partnership and will be continuing as Duran Duran without Andy, as we have reached a point in our relationship with him where there is an unworkable gulf between us and we can no longer effectively function together."^[7]

Dominic Brown, who had taken Taylor's place at several previous missed concerts in the past, was hired as Duran Duran's guitarist, taking part in the recording sessions. Brown has since performed with the band as their full-time touring guitarist.

Taylor told Rolling Stone magazine that he was in favour of a more electric sound, whereas Simon Le Bon wanted to go in a different direction involving people like Justin Timberlake, and Timbaland. In addition, Taylor wrote in his autobiography that in the renewed bickering between himself, Nick Rhodes and Simon LeBon grew worse, and it was not helped by Taylor's emotional state following the death of his father, later diagnosed as clinical depression.^[8]

According to Taylor's autobiography, the final straw came when he discovered that the band's management had not been able to secure a working visa for him to record in the United States. The other band members maintained that they fully expected him to show up for the recording session with Timbaland, but that he became incommunicado and was unreachable by phone or e-mail, leaving them no choice but to continue on without him.^[9]

Remaking the album[link]

The band decided to rewrite the whole album following Taylor's departure. Fourteen songs had been completed for Reportage but according to Simon Le Bon: “When we sat down and listened to what we had done on our own, we didn’t feel we had a lead track, so we got in touch with Timbaland, who was the only producer out there that we knew we all liked."^{[citation needed]}

Following the New York sessions in September, Duran Duran moved to Metropolis Studios in London with Danja and Douglass for the next sessions. According to tabloid newspaper The Sun, in March 2007 Duran Duran had one track left that needed a female vocal, and they were trying to arrange to work with Nelly Furtado, Lily Allen and/or Britney Spears. Ultimately, a female vocal on the album never came to be, however.^{[citation needed]}

In June, Duran Duran announced on their official website that they were recording yet another track with Justin Timberlake, titled "Falling Down". However, it was "Nite-Runner" that the band decided to debut live at the much-anticipated fan-club only Hammerstein Ballroom concert in New York City on 17 June, and Le Bon was still touting it as the probable first single in a post to the band's official website.^[10] Several other album tracks ("The Valley", "Red Carpet Massacre", "Skin Divers" and "Box Full O' Honey") were played over the sound system at the concert, but were not performed live.

Following the New York concert and a listening party for the media at which the album title was announced, band members Simon Le Bon, Nick Rhodes, John Taylor and Roger Taylor went back to England to work on some mixes for the album and perform at the Concert for Diana and the Live Earth concerts in London. They completed one more recording session in New York and then returned to London to put the finishing touches on the album before its release.^[11]

Duran Duran drummer Roger Taylor slammed Sony for turning the work on their 2007's album Red Carpet Massacre into "a nightmare". According to him, the record label wanted to make their record "a bit pop" and forced them to collaborate with Timbaland, which turned out to be a painful experience.^{[citation needed]}

"We delivered an album to Sony that was a natural-sounding, almost rock album, and they were like: "We need something a bit pop, do you fancy doing a couple of tracks with Timbaland?" That whole project was a nightmare", he claimed.^{[citation needed]}

Roger Taylor added: "The thing was, we got an opportunity to work with Timbaland, so we thought: "Great, let's go for it". When Timbaland saw the guitar and the bass and the drums come in to the studio, I think he was mortified, because everything's in a box for those guys".^{[citation needed]}

This is slight at odds with the interviews with the band on the DVD which came with the Deluxe Edition of the album. In it they praise Timberlake, Timbaland as well as producer Danja.^{[citation needed]}

Singles[link]

"Falling Down" was the first, and ultimately only single released from the album. "Skin Divers" was planned to be released as the second single. "Nite-Runner" was also planned to be the possible lead single from the album. It is unknown why it was shelved.

Release and reception[link]

Professional ratings
Aggregate scores
Source	Rating
Metacritic	(61/100)[12]
Review scores
Source	Rating
Allmusic	[13]
BBC Music	(Positive)[14]
Billboard	[15]
Entertainment Weekly	B+[16]
NME	[17]
Pitchfork Media	(3.8/10)[18]
PopMatters	[19]
Rolling Stone	[20]
Spin	[21]
Times Online	[22]
Uncut	[23]

The album received mixed reviews from critics, and is second lowest-selling Duran Duran album in the band's history. Only Pop Trash has sold fewer copies.

Track listing[link]

Deluxe edition DVD[link]

Consists of videos showing the making of the album.

1. "The Album"
2. "The Artwork"
3. "The Video" - the making of the "Falling Down" music video
4. "The Campaign"
5. "The Out-Takes"

Vinyl edition[link]

A.

1. "The Valley" – 4:57
2. "Red Carpet Massacre" – 3:17
3. "Nite-Runner" (co-written, produced and featuring Timbaland & Justin Timberlake) – 3:58

B.

1. "Falling Down" (co-written, produced and featuring Justin Timberlake) – 5:41
2. "Box Full O' Honey" – 3:10
3. "Skin Divers" (co-written, produced and featuring Timbaland) – 4:24
4. "Tempted" – 4:22

C.

1. "Tricked Out" – 2:45
2. "Zoom In" (co-written and produced with Timbaland & Danjahandz) – 3:25
3. "She's Too Much" – 5:30

D.

1. "Cry Baby Cry" – 3:57
2. "Dirty Great Monster" – 3:40
3. "Last Man Standing" – 4:05

The Vinyl edition is limited to 2000 numbered copies and is pressed on red vinyl.

Personnel[link]

Performances[link]

Duran Duran are:

• Simon Le Bon - vocals
• John Taylor - bass
• Nick Rhodes - keyboards
• Roger Taylor - drums

With:

• Dominic Brown - guitars
• Simon Willescroft - saxophone on track 11
• Marcella Araica - additional programming on track 1
• Terri Walker - additional vocals on track 6
• Jim Beanz - additional vocals on tracks 3 & 10
• Justin Timberlake - additional vocals on tracks 3 & 4
• Timbaland - additional vocals on tracks 3 & 6

Production[link]

• Duran Duran - producer
• Danja - producer
• Timbaland - producer on tracks 3, 6 & 9
• Justin Timberlake - producer on tracks 3 & 4
• Jim Beanz - vocal production on tracks 5, 9, 10, 11 & 12
• Jimmy Douglass - producer, engineer, mixer
• Matthew Hager - engineer on "Falling Down" and mixer on "Cry Baby Cry"

Release history[link]

Chart positions[link]

References[link]

External links[link]

• The Second Supper Review of Red Carpet Massacre
• Red Carpet Massacre at Metacritic

Rolling out the red carpet from Air Force One.

The Japanese Prime Minister Junichiro Koizumi arrives in Washington, 2006

A red carpet is traditionally used to mark the route taken by heads of state on ceremonial and formal occasions, and has in recent decades been extended to use by VIPs and celebrities at formal events.

History[link]

Chilean President Sebastián Piñera arriving in Paris in October 2010.

More generally "red carpet treatment" and "rolling out the red carpet", refer to any special efforts made in the interests of hospitality.

The earliest known reference to walking a red carpet in literature is in the play Agamemnon by Aeschylus, written in 458 BC. When the title character returns from Troy, he is greeted by his vengeful wife Clytemnestra who offers him a red path to walk upon:

"Now my beloved, step down from your chariot, and let not your foot, my lord, touch the Earth. Servants, let there be spread before the house he never expected to see, where Justice leads him in, a crimson path."

Agamemnon, knowing that only gods walk on such luxury, responds with trepidation:

"I am a mortal, a man; I cannot trample upon these tinted splendors without fear thrown in my path."

Oriental carpets in Renaissance painting often show rugs and carpets, patterned but with red often the main background colour, laid on the steps to a throne, or on a dais where rulers or sacred figures are placed.

A red carpet was rolled out to a river to welcome the arrival of United States president James Madison in 1821.^[1] In 1902, The New York Central Railroad used plush crimson carpets to direct people as they boarded their 20th Century Limited passenger train. This is believed to be the origin of the phrase "red-carpet treatment".^[2] Film premieres are often laid down with red carpets.

Unrolled carpets can be potentially hazardous. In 2010, when Pope Benedict XVI arrived at Edinburgh airport in strong winds for a state visit to Britain, the red carpet was removed on health and safety grounds.^[3]

Publicity events[link]

A red carpet is also used in gala celebrity events such as the Academy Awards, Met Ball and Baftas. Whilst the awards take place inside, much of the publicity and excitement takes place outside with journalists discussing what designers are being worn by which stars and photographers taking pictures. This is now a spectacular international product placement arena of great importance to the fashion industry. Red carpets are often coupled with publicity backdrops which contain brand logos or emblems for photography purposes.

Carpeting in other colors may replace red in some instances to honor a certain cause or for a sponsored event, the sponsor's logo colors, such as a "green carpet" to promote environmental awareness, or for the Nickelodeon Kids' Choice Awards, an orange carpet is used instead to go with the network's primary imaging color.

Red carpets are now also used at non-royalty or celebrity events such as weddings.^[4]

Other[link]

United Airlines operates a series of VIP Lounges at major airports that were formerly known as "Red Carpet Clubs".

References[link]

Wikimedia Commons has media related to: Red carpets