Thank You
Studio album by
Released27 March 1995 (1995-03-27)
Recorded1992–1994
Genre
Length54:26
LabelParlophone
Producer
Duran Duran chronology
Duran Duran
(1993)
Thank You
(1995)
Medazzaland
(1997)
Singles from Thank You
  1. "Perfect Day"
    Released: 13 March 1995[1]
  2. "White Lines (Don't Do It)"
    Released: June 1995
  3. "Lay Lady Lay"
    Released: 1995 (Italy and Brazil only)

Thank You is the eighth studio album by English rock band Duran Duran. It was released on 27 March 1995 by Parlophone. Consisting of cover versions, the album performed moderately on the charts, reaching number 12 on the UK Albums Chart and number 19 on the US Billboard 200, but received negative reviews from critics.

The title track, ("Thank You", originally by Led Zeppelin) originally appeared in an edited form (5:06) on the soundtrack to the 1994 film With Honors. A still shorter edit (4:32) later appeared on Encomium: A Tribute to Led Zeppelin, a month before the full version was included on this album.

Critical reception

Professional ratings
Review scores
SourceRating
AllMusic[2]
Encyclopedia of Popular Music[3]
Entertainment WeeklyC[4]
Rolling Stone[5]
The Rolling Stone Album Guide[6]
Select[7]
Spin2/10[8]

The two singles from the album were covers of Grandmaster Melle Mel's "White Lines (Don't Don't Do It)" and Lou Reed's "Perfect Day". "Lay Lady Lay" was a single in Italy and in Spain.

J. D. Considine of Rolling Stone said "some of the ideas at play here are stunningly wrongheaded, like the easy-listening arrangement given Elvis Costello's 'Watching the Detectives' or the version of Zeppelin's 'Thank You' that sounds like the band is covering Chris DeBurgh. But it takes a certain demented genius to recognize Iggy Pop's 'Success' as the Gary Glitter tune it was meant to be or to redo '911 Is a Joke' so it sounds more like Beck than like Public Enemy."[5]

In 2006, the album was declared the worst album of all time by Q magazine.[9]

"Perfect Day" was the first single from Thank You and became a moderate hit, peaking at number 28 on the UK Singles Chart. In the US the song narrowly failed to crack the Billboard Hot 100, only reaching as high as #101 from 24 June to 8 July 1995. The B-side of the single was a version of the Velvet Underground's song "Femme Fatale", previously available in 1993, on Duran Duran's Wedding Album.[10]

Lou Reed said on the electronic press kit that accompanied the album that Duran Duran's version of "Perfect Day" was "the best cover ever completed of one of my own songs".[11]

Track listing

No.TitleWriter(s)Original artistLength
1."White Lines"Melvin Glover; Sylvia RobinsonMelle Mel5:31
2."I Wanna Take You Higher"Sylvester StewartSly and the Family Stone5:06
3."Perfect Day"Lou ReedLou Reed3:51
4."Watching the Detectives"Elvis CostelloElvis Costello4:48
5."Lay Lady Lay"Bob DylanBob Dylan3:53
6."911 Is a Joke"William Jonathan Drayton Jr.; Keith Shocklee; Eric SadlerPublic Enemy3:59
7."Success"David Bowie; Ricky GardinerIggy Pop4:05
8."Crystal Ship"Jim MorrisonThe Doors2:52
9."Ball of Confusion"Norman Whitfield; Barrett StrongThe Temptations3:46
10."Thank You"Jimmy Page; Robert PlantLed Zeppelin6:36
11."Drive By"Simon Le Bon; Warren Cuccurullo; Nick Rhodes; John TaylorDuran Duran5:34
12."I Wanna Take You Higher Again"Sylvester StewartSly and the Family Stone4:25
Total length:54:26
Bonus tracks on Japanese release
No.TitleWriter(s)Original artistLength
13."Diamond Dogs"David BowieDavid Bowie6:10
14."Femme Fatale"Lou ReedThe Velvet Underground and Nico4:22
Total length:64:58
Perfect Day UK single disc 1
No.TitleWriter(s)Original artistLength
1."The Needle and the Damage Done"Neil YoungNeil Young2:06

Personnel

Duran Duran

Additional musicians

Technical

Charts

Chart performance for Thank You
Chart (1995) Peak
position
Australian Albums (ARIA)[12] 63
Austrian Albums (Ö3 Austria)[13] 25
Belgian Albums (Ultratop Flanders)[14] 34
Belgian Albums (Ultratop Wallonia)[15] 16
Canada Top Albums/CDs (RPM)[16] 15
Dutch Albums (Album Top 100)[17] 34
European Albums (Music & Media)[18] 36
German Albums (Offizielle Top 100)[19] 50
Hungarian Albums (MAHASZ)[20] 30
Italian Albums (Musica e dischi)[21] 17
Japanese Albums (Oricon)[22] 27
Swiss Albums (Schweizer Hitparade)[23] 44
UK Albums (OCC)[24] 12
US Billboard 200[25] 19

Certifications

Certifications for Thank You
Region Certification Certified units/sales
Canada (Music Canada)[26] Gold 50,000^
United States (RIAA)[27] Gold 500,000^

^ Shipments figures based on certification alone.

References

  1. ^ "New Releases: Singles" (PDF). Music Week. 11 March 1995. p. 33. Retrieved 8 August 2021.
  2. ^ Erlewine, Stephen Thomas. "Thank You – Duran Duran". AllMusic. Retrieved 18 January 2019.
  3. ^ Larkin, Colin (2011). The Encyclopedia of Popular Music (5th concise ed.). Omnibus Press. ISBN 978-0-85712-595-8.
  4. ^ "Thank You Review". Entertainment Weekly.[permanent dead link]
  5. ^ a b "RollingStone.com: Thank You : Duran Duran : Review". Rolling Stone. Archived from the original on 30 November 2005.
  6. ^ Sheffield, Rob (2004). "Duran Duran". The Rolling Stone Album Guide (4th ed.). Simon & Schuster. ISBN 0-7432-0169-8.
  7. ^ Morris, Mark (4 April 1995). "Duran Duran: Thank You". Select. p. 93. Retrieved 5 September 2017.
  8. ^ Hannaham, James (May 1995). "Duran Duran: Thank You: Capitol". Spin. p. 96. Retrieved 25 August 2017.
  9. ^ "The worst album in the world... ever!". The Independent. 26 March 2006. Retrieved 9 January 2019.
  10. ^ "Bottom Feeders: The Ass End of the '90s, Vol. 23". Popdose.com. 11 June 2012. Retrieved 5 December 2013.
  11. ^ Thank You EPK, 1995.
  12. ^ Ryan, Gavin (2011). Australia's Music Charts 1988–2010 (PDF ed.). Mt Martha, Victoria, Australia: Moonlight Publishing. p. 89.
  13. ^ "Austriancharts.at – Duran Duran – Thank You" (in German). Hung Medien. Retrieved 18 January 2019.
  14. ^ "Ultratop.be – Duran Duran – Thank You" (in Dutch). Hung Medien. Retrieved 18 January 2019.
  15. ^ "Ultratop.be – Duran Duran – Thank You" (in French). Hung Medien. Retrieved 18 January 2019.
  16. ^ "Top RPM Albums: Issue 9143". RPM. Library and Archives Canada. Retrieved 18 January 2019.
  17. ^ "Dutchcharts.nl – Duran Duran – Thank You" (in Dutch). Hung Medien. Retrieved 18 January 2019.
  18. ^ "European Top 100 Albums" (PDF). Music & Media. Vol. 12, no. 15. 15 April 1995. p. 29. OCLC 29800226 – via World Radio History.
  19. ^ "Offiziellecharts.de – Duran Duran – Thank You" (in German). GfK Entertainment Charts. Retrieved 18 January 2019.
  20. ^ "Album Top 40 slágerlista – 1995. 18. hét" (in Hungarian). MAHASZ. Retrieved 19 January 2019.
  21. ^ "Classifiche". Musica e dischi (in Italian). Retrieved 29 May 2022. Select "Album" in the "Tipo" field, type "Duran Duran" in the "Artista" field and press "cerca".
  22. ^ デュラン・デュランのアルバム売り上げランキング [Duran Duran's album sales ranking] (in Japanese). Oricon. Archived from the original on 1 August 2013. Retrieved 18 January 2019.
  23. ^ "Swisscharts.com – Duran Duran – Thank You". Hung Medien. Retrieved 18 January 2019.
  24. ^ "Official Albums Chart Top 100". Official Charts Company. Retrieved 18 January 2019.
  25. ^ "Duran Duran Chart History (Billboard 200)". Billboard. Retrieved 18 January 2019.
  26. ^ "Canadian album certifications – Duran Duran – Thank You". Music Canada. 24 April 1995. Retrieved 18 January 2019.
  27. ^ "American album certifications – Duran Duran – Thank You". Recording Industry Association of America. 14 June 1995. Retrieved 18 January 2019.