Astronaut Duran Duran
Sony; Rs 135

Dark, shiny pop dipped in electronic sauce has always been an integral part of the Duran Duran sound. So you look to feel it, hear it more as they once again pronounce their hallowed original line-up after 21 years, one that once juiced up a larger part of the 80s with its bitter orange sound.

You try and convince your reawakened Duran drained self that life is still pretty much the party when the boys taught you a futuristic move or two with The reflex. Sunrise retains a ghostly semblance of the intrinsic Duran beats and if you listen up-close, a drum portion of Wild boys sounds so deliberated. Is it Simon le Bon refusing to his recognise his years (which may be largely due to his vocal chords doing the pristine act) or his misconception that a lot hasn?t passed since he triumphed up a celebratory Wedding Album out of the blue? That was a short lease of life and it?s a wonder that they have actually made it this far.

Well, these guys know their fans, and the fact that they are well into their 30s. Even 40s! They even know that teens today are yet to suck up raunchy pop in its femme-masochistic format. Tricky tricky. So? They mix up their beats well, dash it up with large doses of the irresistible Le Bon hook-ups and wrap up a delightful ageing young-boy package. Too much contemplation will leave one disappointed so just rejoice with the fact that the boys are back together as an awesome five piece that?s in blistering form.

There are two ways to look at Astronaut. The first being how close they get to their original sound, close but not crunchy enough. The second is how they score as ageing, disintegrated musicians back on track. Well, the Fab Five have never failed to surprise and here they are, delighting you yet again with some stand-on-your-butt kind of music fare that vents your parched 80s pop appetite. Nothing spectacular about the title track, but it still captivates you with its silly futuristic grooves. That?s the greatness of Duran Duran. They make the ordinary sound as if it were everyday cream being iced from another world. Bedroom toys, for instance, there?s enough kinkiness in the tune to make a dying man stand dead straight but if you?re not a Durannie? Ha! It may not even get you up. Side A is reminiscent of the Duran of old; there?s enough for you, your son and of course your mother who now might want to remember the good old times when she spanked you delirious for pinning up the boys all over the place. The groovy Want you more, the sexy-serious What happens tomorrow and the long-limbed disco beats of Nice; scratchy enough.

Side B is reserved for true Durannies who realise that the band sounds a lot saner when serious. There will be complaints about the guys not delivering another Union of the snake or Is there something I should know, but the guys have also grown, remember? And so have you. Even they?re sure that their fans are less likely to do all the silly things they did at the prime of youth. So there is nothing that should prevent you from wallowing in the passionate grooves of Chains or seeping in the heartfelt vocal fallout of Still breathing. Taste the summer is the perfect pool-side song in many years, even with its rather shallow doo-doo-doos. Finest hour is exhilarating and self-explanatory; the closest you get to their highly underrated, illustrious Pop Trash. The vague discomfort of One of those days; comforting really. Well, if you have loved Duran Duran and have been yet following them, it?s time to celebrate life. For life is a little silly, a little sexy, utterly melodious and of course full of promise. Duran Duran is a bit of all that. And much more.

Mind Body & soul
Joss Stone
EMI/Virgin; Rs 135

So much white trash and a bleach blonde singer trying her soul best to turn things around ? we don?t know whether that?s a possibility at all but what we do know is that the mega-throat of Joss Stone is back with some great musical back-up. On her cover laden Soul Sessions debut 17-year-old Joss had effortlessly traced a towering set of vintage tunes and set the bar way high for most of the so-called-?sin?gers of today. Mind Body & Soul hence had a lot of climbing to do to prevent Joss from falling deep into the pan of fluke artistes. Far from it, her second record turns out to be a flashy soul-explorer with added muscle. How?s that for a young, old world vocalist tiding against jock rippers on the music scene? Upward trendy? Okay. Ultra trendy? No way. Joss doesn?t need such up slurs and from the moment she takes off with Right to be wrong you know there?s no escaping her indifference. And just how she eases on to Jetlag can invoke further speculation.

Is she for real or second time lucky? The disco-tinged soul beats of You had me and the haunting grooves of Spoiled erases such bitchy doubts and beyond which you are placed firmly under the fantastic spell of Joss Stone.

Love her or leave her but she will still make you squirm in delight with tunes like Snakes and ladders, Less is more and of course the stadium-diva type of cut ? Security. She signs off sedately with the sparkling drowse of Sleep like a child; something invigorating about the disheartening sounds on this one. This is an effort that?s designed to reach out to a wider audience. Nothing wrong with that, for we have seen so much body with hardly any mind, that suddenly so much soul just awakens us from our disjointed musical slumber. Wake up to Joss Stone. It?s a real day.