Duran Duran are dance music pioneers and one of their legacies is the amazing 12 inch re-mixes they would do for their songs. They were one of the first bands to adopt this very New York niteclub technique, the precursor to the legions of dj spinning today (Nick Rhodes was the resident dj at the Rum Runner, their club roots) and pre-digital technology, Duran Duran did not simply cut tape to extend the songs. They just jammed out nine minute versions with precision skill and timing that they dubbed their "nite versions." As a result, "Carnival," with only four extended songs was the first EP in history to make the pop charts.

From their 1981 intro as the New Romantic avatars, "Planet Earth" and "Girls on Film" and beyond, DD created these alternate long versions that some argue are often better than the originals. I would certainly make that case for "Hold Back The Rain" from their greatest disc, "Rio." An anthem to friendship and living on the edge of the road, the original British mix was too short and subdued. The band didn't like it and re-recorded it for the EP and US release, properly raising the levels on its bursting chorus, stretching the song out to its apropos length, over seven minutes, including the boyuant fade-out that I wished would go on forever. I guess for me it does.