An album of
Duran Duran covering their "influences" was never something even the most dedicated fan wanted to hear, yet the band had the audacity to record
Thank You, a collection of the group's favorite songs. Featuring songwriters as diverse as
Bob Dylan and
Sly Stone,
Thank You works best when the band realizes the monumental silliness of its cover, as on "White Lines," which is performed with
Grandmaster Flash himself, and the acoustic blues rendition of
Public Enemy's "911 Is a Joke." Or it works when the band can reinvent material like
Lou Reed's "Perfect Day" into a slick MOR ballad. When
Thank You doesn't work, it's because the band doesn't quite get what made the original version special ("Lay Lady Lay" and "Watching the Detectives"). Too many plain, mediocre songs (
the Doors' "Crystal Ship") prevent the album from being either unintentionally funny or genuinely successful. The record is solely a curiosity and not a very interesting one at that. ~ Stephen Thomas Erlewine