Duran Duran

Recorded at Manchester's MEN Arena in December 2011, Duran Duran's A Diamond in the Mind: Live 2011 is a lackluster live album that doesn't do much to rekindle any kind of attention for this once prominent synth-pop quartet. Performed on tour after the release of the mostly forgettable All You Need is Now, the set features hits spanning the band's 30-year career. But the downfall of the album is its poor recording quality. The crowd sounds abrasive and shrill, with a muddled mix only compacting the problems, giving the air of a poor bootleg rather than a proper live album. But it's important to note that Duran Duran are, first and foremost, a visual band ― these are the faces that launched a thousand new wave bands when they first appeared on MTV in the early '80s. And without the accompanying DVD, all of the performance's subtle nuances and audience interactions are washed out in a sea of white noise. This is by no means essential listening for fans, let alone the casual listener.