

Peter Howell from Toronto Star remarked that the "ethereal" debut single "has all the earmarks of an unstoppable radio hit". Andrea Odintz from Rolling Stone felt the "dreamy" song "achieves the almost spiritual effects" of Duran Duran's 1982 hit " Save a Prayer". Sam Wood from Philadelphia Inquirer called it a "sober ballad". And as an added irony for a band that was introduced by MTV when radio wouldn't touch it, this particular song exploded across radio's many formats before a video was even made." Ann Powers from New York Times declared it as "a smooth yet pathos-ridden ballad". Tony Fletcher for Newsday stated that the "excellently crafted" ballad shows the group "to be capable of delivering the goods. Considine from The Baltimore Sun said the success of "Ordinary World" "is nothing short of miraculous who'd have thought these pretty boys would still be producing memorable singles at this stage of the game?" The Independent praised it as "a classic of transcendent beauty".
#Ordinary world acoustic full
Guarisco praised the song for having what he described as "a warm ballad feel, matching elegant verses full of entrancing repeating-note hooks with a rousing chorus built on soaring runs of ascending notes." Guarisco described Simon Le Bon's vocal as being "rich in emotion but tastefully restrained". In a retrospective review of "Ordinary World", AllMusic journalist Donald A. The lyrics to "Ordinary World" were written by Le Bon as the second of a trilogy of songs for his late friend David Miles the others being " Do You Believe in Shame?" (1988) and " Out of My Mind" (1997). Later on, in an interview featured on the DVD release of the show, Le Bon stated that he loved singing in Italian because of the very open vowel sounds in the language. The duet, along with the whole show, was released on home video as Pavarotti & Friends: Together for the Children of Bosnia.
#Ordinary world acoustic free
The performance featured new lyrics in Italian, written especially for the show by producer Michele Centonze, most of which were a very free adaptation (rather than a translation) of Le Bon's original lyrics the title "Ordinary World" was rendered as "mondo umile", i.e. Le Bon later performed the song with Luciano Pavarotti at a WarChild benefit. Everyone who heard it could apply it to something in their life, but for a different reason." It really worked for me emotionally and mentally. And putting it into words freed me, absolutely. Le Bon noted the song lyrics are about "trying to get over the death of a best friend.

His instrumental rock trio version became a staple of his solo shows and was included on one of his solo albums "Roadrage". The guitar solo that characterises this song was arranged and performed by Warren Cuccurullo, former player with Frank Zappa. The drums were played by Steve Ferrone at Maison Rouge. The keyboards in the song were arranged and performed by Nick Rhodes and John Jones. In the United Kingdom, the song was released on 18 January 1993. To their surprise, the single proved so popular that Capitol had to push the US release date up, ultimately releasing it in December. It was not until Capitol Records leaked "Ordinary World" to a radio station in Jacksonville, Florida during the second half of 1992 that it seemed like Duran Duran would find a resurgence in popularity.

Their album Liberty had proved a commercial failure, its two singles failing to make a significant showing on the British or American charts.

Background īy the early 1990s, Duran Duran's popularity had faded. "Ordinary World" remains one of Duran Duran's most popular songs and in October 2021, was their second-most streamed song in the UK. Lead vocalist Simon Le Bon sang the song with Luciano Pavarotti at a benefit concert for War Child. The song was nominated for Ivor Novello Award for Best Song Musically and Lyrically in May 1994. 1 on the US Billboard Mainstream Top 40, the Canadian RPM Top Singles chart, and the Italian Singles Chart. " Ordinary World" is a song by English rock band Duran Duran, released in December 1992 as the first single from their self-titled album (1993), commonly known as The Wedding Album. For the Green Day song, see Revolution Radio.įrom the album Duran Duran (The Wedding Album) For the Get Set Go album, see Ordinary World (album). For the 2016 American film, see Ordinary World (film). For the 1986 Chinese novel, see Ordinary World (novel).
