The best Duran Duran compilation imaginable is a three-disc set containing the group's first two albums and a brief third disc summarizing the remainder of their career. However, EMI is so satisfied with Greatest -- a set that could use more room for the early years -- that the label has rolled it out a few times in various forms. It first came out 1998, in the shape of a 19-track CD, as soon as many Durannies forgot about 1997's Medazzaland. A video companion was released in some territories, but a fan's dream come true -- a two-disc DVD of the same title, with all sorts of bells and whistles -- came out in 2003. This particular version of Greatest, released in 2005, contains the original CD release, and a one-disc version of the DVD set is thrown in. The prime issue with the track listing is just as nagging as it was in 1998: too little room for other highlights off Duran Duran and Rio, since neglected singles and album cuts from those releases have aged just as well, if not much better, compared to the smashes. Fans of the hits from the self-titled 1993 "Wedding Album" will feel short-changed as well. Duran Duran, as much as any other group, just can't be served well by a single-disc best-of, so the compilers can't really be faulted, and the worthiness of only a couple inclusions can truly be debated. The DVD is a treat, though the absence of "Planet Earth" is nearly unforgivable. ~ Andy Kellman, All Music Guide
short of buying all the albums on CD, (or (wishing) re-issues mixed digitally ala the Cure reissues)we are all reminded "we can't always get what (we) want". If you don't already have all the albums to make your own mixed cd from, this packaging and re-packaging is a good thing for the newbie, but smells kinda-like profit-angling by the label.
As a child of the 70s and a survivor of the 80s, Duran Duran does hold a special place in my heart. Having been there when MTV exploded on the scene and gave rise to pretty boy bands like Duran Duran, it's tough not to like the boys and the dance pop they churned out(and having experienced an amazing night with a remarkably gorgeous blonde after dancing to 'Hungry Like The Wolf' - sigh!). But let me ask this, how many greatest hits can this band put out? Two now. That's enough.