Budget-priced two disc set pairing together two of the huge British new wave group's original albums, 1984's double-platinum & top five live record 'Arena' & 1988's top 30 'Big Thing'. Both contain all of the track... more »s & the original cover art from when they first released. A combined total of 23 tracks. Comes packaged in an embossed, full color CD-sized slipcase box with each disc in a separate, standard jewel case. 1999 release.« less
Budget-priced two disc set pairing together two of the huge British new wave group's original albums, 1984's double-platinum & top five live record 'Arena' & 1988's top 30 'Big Thing'. Both contain all of the tracks & the original cover art from when they first released. A combined total of 23 tracks. Comes packaged in an embossed, full color CD-sized slipcase box with each disc in a separate, standard jewel case. 1999 release.
CD Reviews
DO NOT BE FOOLED! It's just BIG THING n ARENA!
dewmonster | Reality checking in | 07/13/2000
(4 out of 5 stars)
"The sneaky buggers! This is just the albums BIG THING and ARENA surrounded by a cardboard wrapper. I would have returned it since I own them already but I instead gave 'em away. Of course there's nothing wrong with the beautiful music Duran Duran makes. This is just a sneaky way to clear overstock that wouldn't sell as fast otherwise."
Don't Bother
09/25/2000
(1 out of 5 stars)
"Don't bother with this cd. Nothing new here. This is Big Thing and Arena cd's wrapped in a new package. Complete waste of time."
Add to the collection
Christian Buckley | Washington State, United States | 10/28/2004
(4 out of 5 stars)
"This is a combo of the Big Thing and Arena albums, but with a couple tracks not found on either. Not sure why they bundled these two, as Arena was recorded at the height of DD fame back in 84, while Big Thing came out four years later and missing Roger (drums) and Andy (guitar). The song styles don't match, but you know...its all good. This really is for the collector. It includes an alternate version of Drug, and a live version of Lake Shore Driving. If you already have both albums, and you don't care about the two additional songs, spend elsewhere."
A strange bargain
Christian Buckley | 07/03/2000
(4 out of 5 stars)
"Duran Duran's Original Gold is two of the band's previous albums (Arena and Liberty) bundled together. Why this was done makes no artistic sense to me. Arena is a live concert album by the original five members. Big Thing was released four years and another album (Notorious) later. It's a slightly experimental studio album by the remaining three members. Even the cover sleeve for both CDs is a little odd. It features a publicity still for the album Liberty, which was released two years after Big Thing. Guitarist Warren Cuccurullo is only on Big Thing and drummer Sterling Campbell isn't on either CD! I can only recommend this CD set to Duran fans who don't already have Arena and Big Thing, because it's cheaper than buying them both."
Mixed blessing
John Sposato | Syracuse, NY, USA | 05/16/2001
(3 out of 5 stars)
"If you're just starting a Duran collection with just CDs, and you're about to get "Big Thing" and "Arena", this would save you money. Two CDs for the price of one. But if you have them already, you might not need this issue. Also, the cover is of the 1990 "Liberty" lineup with Soul Asylum drummer Sterling Campbell, who was in the group from late 1988 to early 1991. I just bought two seperate EU imports instead."
Track Listings (23) - Disc #1