worked with Sadkin to create a more natural sound compared to the "machine-like, rigid beats" of the first two studio albums; and Andy used a more melodic style of playing compared to his "usual cut-and-thrust". Rafael de Jesus and Mark Kennedy also contributed percussion, which Malins felt helped create a "more exciting, dynamic foundation for the songs". Nevertheless, the tracks did not come together easily, going through different versions regularly. By this time, the band members grew tired of the album's long recording process and tensions rose over its direction. Andy later described its recording as a "laborious plod", while Rhodes said: Sadkin and Rhodes discarded several of the rhythm tracks during mixing and received backlash from John and Andy over rerecording their parts. Reflecting in his memoir, John acknowledged the period as the beginning of a split in the band that only grew worse over the next year: "[It was] Andy and I on one side. Simon, Nick and the Berrows on the other. Roger did a balancing act." Alongside growing tensions in the studio, the band members were forced to relocate from their hotels due to the constant barrage of fans. Rhodes and Sadkin ultimately worked 15-hour days with Little to mix Seven and the Ragged Tiger, which lasted into October 1983. By the time the first single, "Union of the Snake", was being mixed, Rhodes and Sadkin only had 24 hours to write and record its B-side, "Secret Oktober", which Malins describes as a "moody electronic-carousel". Music and lyrics Commentators have recognised Seven and the Ragged Tiger as a departure from Duran Duran's first two studio albums. Richard Buskin of Sound on Sound observed more of a "synth-dance sound", while author Annie Zaleski wrote that Seven is "indebted less to guitar-driven post-punk and more the sleeker synth-pop sounds popular at the time". Writing for AllMusic, Mike DeGagne found that the album's content has the band "moving ever so slightly into a danceclub arena", with "their ability to produce a sexier sound" favouring electronics and instrumentation over "a firm lyrical and musical partnership". Malins agrees, referring to Seven as a "very detailed, technology-based record". AllMusic's Stewart Mason described the opening track, "The Reflex", as sounding like "an underwritten exercise in art-funk", drawing comparisons to Rio "Hold Back the Rain". "New Moon on Monday" and "Union of the Snake" showcase the band's influences: the former boasts an echo of