interviewers who referred to Duran Duran solely as a "video band". Critical reception Despite its commercial success, reviews for Seven and the Ragged Tiger were predominantly negative upon release. Critics cited poor lyrics and found the group utilised their musical influences in unoriginal ways. Record Mirror Jim Reid, in particular, felt the record marked the first chapter in the band's decline, deeming the music "no more than a sub-art school mix of plagiarism" and the lyrics "chickenfeed mysteries that neither say or mean anything". Reid ultimately found the LP "bad as in pathetic, useless, no good" and a "painful [listening] experience" that showcases the band's "mediocre talent". Ira Robbins was also negative in Trouser Press, describing Seven as "a harmless, useless mishmash of old riffs and weak songs that undoes all the progress evidenced on Rio". Unlike Reid, Robbins concluded the band were "too talented to be satisfied with such a dismal showing". In an extremely negative review, Sounds dubbed the record "Seven and the Rancid Ravings", arguing that it is "so assuredly awful it breaks new ground in badness", and concluding: "Seven is more redolent of illness – a nervous disorder of people near to cracking up – than it is of just being an amusingly dreadful recording." In NME, Paolo Hewitt argued that pop stars are only interested in themselves, with Duran Duran being "perhaps the most striking example". Hewitt found the lyrics "fail gloriously" at "attempting to add drama and shade" to the material's "already weak structures". Nevertheless, Seven and the Ragged Tiger did receive some positive reviews. Melody Maker Michael Oldfield found the album a bold move at this stage of the band's career, in which they solidify the 1980s dancefloor sound while simultaneously putting an end to their "wimpish image". He also said that Seven "restores danger and menace to a band that was veering dangerously close to the insipid." Meanwhile, Billboard considered the LP a "well-crafted set that refines their new-pop style without risking any major shifts in direction. Here, that yields fresh bursts of their now familiar choral sound, more playful eroticism and, throughout, plenty of dance-oriented rhythmic momentum for their club fans," giving particular recognition to the production. Peter Martin of Smash Hits wrote: "The arrangements are watertight, the melodies are razor-sharp and every number is drenched with the mystique of a James Bond theme. A classy concoction, it should ensure they'll