Robert Palmer - Riptide (1985)

Note: this release was originally purchased as a cassette tape, later replaced by a CD.

I originally purchased my cassette version of this tape because I dug the song (and the video, let's be honest) Addicted To Love. I was somewhat prepared for the songs similar to Addicted to Love and the earlier Power Station stuff, but was completely unprepared for Palmer's reworkings of an old blues tune (Trick Bag) and torch songs old (Riptide) and new (Get It Through Your Heart). There's also a Jimmy Jam/Terry Lewis joint on here, the cover of Cherrelle's I Didn't Mean To Turn You On. The backing band is basically The Power Station then Bernard Edwards' bombastic production puts Palmer's voice and Tony Thompson's booming drums front and center. All that sounded great on my car stereo as I subjected my small college town to my musical preferences. All that stuff is going on and it's still one of the most cohesive, messy listens of the mid-'80s. If I remember correctly, the critics of the time didn't care for this one; but they all eventually sold out and got jobs at MTV so screw 'em.

Album chart Peaks

• US Billboard 200: #8
• Billboard Pop CD: #9
• CashBox CD: #20
• Rolling Stone: #5

Tracks:

1. Addicted to Love
2. Trick Bag
3. Hyperactive
4. I Didn't Mean to Turn You On
5. Get It Through Your Heart
6. Flesh Wound
7. Riptide
8. Discipline of Love

The weakest tune (and the first released single, oddly enough) is Discipline Of Love, but even then Edwards' production makes it enjoyable enough.

I've never heard a blues cover like the Devo-esque Trick Bag before or since - how does something so bizarrely arranged work so well?

Personal Memory Associated with this CD: I'm not sure which I remember more - wearing out this cassette in the Markmobile or watching MTV, waiting to catch a glimpse of the video.

Previously revisited for the blog:
The Very Best of Robert Palmer (1997)