JANICE'S BLUES ALLEY PRESENTS
ROBERT PALMER
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The career of blue-eyed soul singer Robert Palmer was a study in style versus substance. While the performer's earliest work won praise for its skillful assimilation of rock, R&B, and reggae sounds, his records typically sold poorly, and he achieved his greatest notoriety as an impeccably dressed lounge lizard. By the mid-'80s, however, Palmer became a star, although his popularity owed less to the strength of his material than to his infamous music videos: taking their cue from the singer's suave presence, Palmer's clips established him as a dapper, suit-and-tie lady's man who performed his songs backed by a band comprised of leggy models, much to the delight of viewers who made him one of MTV's biggest success stories. Born Alan Palmer on January 19, 1949, in Batley, England, he spent much of his childhood living on the island of Malta before permanently returning to Britain at the age of 19 to sing with the Alan Bown Set. A year later he joined Dada, a 12-piece, Stax-influenced soul group which soon changed its name to Vinegar Joe; after three LPs with the band -- a self-titled effort and Rock'n'Roll Gypsies, both issued in 1972, and 1973's Six Star General -- Palmer exited to mount a solo career, and debuted in 1974 with Sneakin' Sally Through the Alley, recorded with members of Little Feat and the Meters. With 1975's Pressure Drop, he tackled reggae, a trend furthered following a move to Nassau prior to 1978's Double Fun, which featured Palmer's first hit, "Every Kinda People." With 1979's self-produced Secrets, his music moved into more rock-oriented territory, as typified by the single "Bad Case of Loving You (Doctor, Doctor)." Palmer's stylistic experimentation continued with 1980's Clues, a foray into synth-pop aided by Gary Numan and Talking Heads' Chris Frantz which yielded the club hit "Looking for Clues." After 1983's Pride, Palmer teamed with the Duran Duran side project Power Station, scoring hits with the singles "Some Like It Hot" and "Get It On" (a T. Rex cover), which returned the singer to overt rock territory. After exiting the band prior to a planned tour, Palmer recorded the 1985 solo album Riptide, a sleek collection of guitar rock which scored a number one hit with "Addicted to Love," the first in a string of videos which offered him in front of a bevy of beautiful women. The follow-up, "I Didn't Mean to Turn You On," continued to play with the sex symbol image and hit number two, as did "Simply Irresistible," the first single from 1988's Heavy Nova. By 1990's Don't Explain, Palmer returned to the eclecticism of his earliest material; without any attendant soft-core videos, sales plummeted, but he stuck to his guns for 1992's Ridin' High, a collection of Tin Pan Alley and cabaret chestnuts. Two years later, Palmer's wide array of worldbeat influences cropped up again on Honey, which also featured guitar work from Extreme axeman Nino Bettencourt. Woke Up Laughing followed in 1998, it was an adventurous, if somewhat odd, collection of non-hit album tracks remixed and in some cases re-recorded.Rhythm & Blues, a slick set of adult contemporary pop, came out in 1999 to lukewarm sales and reviews. After a live album in 2001, Palmer bounced back with the future blues of 2003's Drive. However, Palmer had little time to enjoy it's release. On September 26, 2003 he died suddenly after suffering a heart attack. He was 54. by Jason Ankeny, Allmusic Guide |
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1974 Sneakin' Sally Through the Alley | |||
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1. Sailing Shoes 2. Hey Julia 3. Sneakin' Sally Thru The Alley 4. Get Outside |
5. Blackmail 6. How Much Fun 7. From A Whisper To A Scream 8. Through It All There's You | ||
1975 Pressure Drop | |||
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1. Give Me An Inch 2. Work To Make It Work 3. Back In My Arms 4. Riverboat 5. Pressure Drop |
6. Here With You Tonight 7. Trouble 8. Fine Time 9. Which Of Us Is The Fool | ||
1976 Some People Can Do What They Like | |||
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1. One Last Look 2. Keep In Touch 3. Man Smart, Woman Smarter 4. Spanish Moon 5. Have Mercy |
6. Gotta Get A Grip On You (Part II) 7. What Can You Bring Me 8. Hard Head 9. Off The Bone 10. Some People Can Do What They Like | ||
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1978 Double Fun | |||
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1. Every Kinda People 2. Best Of Both Worlds 3. Come Over 4. Where Can It Go? 5. Night People |
6. Love Can Run Faster 7. You Overwhelm Me 8. You Really Got Me 9. You're Gonna Get What's Coming | ||
1979 Secrets | |||
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1. Bad Case Of Loving You (Doctor, Doctor) 2. Too Good To Be True 3. Can We Still Be Friends? 4. In Walks Love Again 5. Mean Old World 6. Love Stop |
7. Jealous 8. Under Suspicion 9. Woman You're Wonderful 10. What's It Take? 11. Remember To Remember | ||
1980 Clues | |||
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01. Looking For Clues 02. Sulky Girl 03. Johnny And Mary 04. What Do You Care |
05. I Dream Of Wires 06. Woke Up Laughing 07. Not A Second Time 08. Found You Now | ||
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1982 Maybe It's Live | |||
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01. Sneakin' Sally Through The Alley 02. What's It Take? 03. Best Of Both Worlds 04. Every Kinda People 05. Bad Case Of Loving You (Doctor, Doctor) |
06. Some Guys Have All The Luck 07. Style Kills 08. Si Chatouillieux 09. Maybe It's You 10. What Do You Care | ||
1983 Pride | |||
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01. Pride 02. Deadline 03. Want You More 04. Dance For Me 05. You Are In My System |
06. It's Not Difficult 07. Say You Will 08. You Can Have It (Take My Heart) 09. What You Waiting For 10. The Silver Gun | ||
1985 Riptide | |||
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01. Riptide 02. Hyperactive 03. Addicted To Love 04. Trick Bag 05. Get It Through Your Heart |
06. I Didn't Mean To Turn You On 07. Flesh Wound 08. Discipline Of Love 09. Riptide (Reprise) | ||
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1988 Heavy Nova | |||
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01. Simply Irresistible 02. More Than Ever 03. Change His Ways 04. Disturbing Behavior 05. Early In The Morning |
06. It Could Happen To You 07. She Makes My Day 08. Between Us 09. Casting A Spell 10. Tell Me I'm Not Dreaming | ||
1990 Don't Explain | |||
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01. Your Mother Should Have Told You 02. Light Years 03. You Can't Get Enough Of A Good Thing 04. Dreams To Remember 05. You're Amazing 06. Mess Around 07. Happiness 08. History 09. I'll Be Your Baby Tonight |
10. Housework 11. Mercy Mercy Me / I Want You 12. Don't Explain 13. Aeroplane 14. People Will Say We're In Love 15. Not A World 16. Top 40 17. You're So Desirable 18. You're My Thrill | ||
1992 Ridin' High | |||
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01. Love Me Or Leave Me 02. (Love Is) The Tender Trap 03. You're My Thrill 04. Can't You More 05. Baby It's Cold Outside 06. Aeroplane 07. Witchcraft 08. What A Little Moonlight Can Do |
09. Don't Explain 10. Chance 11. Goody Goody 12. Do Nothin' Till You Hear From Me 13. Honeysuckle Rose 14. No Not Much 15. Ridin' High 16. Hard Head | ||
1994 Honey | |||
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01. Honey A 02. Honey B 03. You're Mine 04. Know By Now 05. Nobody But You 06. Love Takes Time 07. Honeymoon |
08. You Blow Me Away 09. Close To The Edge 10. Closer To The Edge 11. Girl U Want 12. Wham Bam Boogie 13. Big Trouble 14. Dreams Come True | ||
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1999 Rhythm & Blues | |||
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01. True Love 02. No Problem 03. I Choose You 04. Stone Cold 05. Sex Appeal 06. Work To Make It Work 99 |
07. All The Will In The World 08. You're Not The Only One 09. Mr. Wise Guy 10. Let's Get It On 99 11. Tennis 12. Twenty Million Things | ||
2001 Live at the Apollo | |||
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01. Some Like It Hot 02. Hyperactive 03. Discipline Of Love 04. Tell Me I'm Not Dreaming 05. I Didn't Mean To Turn You On 06. Looking For Clues 07. Change His Ways 08. Pride 09. Woke Up Laughing |
10. Johnny & Mary 11. Riptide 12. Between Us 13. Flesh Wound 14. More Than Ever 15. Simply Irresistible 16. Casting A Spell 17. Addicted To Love | ||
2003 Drive | |||
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01. Mama Talk To Your Daughter 02. Why Get Up? 03. Who's Foolin' Who? 04. Am I Wrong 05. TV Dinners 06. Lucky 07. Stella 08. Dr. Zhivago's Train 09. Ain't That Just Like A Woman |
10. Hound Dog 11. Crazy Cajun Cake Walk Band 12. I Need Your Love So Bad Bonus Tracks 01. 20 Ways 02. It Hurts Me Too 03. Stupid Cupid 04. Milkcow's Calf Blues | ||
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