Riptide

by Robert Palmer

Overview

Coming on the heels of the massive success of the Power Station, Riptide packages Robert Palmer's voice and suave personality into a commercial series of mostly rocking songs that seem custom-tailored to be chart hits. The Power Station connection threatens to overpower Palmer's usually more eclectic musical interest, but with that band's producer/member Bernard Edwards handling production duties and members Andy Taylor and Tony Thompson contributing as well, stylistic similarities were inevitable. "Flesh Wound," though, sounds like a retread of "Some Like It Hot," with its squelching staccato guitars and tribal drums mimicking the hit single. "Hyperactive" adds a bit of a pop veneer to the formula, with its bright keyboards dating the song to the Miami Vice era; that's not to say it doesn't hold nostalgic charm. "Addicted to Love" shares some of the same punch, somewhat slowing down the Power Station's bombast into slinkier, blues territory, while maintaining a heavy rock crunch. The song skyrocketed to the top of the U.S. charts and sold more than a million copies as a single worldwide. A music video for the song, featuring sexy models gyrating blankly, no doubt helped sales and launched a new phase of Palmer's career, where music videos would nearly overshadow his songwriting. Equally catchy and almost as successful is the brilliant take on the Jimmy Jam/Terry Lewis song "I Didn't Mean to Turn You On." It is perhaps Riptide's most daring track, with its fractured jittery notes, funky basslines, and pounding drums matching Palmer's bothered, sweaty vocals to create a yearning song that drips with passion. Also not to be missed is Earl King's "Trick Bag," which Palmer translates into a fun Clues-style minimalist modern blues song. Even if Riptide uses the Power Station as a blueprint, its only true faults reside in the cheesy album-opening and album-closing refrains of "Riptide," which seemingly satisfy Palmer's tropical proclivities. They might be relaxing and humorous as elevator music, but they are sharply at odds with the tone of the album and Palmer's usually impeccable musical taste. Cheesy opening and ending aside, Riptide has some truly addictive moments and it set him firmly on course, for better or worse, for the even harder-rocking Heavy Nova. ~ Tim DiGravina

Product Details

Release Date:	10/01/2021
Label:	Universal
UPC:	4988031444566
Rank:	44521

Album Credits

Performance Credits

Robert Palmer   Primary Artist,Bass,Drums,Guitar,Vocals,Keyboards
Eddie Martinez   Guitar
Fonzi Thornton   Vocals (Background)
Chaka Khan   Vocals
Jeff Bova   Keyboards
Bernard Edwards   Bass,Guitar (Bass),Bass (Electric)
Jack Waldman   Keyboards
Benny Diggs   Vocals (Background)
Frank Blair   Bass (Electric)
Wally Badarou   Keyboards
Richard Gibbs   Trombone,Keyboards
Guy Pratt   Bass,Guitar (Bass),Bass (Electric)
Tony Thompson   Drums
Dany Wynn   Drums
Dony Wynn   Drums
Bennie Diggs   Vocals (Background)
Lenny Pickett   Horn
Andy Taylor   Guitar

Technical Credits

Chaka Khan   Arranger,Vocal Arrangement
Jason Corsaro   Engineer
Bernard Edwards   Producer
Robert Palmer   Design,Composer,Producer,Cover Design,Post Production,Recording Arranger
D. Batteau   Composer
D. Freeman   Composer
Terry Lewis   Composer
D. Nelson   Composer
Earl King   Composer
Frank Blair   Composer
Don Freeman   Composer
Eric "ET" Thorngren   Mixing,Post Production
Walter Donaldson   Composer
Dennis Nelson   Composer
Robert Allen   Composer
Jimmy Harris   Composer
Sue Palmer   Art Direction
Tim Kramer   Mixing
Al Stillman   Composer
Gus Kahn   Composer
Tony Hayes   Composer
Jamie Chaleff   Assistant Engineer
Jack Skinner   Mastering
Giuseppe Pino   Photography
Billy Miranda   Assistant Engineer
Guiseppo Pino   Photography
Dony Wynn   Composer
Tony Ray Haynes   Composer
John Davenport   Assistant Engineer
Michael Abbott   Assistant Engineer
David Batteau   Composer
Tony Haynes   Composer
Steve Boyer   Assistant Engineer
Steve Rinkoff   Assistant Engineer
James Harris III   Composer
Benji Armbrister   Assistant Engineer