Addictions Vol.1 - Robert Palmer

...artist.

Addictions Volume 1 - released in October 1989 - was the first of two retrospectives which, overseen by Palmer himself, sought to highlight the impressive variety in his work. 13 handpicked tracks - in several cases, retouched and re-recorded - covered his output for the Island record label between 1975 and 1988.

Though the title makes a play on his biggest hit, this CD is by no means short of well-known songs. ...
...token new recording added on, Addictions Vol.1 mixes up the familiar with the more obscure but no less intruiging.

BAD CASE OF LOVING YOU makes a cracking opener, a 1978 recording remixed due to Palmer's dissatisfaction with the original's production. An all-out rocker that pre-dates the likes of Simply Irresistable by a whole decade, it proves what a great rock vocalist he can be.

PRIDE showcases the wry humour so often ... more

In the 1980s Robert Palmer was synonymous with stylish rock/pop, but also stigmatised by a perceived sexist attitude to women - largely due to his infamous video for Addicted To Love. The stereotyped image of the Brummie-born singer became that of the smooth, jet-set rock star surrounded by beautiful females, yet he'd been plying his trade since the early 70s, first with the less-than-glamourous Vinegar Joe (along with Elkie Brooks), and then as a solo artist.

Addictions Volume 1 - released in October 1989 - was the first of two retrospectives which, overseen by Palmer himself, sought to highlight the impressive variety in his work. 13 handpicked tracks - in several cases, retouched and re-recorded - covered his output for the Island record label between 1975 and 1988.

Though the title makes a play on his biggest hit, this CD is by no means short of well-known songs. Consciously steering away from the standard practice for Greatest Hits projects, that of stacking the hits in chronological order with a token new recording added on, Addictions Vol.1 mixes up the familiar with the more obscure but no less intruiging.

BAD CASE OF LOVING YOU makes a cracking opener, a 1978 recording remixed due to Palmer's dissatisfaction with the original's production. An all-out rocker that pre-dates the likes of Simply Irresistable by a whole decade, it proves what a great rock vocalist he can be.

PRIDE showcases the wry humour so often present in his work, yet nearly always overlooked. Utilising a style of World Music called Juju a good five years before Paul Simon's high-profile Graceland album arrived on the scene, the lyric is a tongue-in-cheek, but still pertinent, reply to Olivia Newton-John's mega-hit from that year (1980) - Physical. "Anorexia Nervosa mannequin, all this physicality will wear you thin. Hey, Olivia Newton-John, what you say?".

ADDICTED TO LOVE needs no introduction. A staple of music television for an eternity, with its misunderstood sexism in the form of Palmer backed by a band of heavily made-up babes playing various instruments with a liberal dose of suggestiveness. Thirteen year later, Shania Twain turned the idea on its head with a role-reversal identikit version for Man, I Feel Like A Woman (although in fact, the very same idea had been done in 1987 by a little-known female duo whose name sadly proves elusive now). The song itself began life with an anti-drug theme, later altered to something less controversial (but no less addictive, of course). There were two monster riffs in the mid-eighties - Money For Nothing by Dire Straits, and Addicted To Love. It still packs a mean punch.

SWEET LIES was the newest track to appear on Volume One, having been specially written and recorded in 1988 for the movie of the same name. It made little impact on the singles chart, peaking well outside the Top 40, but it's another of Palmer's classy mid-tempo ballads.

WOKE UP LAUGHING returns to the offbeat ethnic sounds of Pride, and is actually two separate rhythm patterns played back in syncopation. It's sunny, and slightly bizarre, but it grows with repeated listens. This version is another re-mixed and remodelled track.

LOOKING FOR CLUES is one of his better-known tracks, hitting the charts in 1980. Making use of sequencers and keyboards, it's one of the CDs more mainstream selections, yet still distinctively quirky.

SOME GUYS HAVE ALL THE LUCK isn't quite the same song as Rod Stewart's mid-80s single, although they share the same origin, the track by a Jamaican teenager called Junior Tucker. Only the title remains in Palmer's version. The vocals here are rather strange, straddling the octaves with almost comical results. A memorable chorus distracts from what is really something of an odd little song.

SOME LIKE IT HOT is the only track from his stint as vocalist with self-proclaimed "super-group" The Power Station, who also featured two of the Taylors from Duran Duran (John and Andy) and the drummer from Chic, Tony Thompson. Palmer's involvement really only extended to adding a lyric to the backing track, and then singing it. The result is better than might have been expected, a drum-heavy funk-rock workout punctuated with brass, but it doesn't rank among his finest moments.

WHAT'S IT TAKE was the first Palmer song to feature the JuJu rhythms which later cropped up on Pride (this track was recorded a year previously), but it's not really anything special. It seems the main reason for including it was that it's one of his father's favourites.

EVERY KINDA PEOPLE is included on both Volumes of Addictions, although in different incarnations. This is the 1978 original, and perhaps the superior version. A beautiful, uplifting call to racial tolerance - with a similar vibe to Bob Marley's One Love (People Get Ready) - the use of steel dreams only adds poignancy to Palmer's soulful and impassioned crooning.

JOHNNY & MARY was the most famous Robert Palmer single in Britain prior to Addicted To Love, reaching the UK Top 20 in 1980, the same year as Looking For Clues. As with that track, it employs prototype sequencers to minimalistic, but impressive, effect. The half-spoken vocals are almost emotionless, as they detail a relationship devoid of passion, where everything has become routine and habitual.

SIMPLY IRRESISTABLE - now more noteworthy through its use in the recent American Psycho film, where Patrick Bateman crusies through the night with this song on his walkman - was a significantly bigger hit in the U.S. (# 2) than here in the U.K. (# 44). A raucous race through hard rock territory, it's Addicted To Love on steroids. The trademark Robert Palmer wit shines through in this tale of a sexually voracious woman - "She's a craze you'd endorse, she's a powerful force. You're obliged to conform when there's no other course."

STYLE KILLS ends the album on an edgy note, a wave of blistering axework set to a martial backbeat with some stinging lyrics about the evils of style over substance (this was 1980, before the decade of decadence had really kicked in). It's one of two apparently unliklely collaborations with Gary Numan - the other, I Dream Of Wires - found its way onto Addictions Volume 2.

The booklet contans complete lyrics for all tracks, detailed recording information, and comments from Palmer in conversation with a music journalist which not only give a fascinating insight into the genesis of each track, but also his reasoning behind their inclusion.

Overall, this CD is best appreciated in tandem with its subsequent counterpart from 1992, as the combination of both Volumes provides a truer, more complete picture and reflection of Robert Palmer's underrated talents as a singer, writer, musician, arranger and all-round maverick. 

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