Addictions Vol.2 - Robert Palmer

...release the second volume of Addictions 12 months after the first, but for whatever reason it didn't appear until early 1992. It came in the midst of a busy time for Robert Palmer in terms of recording output, with the 1990 double-album Don't Explain sandwiched between the pair of retrospective collections. None of those 18 songs made it onto Addictions 2, since he'd moved to EMI by then, and this was an Island label project.

It's ...
...time, 2 more than on Addictions Vol.1, and just as many classic Palmer songs, though no massive hit single in the Addicted To Love mould.

In contrast to the first collection, virtually everything has been tinkered with and improved upon, with Palmer clearly delighted at being able to return to his back catalogue and put things right. As he is quoted saying in the sleeve notes : "A project like this gives you the benefit of hindsight, ... more

The intention was to release the second volume of Addictions 12 months after the first, but for whatever reason it didn't appear until early 1992. It came in the midst of a busy time for Robert Palmer in terms of recording output, with the 1990 double-album Don't Explain sandwiched between the pair of retrospective collections. None of those 18 songs made it onto Addictions 2, since he'd moved to EMI by then, and this was an Island label project.

It's far from a second-rate exercise, scratching around for leftovers to fill the space. Quite the opposite, in actual fact. There are 15 tracks this time, 2 more than on Addictions Vol.1, and just as many classic Palmer songs, though no massive hit single in the Addicted To Love mould.

In contrast to the first collection, virtually everything has been tinkered with and improved upon, with Palmer clearly delighted at being able to return to his back catalogue and put things right. As he is quoted saying in the sleeve notes : "A project like this gives you the benefit of hindsight, why not use it? It's like cleaning up your past mess and getting a second chance". It's an intelligent and considered approach which gives the two Addictions an added integrity.

REMEMBER TO REMEMBER, first released in 1979, gets a 90s makeover. A densely bubbling, slightly funky arrangement is topped off with a lyric based on, apparently, the I-Ching. Not one of his best-known tracks, but this re-make gives it a definite appeal.

SNEAKIN' SALLY THROUGH THE ALLEY, the title track of his debut solo album from 1974, features a raw, insidious guitar lick and a distinctly 70s arrangement. Not as slick as his subsequent work, it nevertheless grooves along with some style, and best exemplifies the earlier phase of his career.

MAYBE IT'S YOU's frenetic re-invention came from Palmer's deliberate aim to go for an Aerosmith vibe on this re-recorded version of a 1982 track. It's easy to imagine Steven Tyler wailing his way through this, and its similarities to the opening track on their 1989 album Pump are surely no coincidence.

YOU ARE IN MY SYSTEM applies the touch-up process differently, this time in the form of a completely new vocal especially for this compilation. Written by 80s funk outfit The System, it's another standout from Palmer's repertoire - a clinical but glistening electro-dance track very much reminiscent of its era.

I DIDN'T MEAN TO TURN YOU ON was originally recorded by Jam & Lewis protege Cherrelle (she of Saturday Love fame in the mid-80s), and became the follow-up Top 10 hit to Addicted To Love for Palmer in 1986. Connoisseurs will doubtless prefer the original, and with some justification, but his interpretation is still pleasingly crisp and minimalistic.

CAN WE STILL BE FRIENDS? is the precursor to his later attempts at Marvin Gaye's Mercy Mercy Me and I Want You, and although this was written by Todd Rundgren, Palmer sensed that soulful vibe in Rundgren's original version. Simply as smooth as they come.

MAN SMART, WOMAN SMARTER features Little Feat, and it's a paired-down mix of the 1976 recording. Calypso touches and a humourous lyric that borders on facetiousness give this an easy, loping vibe.

TOO GOOD TO BE TRUE's reggae skank is nicely edgy, the retouching of the mix bringing out a typically Palmer-ish sexuality. He writes about women in a way that is probably more understandable to the male species, which is no doubt the root of the sexist accusations which have dogged him throughout his career.

EVERY KINDA PEOPLE - here in its remixed form - isn't quite as different as it seemed at the time, save for the new acoustic guitar motif. Wisely, the tone of the original has been kept, with the modern production merely creating a slightly less-dated version of a sublime song.

SHE MAKES MY DAY was the surprise #6 hit from 1988's Heavy Nova. Simply Irresistable had been expected to provide that album's main single (and in the U.S., it was), but this disarmingly romantic ballad did the buisiness in Britain. An old-fashioned crooner's tune with some gorgeous strings, it probably took most people by surprise, although the title track for 1986's Riptide album had hinted at his ability to pull off this style of music. Of course, he then took the idea to its logical conclusion by first dedicating a whole side of Don't Explain to more of the same, and then making an entire album of mellow, orchestral crooner standards (Ridin' High).

BEST OF BOTH WORLDS is more reggae, lighter in mood than Too Good To Be True and again the result of after-the-fact rejigging to get the desired effect, and one which had eluded him at the time.

GIVE ME AN INCH provides one of the most intruiging highlights of this CD, the 1975 performance capturing a seriously atmospheric and unusual disco feel.

YOU'RE GONNA GET WHAT'S COMING ups the tempo with a heads-down boogie workout topped off with some choice lyrics. "You came up on me like a landslide. Once in a while I get atken like that, and I like it...". Dating from 1978, it benefits from the same remix treatment metered out to Volume 1's Bad Case Of Lovig You. The sound is sharp, invigorated rock.

I DREAM OF WIRES, like Style Kills on the first compilation, features Gary Numan as both musician and writer. Gurgling, primitive 1981 synths give the track a Human league-aurra (definitely a very good thing), while the lyrics paint an eerie futureworld. "I am the final silence, the last electrician alive. And they called me the sparkle, I was the best I worked them all....I dream of wires." This track, in particular, stands out as one of Robert Palmer's finest. I Dream Of Wires will have gained a wider exposure through its inclusion here than it ever received tucked away on the Clues album.

THE SILVER GUN, from 1983, embraces eastern influences to the extent of actually being sung in Urdu, and - as ever with Palmer - impressively and unaffectedly so. Around the same time as this track was recorded, a pop duo called Blancmange were breaking into the UK charts with their similarily exotic sounds of Living On The Ceiling. Coincidence, or just another example of Palmer's canny knack for delving into musical genres at the right time? Whatever, it meant that for most of the 1980s, he sounded utterly in tune, and even ahead of, with contemporary styles and trends.

Addictions Volume 2 is every bit as essential as Volume 1, and - in some ways - perhaps even more so. Indeed, I Dream Of Wires, You Are In My System, Give Me An Inch and Sneakin' Sally Through The Alley are arguably superior to anything on the first collection.

 

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