Robert Palmer: Riptide (1985)

I was a little surprised when Pete, my friend in residence, professed his positive opinion of this record. It just didn't seem to fit with the other music he liked. I could always count on hm to offer nearly never-ending suggestions of what to listen to next, but I was puzzled, but them I realized that he liked the new wave sound of Clues, which led him to Riptide. The records sound totally different, but at least it made sense.

This LP followed the huge Power Station record. Palmer was the lead vocalist, in case you were not aware. I liked this record instantly (my first copy was on cassette). I listened to this LP recently, and it reminded me of how much I like it. Even the Allmusic reviewer liked it, and awarded it 4.5 stars.

I was greatly pleased to see Palmer achieve some true fame. On the other hand, in later years, I was increasingly dismayed that many people only knew Palmer from the track Addicted to Love and Simply Irresistible, from the next LP. Worse, some dismissed him as a misogynist because of those two videos, and also the video for I Didn't Mean to Turn You On. Maybe he was, but the videos undermined the music, in my opinion. Imagine listening to Addicted to Love without associating it with that video.