[40 Year Addiction] -- Forty years ago this week, Robert Palmer (1949 – 2003) released his eighth solo studio album, Riptide. While not exactly critically acclaimed back in the day, Riptide is now considered a perfect packaging of 80s commercial sensibilities with Palmer's persuasive R&B stylings. And that's not to say it wasn't a successful release. The album peaked at #5 in the UK and at #8 on the US Billboard 200. It also achieved double Platinum sales in the US.
This album launched five singles. Of those five, "Addicted to Love" and "I Didn't Mean to Turn You On" were quite successful. "Addicted to Love" reached the #1 position on the US Billboard Hot 100, the US Billboard Top Rock Tracks, and the US Cash Box charts while also climbing charts globally. The song's distinctive music video was part of the driving force behind that chart success. That music video's style also pretty much became his trademark. "I Didn't Mean to Turn You On" reached merely #79 on the Billboard Hot 100, but it did climb much higher on some other charts and was in steady rotation on the radio and MTV (remember those music outlets, folks?).
All told, Riptide mainly hews to the terrain traveled by The Power Station, the supergroup with whom Palmer released an album earlier in 1985, but there are worse roads to follow.
Flashback: Riptide (November 4, 1985)
And that's all till next week. Dedicated 80s-philes can find more flashbacks in the Prophet or Madman archives or via Bookended's 80s Flashback tag. As always, your comments are welcome on today's, or any other, flashback post. And if you like what I'm doing here, please share the link with your friends. If, however, you don't like the flashback, feel free to share it with your enemies.
See you in seven!
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