martes, marzo 25, 2025

Rocktrospectiva: The Polished And Memorable "The Power Station" Turns 40


Released on 25 March 1985 "The Power Station" was the debut album by supergroup The Power Station, the album peaked at No. 6 on the Billboard 200, and No. 12 on the UK albums chart, spawning three singles "Some Like It Hot", "T-Rex's cover "Get It On (Bang A Gong)" and "Communication" providing some energy and vibe to make the singles the most memorable althought the rest of the record falls flat unfortunately. 
 
The Power Station was a band under the direction of guitarist Andy Taylor, the Power Station was an attempt to break free from the constraints of Duran Duran's polished synth pop, adding elements of funk, courtesy of Chic drummer Tony Thompson, as well as straight-ahead hard rock, courtesy of vocalist Robert Palmer. Everything is polished with a glossy sheen, which makes the record ironically sound quite similar to Duran Duran, although without their sense of popcraft. 
 
The Power Station came together in 1984 to record a one-off album, as a respite from the relentless global touring and promotion of Duran Duran. The original plan for this one-album project was for the three musicians (Taylor, Taylor and Thompson) to provide musical continuity to an album full of material, with a different singer performing on each track. Those who were approached included Mick Jagger, Billy Idol, Mars Williams who eventually contributed brass to the album and Richard Butler  and Mick Ronson. 
 
The group then invited eclectic soul singer Robert Palmer to record vocals for the track "Communication". When he heard that they had recorded demos for "Get It On (Bang a Gong)", he asked to try out vocals on that one as well, and by the end of the day, the group knew that they had found that elusive chemistry which distinguishes successful bands. Before long, they had decided to record the entire album with Palmer. However, the union was not to hold. By the time the band decided to take the 8-track set on the road, Palmer had left to record his solo album Riptide which, likely because of the involvement of the Power Station participants Edwards, Thompson, and Andy Taylor, is very similar in sound to the Power Station album. So he was replaced by Michael Des Barres famed for co-writing Animotion's "Obsession". Sadly, most of the people who made this project are now gone. 
 
The Power Station Track List: 
 
1. Some Like It Hot
2. Murderess
3. Lonely Tonight
4. Communication
5. Get It on (Bang A Gong)
6. Go To Zero
7. Harvest For The World
8. Still In Your Heart

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