Clues (Robert Palmer album)

Last updated

Clues
Robert Palmer Clues.jpg
Studio album by
Robert Palmer
ReleasedAugust 1980
RecordedDecember 1979 – June 1980
Studio Compass Point (Nassau, Bahamas)
Genre
Length31:17
Label Island
Producer Robert Palmer
Robert Palmer chronology
Secrets
(1979)		Clues
(1980)		 Maybe It's Live
(1982)
Professional ratings
Review scores
SourceRating
AllMusic Star full.svgStar full.svgStar full.svgStar full.svgStar empty.svg [3]
Billboard (unrated) [4]
Pitchfork 8.0/10 [5]

Clues is the sixth studio album by the English singer Robert Palmer, released in 1980. It has a rockier, new wave edge compared to his previous releases. [3] The album peaked at number 59 on the Billboard Top Pop Albums chart and No. 31 in the UK in 1980. The album also peaked at No. 1 in Sweden, No. 3 in France, No. 15 in the Netherlands and No. 42 in Italy. Donald Guarisco of AllMusic described Clues as "one of Robert Palmer's strongest and most consistent albums", despite being somewhat short at 31 minutes. [3]

Contents

Palmer, who played percussion on Talking Heads' Remain in Light , had the favour returned when the band's drummer Chris Frantz played bass drum on "Looking for Clues" along with Palmer's drummer, Dony Wynn. Andy Fraser, the former bassist of Free and the author of Palmer's first breakthrough single "Every Kinda People", played bass on the album on two songs. New wave musician Gary Numan co-wrote a song with Palmer (another co-write between the two appearing on Maybe It's Live ) and played keyboards on a remake of his own song "I Dream of Wires". [3] This was first issued on CD in 1985 when Island's catalogue was issued under WEA Manufacturing. The WEA pressings are sought-after collector's items.

The video to the first track on the album, "Looking for Clues", aired on MTV's first day of broadcasting on 1 August 1981.

The album was certified gold in Germany by BMieV in 1992.

Songs

The lead track, "Looking for Clues" was described by AllMusic as "a clever slice of new wave pop that surprises the listener with an unexpected xylophone solo". [3]

"I Dream of Wires" is a cover of a song from Gary Numan's album Telekon released the same year.

The cover of the Beatles' "Not a Second Time", featured a second verse added by Palmer.

Track listing

All songs by Robert Palmer except where noted.

  1. "Looking for Clues" – 4:52
  2. "Sulky Girl" – 4:07
  3. "Johnny and Mary" – 3:59
  4. "What Do You Care" – 2:44
  5. "I Dream of Wires" (Gary Numan) – 4:34
  6. "Woke Up Laughing" – 3:36
  7. "Not a Second Time" (John Lennon, Paul McCartney) – 2:48
  8. "Found You Now" (Gary Numan, Robert Palmer) – 4:37

Personnel

Production

Charts

Certifications and sales

RegionCertification Certified units/sales
Canada (Music Canada) [15] Gold50,000^
Germany (BVMI) [16] Gold250,000^

^ Shipments figures based on certification alone.

See also

References

  1. ↑ Lechner, Ernesto (2004). "Robert Palmer". In Brackett, Nathan; Hoard, Christian (eds.). The New Rolling Stone Album Guide (4th ed.). Simon & Schuster. pp. 613–614. ISBN   0-7432-0169-8.
  2. 1 2 3 Ruhlmann, William (1 January 1997). "Robert Palmer". In Bogdanov, Vladimir; Erlewine, Michael; Erlewine, Stephen Thomas; Unterberger, Richie; Woodstra, Chris (eds.). AllMusic Guide to Rock. San Francisco: Miller Freeman, Inc. p. 685.
  3. 1 2 3 4 5 Donald A. Guarisco. "Clues – Robert Palmer | Songs, Reviews, Credits". AllMusic . Retrieved 21 January 2017.
  4. ↑ "Review: Robert Palmer – Clues" (PDF). Billboard . Vol. 85, no. 40. 4 October 1980. p. 108. ISSN   0006-2510 . Retrieved 30 May 2020– via American Radio History.
  5. ↑ Erlewine, Stephen Thomas (22 December 2024). "Robert Palmer: Clues". Pitchfork . Retrieved 22 December 2024.
  6. ↑ Kent, David (1993). Australian Chart Book 1970–1992 (illustrated ed.). St Ives, N.S.W.: Australian Chart Book. p. 228. ISBN   0-646-11917-6.
  7. ↑ "RPM Top 50 Albums - January 24, 1981" (PDF).
  8. ↑ "Dutchcharts.nl – Robert Palmer – Clues" (in Dutch). Hung Medien. Retrieved 3 April 2022.
  9. ↑ "Offiziellecharts.de – Robert Palmer – Clues" (in German). GfK Entertainment Charts. Retrieved 3 April 2022.
  10. ↑ "Charts.nz – Robert Palmer – Clues". Hung Medien. Retrieved 3 April 2022.
  11. ↑ "Swedishcharts.com – Robert Palmer – Clues". Hung Medien. Retrieved 3 April 2022.
  12. ↑ "Official Albums Chart Top 100". Official Charts Company. Retrieved 3 April 2022.
  13. ↑ "Robert Palmer Chart History (Billboard 200)". Billboard. Retrieved 3 April 2022.
  14. ↑ "Top 100 Album-Jahrescharts" (in German). GfK Entertainment Charts. 1981. Archived from the original on 19 October 2021. Retrieved 3 April 2022.
  15. ↑ "Canadian album certifications – Robert Palmer – Clues". Music Canada . Retrieved 3 April 2022.
  16. ↑ "Gold-/Platin-Datenbank (Robert Palmer; 'Clues')" (in German). Bundesverband Musikindustrie . Retrieved 3 April 2022.
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