Search - Power Station :: The Power Station (CD & DVD)

In Memory of Robert Palmer, Tony Thompson, & Bernard Edwards

The Groove | Boston, MA | 04/30/2005

(4 out of 5 stars)

"Forget the naysayers, such as the Amazon editorial reviewer, who contemptuously sniff at this album. Diehard fans of this fusion of hard rock, Chic-inspired disco, and new wave will be thrilled with the 20th anniversary reissue of the Power Station's debut CD. Competently remastered with bonus tracks and an extra DVD (featuring music videos and clips of the group in the studio), it has everything a Power Station fan could wish for. If you're among the uninitiated, here's a little background: in 1985, bass player John Taylor and guitarist Andy Taylor of Duran Duran hooked up with Robert Palmer and Chic drummer Tony Thompson for this supergroup effort. The result was a CD that not only bears a harder edge than your typical Duran Duran album, but it was also the record that jump-started Robert Palmer's career. With the hits "Some Like it Hot" and the cover of T-Rex's "Bang a Gong," the Power Station's CD went Top Ten and platinum. More importantly, it gave Andy Taylor, an underrated guitarist, the chance to cut loose in ways he never could when he was in Duran Duran (check out his blazing solo at the end of "Go to Zero"), and many of the tracks feature exceptional drumming by Tony Thompson. But the union turned out to be short-lived. As the band prepared for its first tour, Palmer backed out, forcing the remaining members to hire Michael Des Barres as a replacement singer (Des Barres can be heard on one of the bonus tracks, "Someday, Somehow, Someone's Gotta Pay" from the movie "Commando"). Then, in the mid-Nineties, Palmer, Thompson and Andy Taylor reunited for the flop album "Living in Fear" which ended up being largely ignored. And finally, tragedy struck. Thompson, Palmer, and producer Bernard Edwards all passed away within a span of a decade. Fortunately, the music lives on in this fine reissue, and it comes highly recommended."

It's an 80s album, get over it.

Craig F. Dominey | Atlanta, GA USA | 04/28/2005

(4 out of 5 stars)

"Even after all this time, it's hard for people like the Amazon critic above to grudgingly admit they like The Power Station or Duran Duran without throwing out some smart aleck comment about 80s music or production. By that logic, we should discard most everything from the 50s, 60s and 70s that are too easily indentified with their time periods. Sure the 80s were decadent, but I'll take this fun, slick and loud rock/funk record any day over the mope rock (Coldplay et al) and 80s imitators (Killers et al) that the kids listen to today.



Despite what the Amazon critic says, this album was far from a failure for Power Station or Duran. This album was a huge success, spawning three top 40 hits. Duran went on after this in various lineups and had several more hits of their own. As most people know, Duran eventually regrouped and have toured to sold out arenas in 2004-2005.



Curse of The Power Station, indeed.



Well, you can probably guess that I'm in my 30s, and if you're reading this review, odds are that you are too. So any criticism of this album to those of us who always loved it is somewhat meaningless. This album was part of the soundtrack of my youth. I drove around with it blasting in my car. I played it at blowout parties with my friends. I met my first love with it playing somewhere in the background, I'm sure. I even saw them live with Michael Des Barres as the singer, which made perfect sense if you know anything about the history of glam rock.



So, I can't wait to get this in remastered form. Great to have all the videos as well. I'll crank this at home once again, though with a Diet Coke - no cocaine!"

Tremendous Tony Thompson

It's Me, | Houston | 05/23/2005

(4 out of 5 stars)

"Many fans bought the original release for the presence of Duran Duran's John and Andy Taylor. More discovered the talent of singer Robert Palmer and sent his subsequent solo album to multi-platinum success. But for me, this project was all about Chic drummer Tony Thompson and his forceful style. With various Chic Organization projects, Thompson had already proved himself to be a versatile drummer (and the sound of many, many hits). On this album, Thompson is allowed free reign by producer Bernard Edwards (also from Chic) to indulge all of his rock/funk "badness." To this day, this remains my favorite recorded drum sound - just HUGE.

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