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''The Power Station'' is the debut album by the supergroup The Power Station, released in 1985 on
Capitol Records Capitol Records, LLC (known legally as Capitol Records, Inc. until 2007) is an American record label distributed by Universal Music Group through its Capitol Music Group imprint. It was founded as the first West Coast-based record label of not ...
. The album peaked at no. 6 on the US ''Billboard'' 200 and no. 12 on the
UK Albums Chart The Official Albums Chart is a list of albums ranked by physical and digital sales and (from March 2015) audio streaming in the United Kingdom. It was published for the first time on 22 July 1956 and is compiled every week by the Official Charts ...
.Chart Stats – The Power Station – The Power Station
/ref> All three singles released from the album were Top 40 hits in the United States. An anniversary edition was released 21 February 2005, featuring 7 bonus tracks, as well as a 35-minute DVD.


Background

The Power Station was a supergroup formed by Robert Palmer, Tony Thompson (of Chic) and
Andy Andy may refer to: People *Andy (given name), including a list of people and fictional characters * Horace Andy (born 1951), Jamaican roots reggae songwriter and singer born Horace Hinds * Katja Andy (1907–2013), German-American pianist and pia ...
and John Taylor from
Duran Duran Duran Duran () are an English rock band formed in Birmingham in 1978 by singer and bassist Stephen Duffy, keyboardist Nick Rhodes and guitarist/bassist John Taylor. With the addition of drummer Roger Taylor the following year the band we ...
. They 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 Sir Michael Philip Jagger (born 26 July 1943) is an English singer and songwriter who has achieved international fame as the lead vocalist and one of the founder members of the rock band the Rolling Stones. His ongoing songwriting partnershi ...
,
Billy Idol William Michael Albert Broad (born 30 November 1955), known professionally as Billy Idol, is a British-American singer, songwriter, and musician. He first achieved fame in the 1970s emerging from the London punk rock scene as the lead singer o ...
, Mars Williams (who eventually contributed brass to the album) and Richard Butler (of
The Psychedelic Furs The Psychedelic Furs are a post-punk band founded in London in February 1977. Led by lead vocalist Richard Butler and his brother Tim Butler on bass guitar, the Psychedelic Furs are one of the many acts spawned from the British post-punk scen ...
), and
Mick Ronson Michael Ronson (26 May 1946 – 29 April 1993) was an English musician, songwriter, arranger, and producer. He achieved critical and commercial success working with David Bowie as the guitarist of the Spiders from Mars. He was a session musici ...
. The group then invited eclectic soul singer Robert Palmer to record vocals for the track "
Communication Communication (from la, communicare, meaning "to share" or "to be in relation with") is usually defined as the transmission of information. The term may also refer to the message communicated through such transmissions or the field of inqui ...
". 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 A rip tide, or riptide, is a strong offshore current that is caused by the tide pulling water through an inlet along a barrier beach, at a lagoon or inland marina where tide water flows steadily out to sea during ebb tide. It is a strong tidal flo ...
'' (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). He was replaced by
Michael Des Barres Michael Philip Des Barres (born 24 January 1948), the 26th Marquis Des Barres, is an English actor and rock singer. He appeared as Murdoc in the original '' MacGyver'', Nicholas Helman, Murdoc's mentor, on the new reboot of '' MacGyver'' (2016 ...
(famed for co-writing
Animotion Animotion is an American synth-pop band from Los Angeles, California, best known for the songs " Obsession", "Let Him Go", "I Engineer", and " Room to Move". Formed in 1983 from the remnants of a retro science-fiction band called Red Zone, t ...
's "Obsession"). During the promotion cycle for the album, EMI released three singles, including the cover of T. Rex's "Get It On". Versions of these three singles are now included among the bonus tracks on the 2005 re-release. In addition, the re-release also includes the song "Somewhere, Somehow, Someone's Gonna Pay", the only known Power Station song featuring Michael Des Barres on lead vocals. The song was used for the end titles of the
Arnold Schwarzenegger Arnold Alois Schwarzenegger (born July 30, 1947) is an Austrian and American actor, film producer, businessman, retired professional bodybuilder and politician who served as the 38th governor of California between 2003 and 2011. ''Time'' ...
action film ''
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'' and was titled "We Fight for Love".


Title

While the actual name of the album is ''The Power Station'', the specific formats were adopted as part of the name (similar to PiL's 1986 ''
Album An album is a collection of audio recordings issued on compact disc (CD), vinyl, audio tape, or another medium such as digital distribution. Albums of recorded sound were developed in the early 20th century as individual 78 rpm records c ...
''), thus ''The Power Station 33''
vinyl album A phonograph record (also known as a gramophone record, especially in British English), or simply a record, is an analog sound storage medium in the form of a flat disc with an inscribed, modulated spiral groove. The groove usually starts near ...
, and ''The Power Station CD'' on
Compact Disc The compact disc (CD) is a digital optical disc data storage format that was co-developed by Philips and Sony to store and play digital audio recordings. In August 1982, the first compact disc was manufactured. It was then released in O ...
.


Track listing

All songs written by Robert Palmer, Andy Taylor and John Taylor; except where noted ;Side one #"
Some Like It Hot ''Some Like It Hot'' is a 1959 American crime comedy film directed, produced and co-written by Billy Wilder. It stars Marilyn Monroe, Tony Curtis and Jack Lemmon, with George Raft, Pat O'Brien, Joe E. Brown, Joan Shawlee, Grace Lee Whitne ...
"  – 5:05 #"Murderess"  – 4:17 #"Lonely Tonight" (
Bernard Edwards Bernard Edwards (October 31, 1952 – April 18, 1996) was an American bass player and record producer, known primarily for his work in disco music with guitarist Nile Rodgers, with whom he co-founded Chic. In 2017, Edwards was selected as the 5 ...
, Palmer) – 3:58 #"
Communication Communication (from la, communicare, meaning "to share" or "to be in relation with") is usually defined as the transmission of information. The term may also refer to the message communicated through such transmissions or the field of inqui ...
" (Derek Bramble, Palmer, Andy Taylor, John Taylor) – 3:37 ;Side two #
  • " Get It On (Bang a Gong)" (
    Marc Bolan Marc Bolan ( ; born Mark Feld; 30 September 1947 – 16 September 1977) was an English guitarist, singer and songwriter. He was a pioneer of the glam rock movement in the early 1970s with his band T. Rex. Bolan was posthumously inducted in ...
    ) – 5:29 #"Go to Zero" (
    Guy Pratt Guy Adam Pratt (born 3 January 1962) is a British musician. He is best known for his prolific work as a session bass player, working with artists including Pink Floyd (also David Gilmour and Nick Mason), Roxy Music (also Bryan Ferry), Gary Moo ...
    , Palmer) – 4:58 #" Harvest for the World" (
    Isley Brothers Isley is an English surname. The name can also be used as an anglicized variant for the German surnames Eisele and Eisler. Notable people with the surname include: *The Isley Brothers, American musical group **Ernie Isley (born 1952), American mus ...
    ) – 3:37 #"Still in Your Heart"  – 3:20 ;2005 re-release bonus tracks #
  • "Someday, Somehow, Someone's Gotta Pay" – 4:32 #"The Heat Is On" – 3:18 #"Communication"
    ong Remix Ong or ONG may refer to: Arts and media * Ong's Hat, a collaborative work of fiction * “Ong Ong”, a song by Blur from the album The Magic Whip Places * Ong, Nebraska, US, city * Ong's Hat, New Jersey, US, ghost town * Ong River, Odisha, India ...
    nbsp;– 4:39 #"Get It On (Bang a Gong)" "(Bolan) – 3:45 #"Some Like It Hot and the Heat Is On" – 6:36 #"Communication" emixnbsp;– 3:51 #"Some Like It Hot" "nbsp;– 3:44


    Charts


    Personnel

    ;The Power Station * Robert Palmer – lead and backing vocals * Andy Taylor – guitars, co-lead vocals on "Harvest for the World" * John Taylor – bass * Tony Thompson – drums ;Additional musicians *
    Michael Des Barres Michael Philip Des Barres (born 24 January 1948), the 26th Marquis Des Barres, is an English actor and rock singer. He appeared as Murdoc in the original '' MacGyver'', Nicholas Helman, Murdoc's mentor, on the new reboot of '' MacGyver'' (2016 ...
    - lead vocals on track 9 * Curtis King Jr,
    Fonzi Thornton Alfonso "Fonzi" Thornton is a U.S. songwriter/producer and vocal contractor. In a career spanning 40 years, Thornton has sung backing vocals for top artists across many genres of music. His vocal credits can be found on the recordings of Aret ...
    , B.J. Nelson, Charmaine Burch – additional vocals * Lenny Pickett,
    Mark Pender Mark "The Loveman" Pender (born August 21, 1957 in Kansas City, Missouri) is a trumpet player and vocalist who has played with Southside Johnny, Little Steven and Bruce Springsteen. Since 1993 he has performed on ''Late Night with Conan O'Brien' ...
    ,
    Stan Harrison Stan Harrison (born December 8, 1953) is an American saxophonist who is also accomplished in playing other woodwind instruments, namely the horn, flute and clarinet. He has also written music for television. Harrison released his first solo albu ...
    , "Hollywood" Paul Litteral, Mars Williams – brass * Roger Taylor, Jimmy Bralower – percussive effects *
    Wally Badarou Waliou Jacques Daniel Isheola "Wally" Badarou (born 22 March 1955) is a French musician. Born in France with ancestry from Benin, West Africa, Badarou is known for his close association with the English group Level 42, and for his prolific work ...
    , David LeBolt,
    Robert Sabino Robert Sabino is an American rock keyboardist.(14 July 1996)Star Turns From a Home in the Firehouse ''The New York Times'' ("Mr. Sabino, a well-known keyboardist, attracted a record producer, Nile Rodgers, who lived in Fairfield County, to some o ...
    , Rupert Hine – keyboards ;Production * Produced by
    Bernard Edwards Bernard Edwards (October 31, 1952 – April 18, 1996) was an American bass player and record producer, known primarily for his work in disco music with guitarist Nile Rodgers, with whom he co-founded Chic. In 2017, Edwards was selected as the 5 ...
    * Recorded and Engineered by Jason Corsaro, Steve Rinkoff and
    Rob Eaton Rob Eaton is an American guitarist. He is best known for his work with the renowned Grateful Dead tribute band, Dark Star Orchestra, of which he has been a member since 2001. Career Rob Eaton grew up in Vermont and was inspired to start playi ...
    * Mixed by Jason Corsaro * Mastered by
    Howie Weinberg Howie Weinberg is an American audio mastering engineer with over 2,257 mastering credits, three TEC Awards, 21 Grammy Awards, two Juno Awards, and one Mercury Prize. Career Weinberg mastered Herbie Hancock's 1983 album '' Future Shock''. Other ...
    at
    Masterdisk Masterdisk is an American multimedia company in New York, located at 8 John Walsh Boulevard in Peekskill. They provide production services such as audio mastering, vinyl cutting and enhanced CD and DVD production. Their clients include such n ...
    , New York


    References

    {{DEFAULTSORT:Power Station, The 1985 debut albums The Power Station (band) albums Albums produced by Bernard Edwards Parlophone albums EMI Records albums Capitol Records albums