''Riptide'' is the eighth

studio album An album is a collection of audio recordings (e.g., music) issued on a medium such as compact disc (CD), Phonograph record, vinyl (record), audio tape (like 8-track cartridge, 8-track or Cassette tape, cassette), or digital distribution, dig ...

by the English singer Robert Palmer, released on 4 November 1985 by

Island Records Island Records is a multinational record label owned by Universal Music Group. It was founded in Jamaica by Chris Blackwell, Graeme Goodall, and Leslie Kong in 1959, and was eventually sold to PolyGram in 1989. Island and A&M Records, another ...

. The album was recorded over a period of three months in 1985 at

Compass Point Studios Compass Point Studios was a music recording studio in the Bahamas, founded in 1977 by Chris Blackwell, the owner of Island Records. The concept of the studio was of a recording facility supported by in-house sets of artists, musicians, producers ...

Nassau, Bahamas Nassau ( ) is the capital and largest city of The Bahamas. It is on the island of New Providence, which had a population of 246,329 in 2010, or just over 70% of the entire population of The Bahamas. As of April 2023, the preliminary results of ...

. The album peaked at No. 5 on the

UK Albums Chart The Official Albums Chart is the United Kingdom's industry-recognised national record chart for album, albums. Entries are ranked by sales and audio streaming. It was published for the first time on 22 July 1956 and is compiled every week by the O ...

and at No. 8 on the US ''Billboard'' 200. It was certified double Platinum in the US by the

RIAA The Recording Industry Association of America (RIAA) is a trade organization that represents the music recording industry in the United States. Its members consist of record labels and distributors that the RIAA says "create, manufacture, and/o ...

in March 1996 and certified Gold in the UK by BPI in August 1986. It features the songs " Addicted to Love", " I Didn't Mean to Turn You On", "

Hyperactive Attention deficit hyperactivity disorder (ADHD) is a neurodevelopmental disorder characterised by symptoms of inattention, hyperactivity, impulsivity, and emotional dysregulation that are excessive and pervasive, impairing in multiple con ...

", " Discipline of Love", and "Riptide" which were all released as singles. The single "Addicted to Love" was accompanied by an iconic and much-imitated

music video A music video is a video that integrates a song or an album with imagery that is produced for promotion (marketing), promotional or musical artistic purposes. Modern music videos are primarily made and used as a music marketing device intended to ...

, directed by Terence Donovan, in which Palmer is surrounded by a bevy of near-identically clad, heavily made-up female "musicians," either mimicking or mocking the painting style of

Patrick Nagel Patrick Nagel (November 25, 1945 – February 4, 1984) was an American artist and illustrator. He created popular illustrations on board, paper, and canvas, most of which emphasize the female form in a distinctive style, descended from Art Dec ...

. In September 1986, Palmer performed "Addicted to Love" at the

1986 MTV Video Music Awards The 1986 MTV Video Music Awards aired live on September 5, 1986, honoring the best music videos from May 2, 1985, to May 1, 1986. The show was hosted by MTV VJs Downtown Julie Brown, Mark Goodman, Alan Hunter, Martha Quinn, and Dweezil Zappa, an ...

Los Angeles Los Angeles, often referred to by its initials L.A., is the List of municipalities in California, most populous city in the U.S. state of California, and the commercial, Financial District, Los Angeles, financial, and Culture of Los Angeles, ...

California California () is a U.S. state, state in the Western United States that lies on the West Coast of the United States, Pacific Coast. It borders Oregon to the north, Nevada and Arizona to the east, and shares Mexico–United States border, an ...

. In 1987, he won the

Grammy Award for Best Male Rock Vocal Performance The Grammy Award for Best Male Rock Vocal Performance was a Grammy Awards, Grammy Award presented to male recording artists for works (songs or albums) containing quality vocal performances in the rock music genre. Originally called the Grammy Aw ...

for "Addicted to Love". At the 1987 Brit Awards, Palmer received his first nomination for Best British Male.BRITs Profile: Robert Palmer
. Brits.co.uk. Retrieved 14 April 2012 Another single from ''Riptide'', his cover of R&B singer Cherrelle's " I Didn't Mean to Turn You On", also performed well (US No. 2, UK No. 9). The song, "Trick Bag," was written by one of Palmer's major influences, New Orleans blues artist

Earl King Earl Silas Johnson IV (February 7, 1934 – April 17, 2003),
known as Earl King, was an American singer, guita ...

. For the album, Palmer collaborated with two former members of his band the Power Station: guitarist Andy Taylor and drummer Tony Thompson. The Power Station's producer

Bernard Edwards Bernard Edwards (October 31, 1952 – April 18, 1996) was an American bassist and record producer, known primarily for his work in disco with musician Nile Rodgers, with whom he co-founded Chic. In 2017, Edwards was selected as the 53rd greates ...

also played bass and produced the album. The album also features contributions from

Chaka Khan Yvette Marie Stevens (born March 23, 1953), better known by her stage name Chaka Khan ( ), is an American singer. Known as the " Queen of Funk", her career has spanned more than five decades beginning in the early 1970s as the lead vocalist of ...

and notable session musicians such as

Guy Pratt Guy Adam Pratt (born 3 January 1962) is a British bassist. He has worked with artists including Pink Floyd, Roxy Music, Gary Moore, Madonna, Peter Cetera, Michael Jackson, the Smiths, Robert Palmer (singer), Robert Palmer, Echo & the Bunnymen, T ...

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 wor ...

Jeff Bova Jeff Bova (born Jeffrey Bova in 1953) is an American musician. He has been active in the music industry since the mid-1970s, contributing to recordings by significant mainstream artists like Celine Dion, Michael Jackson, Blondie, Eric Clapton, ...

, Eddie Martinez, Dony Wynn, and Jack Waldman (who died a year after the album's release). The title track of the album is a cover of a 1933 song written by Walter Donaldson and

Gus Kahn Gustav Gerson Kahn (November 6, 1886October 8, 1941) was an American lyricist who contributed a number of songs to the Great American Songbook, including " Pretty Baby", " Ain't We Got Fun?", " Carolina in the Morning", " Toot, Toot, Tootsie (G ...

and first recorded by

Eddy Duchin Edwin Frank Duchin (April 1, 1909 – February 9, 1951), commonly known as Eddy Duchin or alternatively Eddie Duchin, was an American popular music pianist and bandleader during the 1930s and 1940s. Early career Duchin was born on April 1, 1909, ...

and his orchestra.

2013 reissue

''Riptide'' was reissued on 30 April 2013 by Culture Factory USA, an independent label that specialises in cult artists. The reissue CD was packaged in a miniature replica of the original quality vinyl packaging complete with an inner sleeve that features the original lyrics, photographs of Palmer and credits for the album. The label side of the CD features a replica of what the original Island label looked like at the time of issue and even features "grooves" as if the black CD is made of vinyl. The reissues did not have any additional outtakes or bonus tracks.

Critical reception

In a contemporary review music critic

Robert Christgau Robert Thomas Christgau ( ; born April 18, 1942) is an American music journalist and essayist. Among the most influential music critics, he began his career in the late 1960s as one of the earliest professional rock critics and later became a ...

gave the album a "C+" and described it as "his pop breakthrough" and added that "what makes him barely listenable is his holdings in r&b." In a retrospective review for

AllMusic AllMusic (previously known as All-Music Guide and AMG) is an American online database, online music database. It catalogs more than three million album entries and 30 million tracks, as well as information on Musical artist, musicians and Mus ...

, critic Tim DiGravina gave the album four and a half out of five stars and wrote that "''Riptide'' packages Robert Palmer's voice and suave personality into a commercial series of mostly rocking songs that seem custom-tailored to be chart hits."

Track listing

Additional tracks

In popular culture

"Weird Al" Yankovic Alfred Matthew "Weird Al" Yankovic ( ; born October 23, 1959) is an American comedy musician, writer, and actor. He is best known for writing and performing Comedy music, comedy songs that often Parody music, parody specific songs by contempo ...

included a parody of Palmer's hit "Addicted To Love" on his 1986 album

Polka Party! ''Polka Party!'' is the fourth studio album by the American parody musician "Weird Al" Yankovic, released on October 21, 1986. The album was produced by former The McCoys guitarist Rick Derringer. Recorded between April and September 1986, the ...

("Addicted To Spuds"). * The track "Hyperactive" was used in the 1987 film '' The Bedroom Window'', as well as in the popular American TV series '' Moonlighting''.

Personnel

Credits are adapted from the ''Riptide'' liner notes. * Robert Palmer – vocals, backing vocals *

– keyboards *

– keyboards * Jack Waldman – keyboards * Eddie Martinez – guitars * Andy Taylor – guitar (3) *

– bass (1–7, 9) *

– bass (8) * Tony Thompson – drums (1–4, 6, 7, 9) * Dony Wynn – drums (5, 8) * Lenny Pickett – saxophone * Benny Diggs – backing vocals (3, 8) *

Fonzi Thornton Alfonso "Fonzi" Thornton is an American vocalist, 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 re ...

– backing vocals (3, 8) *

– vocal arrangements (3)

Production

* Producer – Bernard Edwards * Post-production – Eric "ET" Thorngren and Robert Palmer * Engineer – Jason Corsaro * Assistant engineers – Michael Abbott, Benjamin Armbrister, Steve Boyer, Jamie Chaleff, John Davenport, Billy Miranda, Dan Peterkofsky and Steve Rinkoff. * Mixed by Eric "ET" Thorngren * Recorded at

(Nassau, Bahamas). * Mixed at The Power Station,

Electric Lady Studios Electric Lady Studios is a recording studio in Greenwich Village, New York City. It was commissioned by rock musician Jimi Hendrix in 1968 and designed by architect John Storyk and audio engineer Eddie Kramer. It was completed by 1970. Hendrix ...

The Hit Factory The Hit Factory is a recording studio in New York City owned and operated by Troy Germano. History In 1969, songwriter Jerry Ragavoy opened a recording studio in New York City and named it ''The Hit Factory.'' On March 6, 1975, Edward Germano, ...

and

Right Track Recording Sound on Sound Studios, formerly known as MSR Studios (Manhattan Sound Recordings), is a photography and movie producing company Recording studio, recording facility in Montclair, New Jersey. Its forebear, MSR Studios, was located in Manhattan, j ...

(New York, NY). * Mastered by Jack Skinner at

Sterling Sound George Marino (April 15, 1947June 4, 2012) was an American mastering engineer known for working on albums by rock bands starting in the late 1960s. Biography Marino was born on April 15, 1947, in the New York City borough The Bronx. He attended ...

(New York, NY). * CD mastering by Barry Diament at

Atlantic Studios Atlantic Studios is the recording studio network of Atlantic Records. Although the historic recording studio was located at 1841 Broadway (at the corner of 60th Street), in New York City, Atlantic Recording Studios was initially located at 234 Wes ...

(New York, NY). * Illustration – Susan Palmer * Design – Robert Palmer * Photography – Giuseppe Pino

Charts

Weekly charts

Year-end charts

Certifications

Release history

References

External links

* {{Authority control Robert Palmer (singer) albums 1985 albums Island Records albums Albums produced by Bernard Edwards Albums recorded at Compass Point Studios