You see, lured by the hit single 'Addicted to Love', I purchased Robert Palmers latest release 'Riptide' on cassette. Whilst I wouldn't say that I was immediately impressed by the album Mr H asked me if he could borrow it. Being an affable chap I agreed and duly loaned my recent purchase. Twenty seven years later I still haven't got it back! As the months went by I did drop subtle hints like "Can I borrow your copy of 'Riptide'?", "I'm sure I used to have an album by Robert Palmer?" and "Are you enjoying 'Riptide'?". Then ,as the years rolled on I pretty much came to the conclusion that it had been lost and I was not never going to see it again going to get it back.
Actually I can't say that I've missed it. Firstly I now have a digital copy and secondly, apart from the singles, it's not very good; disjointed, inconsistent and dated. I can still remember the palpable shock of hearing the first track 'Riptide', a sort of 1920s homage, and wondering "What have I done?" Yes let's explore that - what had I done? Simply I'd seen the video for 'Addicted to Love' several times on TV and bought an album by someone I didn't really know on the strength of one song. It is a great song though - sharp, poppy and steeped in 80s production. In a good way.
But there is the problem - the other songs pale in comparison. The bar was set far too high and there would never be a way for them to meet that superlative standard. 'I Didn't Mean To Turn You On', for example, has dated badly and now sounds as bad as the title suggests. 'Flesh Wound' sounds like a bad Prince cover; all 80s drum beats and riffing guitars set to a funk style vocal. Yuk!
So maybe I should amend my version of the music borrowing adage? Mmmm, how about "Never a lender of music tapes be unless you have prior written agreement that they will be returned on a specified date*"
"*Unless the album is not all that, in which case you are welcome to it!"
That's much better!
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