Robert Palmer - Clues

Out of print in the U.S. with the long-awaited commercial success of 1979's Secrets album, Robert Palmer had shown that his soulful, manly vocals could deliver hard rock songs as well as ballads. But Palmer didn't rest on his laurels. New wave was in it's heyday, and he looked to some of the genre's leading lights for 1980's Clues. Chris Frantz of Talking Heads and Tom Tom Club contributes to the hip-shaking dance-floor hit "Looking for Clues", as does Gary Numan in Palmer's cover of Numan's niftily titled "I Dream of Wires", which almost sounds like a lost Eurythmics song. The record's biggest hit was the melancholy synth ballad "Johnny and Mary", in which Palmer jettisons his trademark rough-hewn vocals for a hushed, alien-sounding purr. "Woke Up Laughing", with it's tricky time signature and infectious vocal, is one of Palmer's lesser-known but finest songs. Also of note here is Palmer's inspired, synth-heavy cover of the rarely covered Beatles chestnut "Not a Second Time". Universal.

1) Looking for Clues
2) Sulky Girl
3) Johnny and Mary
4) What Do You Care?
5) I Dream of Wires
6) I Dream of Wires
7) Woke Up Laughing
8) Not a Second Time
9) Found You Now