Customer Reviews

The Power Station (CD & DVD)

5 star:		(15)
4 star:		(10)
3 star:		(4)
2 star:		(1)
1 star:		(0)

 

 

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.

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!

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.

Hard to believe that this great CD has turned 20 years old this year.

I remember being just 10 years old back in 1985 and hearing their cover of T. Rex's "Get It On (Bang a Gong)" and being hooked.

There's not a weak track on this album and it's really a shame that they didn't follow through on this album's quick success as Robert Palmer would leave before they even toured for this CD to go back to his solo career.

They tried a comeback attempt in the mid 90's but that album was terrible.

But this CD has aged just like a fine wine.

To the naysayers who complain of the 80's sound quality of it, well morons, it DID come out in 1985 so cut it some slack.

But to us people who grew up in the 80's and appreciated good music back then, this was a blast of fresh air in the synth and hair metal dominated mid 80's.

Robert Palmer (R.I.P.) was always one of my top 10 favorite singers and he shines like on nothing else of his career on this release.

Andy Taylor and John Taylor get to really cut loose in a fashion they never were able (or allowed) to do in Duran Duran.

And what more can be said about that late drumming powerhouse known only as Tony Thompson. Talk a huge drum sound on this album, I mean his drums sound like they could level a building on this CD!

Another thing that really has helped this CD to age well was the lack of heavy synths on this CD. For the most part, it's just the 4 of them letting it rip.

This reissue was a most welcome surprise to my ears (and eyes with the bonus DVD included in it) and the extras on it are the icing on the cake.

Anyone who just loves good, smart and catchy pop-rock would do well to hear this album that had everyone talking way back in 1985 like almost no other group of the decade.

The above editor obviously didn't get the whole picture when he so indescriminately mislabeled The Power Station as a disaster. I was thrilled there was a re-release of the album, especially considering a bonus DVD with rare footage was attached. My VHS tape has finally been retired. Duran Duran split for a reason. They had spent every waking moment with each other for many years. There is bound to be some tention. They didn't topple themselves as the reigning Kings of synth-pop by forming Arcadia and Power Station. They ended up pumping out even more hits independently. Arcadia's "So Red the Rose" was a masterpiece and the Power Station produced great dance tracks. Albeit, "Bang a Gong" was a re-make, but the band put a different spin on the song, unlike the re-makes out today where the bands basically copy everything exactly. Give credit where it's due. This album is great and deserves to be revisited. To the readers: Buy it. It will do you good to go back to a time when music was fresh and exciting. This album will take you there. Be sure to pay attention to John's innovative bass lines and Andy's phenomenal (yet totally underrated) guitar licks.

Its too bad Powerstation only had one album release. A song that went unnoticed and could have been a number one single if released is the semi-ballad "Still In Your Heart". Its still one of my all time favorite tracks. the DVD is great because it gives a little insight on the band and allows us to see them in the studio at work. I strongly recommend this project.

20 years ago I was 16 years old and I found Power Station only interesting because of Duran Duran. This week I got the CD/DVD and I was truly amazed and suprised by the drum sound of Thompson: what a sound, indeed a constant "in the air" drum solo. I love it. How could I never have noticed this before? Goosebumps. And look at the legs of that 7" model! This is truly an 80's masterpiece perfectly remastered on CD and DVD.

This long overdue upgrade is most welcome. It includes all the tracks from the 85 sessions plus a bonus dvd of music videos, etc. Robert Palmer steals the show with his trademark smoothe vocals, the other band members play superbly. The only weak track is 'Still in your heart' which may have worked better on a Palmer solo album, it doesn't fit well along side the other tracks. The sound quality is good but way heavy on the bass(probably intentional)and loud(normalised for sure) but clean nonetheless throughout. The bonus dvd is nice to have but looks dated by today's high tech video standards. Sound is very good: Dolby Digital and high resolution 2ch. What's missing on this set are the lyrics as well as the remastering credits. Despite what is listed on the back cover, the dvd runs about 30 minutes, not 40, some other concert footage would have been nice or perhaps an entire show. A few oversights on Capitol/EMI's part but a nice package to own and a piece of history. 15 tracks/64.52.

This special 2 disc retrospective on the short lived 80's supergroup Power Station will surely entertain both Duran Duran and Robert Palmer fans alike. First, the history. Duran Duran bandmates John and Andy Taylor (not related) took a sabatical from that group and formed Power Station. Recruiting basist/producer Bernard Edwards of 70's Chic fame alongside his former bandmate drummer Tony Thompson, the quartet began writing and recording instrumental tracks in 1984. John Taylor turned to Palmer for help compsing lyrics, and impressed with his work, asked him to try out for the lead vocalist spot. Everything clicked, and by the spring of 85 their debut album and first two singles were staples in the US Top 10. Soon, everyone returned to other projects, and the band was essentially a footnote in everyone's individual careers. This retrospective features the debut album, in it's entirety, alongside an MTV produced 30 minute special now on DVD(previously aired many times on the network between 1985-86. As for added extras, there are few. The edited singles versions of the hit songs "Some Like It Hot" and "Get It On (Bang A Gong)" are included, as is the little known "Somehow, Somewhere, Someone's Gotta Pay" from the Commando movie soundtrack. Here, it's ex-Sliverhead vocalist Michael De Barres on vocals (he replaced Palmer for a short lived tour after the album's release). On the DVD side, the only televised performance where the original group in their entirety performed together live is included (from NBC's Saturday Night Live in 1985), which alongside the De Barres recording are the only rarities in this set. No mention of the fact that the group re-formed in 1996, and none of the material from their 1996 Living In Fear album is included. There are also no other televised apearances, either with Palmer or De Barres on vocals (Palmer did do other performances in 96 and 97 with the group, although John Taylor didn't appear). Robert Palmer fans in the US will appreciate it as the first major DVD release of any of his work in over a decade (even though various sets have been released in the UK since his passing in 2003). Sadly,this is essentially a retrospective on the debut album, and little else. Fans undoubtedly would have enjoyed more footage outside the MTV special, as well as inclusion of their 1996 recordings.

Whilst fellow Duran members Simon,Nick & Roger wasted their time recording the Arcadia album, John and Andy went off with Robert Palmer and Bernard Thompson to form the Power Station. This is a great album and almost overlooked in the 80's. The four members fuse together as if they were a seasoned band. T-Rex's 'Get It On' looses nothing of the edginess and rawness of the original. 'Some Like It Hot' pumps blood through your veins and the relaxed 'Still In Your Heart' is as good a Robert Palmer delivery as ever. As a side-project, this was an outstanding piece of work and still sounds as fresh today as it did first time around. This is not Duran Duran, this is good pop-rock with a bit of soul thrown in for good measure. One album just wetted my apetite, then they went back to their day jobs..