Customer Reviews

Rhythm & Blues

5 star:		(9)
4 star:		(3)
3 star:		(2)
2 star:		(2)
1 star:		(2)

 

 

Critics and fans were torn on this 1999 Robert Palmer album. Some loved it, some hated it, alternately praising the smooth soulful vocals or complaining the heavy keyboard laiden arrangements or the lack of traditional "Palmer style" hard rock. Here, the singer tackles modern sounding pop music with a strong R&B slant arrangement wise. There a few uptempo numbers, particulalry "You're Not The Only One", and songs like the single "Stone Cold" have slower but still scorching dance sound to them. "True Love", the first single, is a definate soul pop ballad that vocally plays into all of Palmer's strengths as a blue eyed soul singer. "Paradise" is easily the most romantic song on the set, and one of the most romantic songs in the singer's catalogue. Uptempo dominates the set however as ballads sit in the minority. "Mr Wise Guy" is another solid soul flavored effort, and Palmer hits all the right notes with a surprisingly good rendition of Marvin Gaye's "Let's Get It On". There are no hard rock numbers and no world music numbers, trademarks of Palmer's earlier albums. Still, this album excells at showing Robert Palmer could not only sing, but compose and produce songs with a definate fresh soul pop feel to them. "True Love" and "Stone Cold" are clearly the highlights but the album has few misses, even it lacks many home runs. You wont have to be a die hard Robert Palmer fan to enjoy this album.

I've been a Robert Palmer fan for several years now and I have all of his albums. I hate to hear anything bad about his music but I find this album a bit of a let down, especially after waiting such a long time for it's release. The tracks are too keyboard orientated and this spoils it for me. The single 'True love' is exceptional as is the wonderful 'Stone Cold'(with it's great vocal arrangements). The album showcases Palmer's splendid vocal, however the songs just don't cut it. Take my advice, buy 'Honey' or 'Heavy Nova' instead.

First off, this is not true R&B by any stretch by the imagination but rather true 'blue eye soul' which isn't bad. I too stumbled upon this CD at a store and decided to take a chance and bought it. I was very surprised at how good this CD is. Robert really searched deep inside and pulled out some of his best vocal work in years. While other reviewers felt this album was soulless I say it was the quite the opposite. On such songs as 'Stone Cold', Wise guy, I Choose You, and the title track screams of sensuality that is especially true of Marvin Gaye's 'Let's get it on'. It's a shame that this CD didn't get the radio play it deserved. But his tour '99 to support it was the coolest!

I got this cd in 2003 from the U.K
it was alright but something bothered me about it?
Over years I listened once and a while.
Out of curiosity I bought the Japanses version
Just recently I heard it had different tracks
Well It worth every penny I paided for it.
$11.00 . Rhythm and Blues was released in japan on
oct 10 1998 a full nine months, before
it was released in US .
Something happened between oct and july
the UK version has 12 tracks
tennis replaced dance with me.
What really sad about it that both the U.K and U.S
versions are edited and remixed poorly

heres the difference.


No Problem 3.42 min japan version U.S version 3.35
I Choose You 5.07 min japan version U.S version 4.18
Sex Appeal 4.48 min japan version U.S version 4.34 min
Work to Make it Work 98 4.05 min japan version U.S version 3.33 min
All The Will In World 5.02 min japan version U.S version 4.57 min
Mr Wise Guy 3.45 min japan version U.S version 3.32 min
Lets Get It On 98 6.23 min japan version U.S version 4.09 min

plus Japan version has bounus tracks Captured a great song
Spellbound another great one
and The Long Winding Road

I don't know happened here.? But... it was messed up what
record companies did to Robert and his last original music cd
If you enjoy Robert Palmer do yourself, a favor.
try find Japanese first version of this cd.
It's great.

I've always been a fan of Robert Palmer since I heard "Some Like It Hot." I didn't realize he had a new album until I spotted it at a local store. Being the skeptic I am, I checked out some realaudio clips and I was pleasantly surprised at what I heard...

The first track, "True Love", is just plain awesome. The rest of the disc is quite good, although a few of the tracks seem a bit bland as they don't stand out like "True Love" does.

All in all, I am very happy with this disc. If you are a fan of Robert Palmer's past work, you'll probably like what you hear. As I said before, Robert proves that he can change with the times and certainly hasn't lost his touch.

Throughout the 80's Robert Palmer released some great albums and thus built himself a reputation for high levels of musicianship and an air of suave sophistication. But if you ask me on this album Palmer blew it big style. The problem is he has taken on too much himself playing most of the instruments himself and masterminding the production. As David Lloyd so rightly says in his review the album has too much keyboard on it and ends up sounding to clean and clynical even on the more soulful tracks. The whole album left me 'Stone Cold.'

I have the import version of Rhythm & Blues. It ranks up with Palmer's best CDs. The first track, True Love, is equal to Every Kinda People and She Makes My Day. The second track, No Problem, is almost as good. But Palmer turns up the heat a few tracks later with Stone Cold, a potential classic equal to Bad Case Of Lovin' You and Addicted To Love. Remakes of his own Work To Make It Work and M Gaye's Let's Get It On sustain the intensity until the album winds down with a lovely rendition of the Little Feat ballad Twenty Million Things.This may be Palmer's very best. I have played it now about a hundred times.

This CD went unoticed by critics and fans upon it's release in 1999. It's a shame for the late PALMER. His vocal performance was both matutre and controlled.

The material on this project is sophisticated providing the late PALMER with a new platform to stage a quiet return to the music charts.

If you collect CDs by gifted male singers, then I suggest that you try this one.

Am I being to harsh? Maybe. But I have come to know Robert for his sly wit and the way he says what you think he's saying but he said something else. This cd has none of the qualities I like in Robert Palmer. I love Don't Explain, Honey, and his 1st album was great. I'm well versed in Palmer, and this cd has few great verses. It does contain 2 must haves: the opening and closing tracks.Nab these 2 tracks then ship this off to die. (Or is it already dead?)

Robert is back with his first U.S. Release in five years. It seems his old label EMI and him had a nasty falling out and Robert found it impossible to get a record deal in the states for some time. While Rhythm & Blues is new to the U.S., it was released over a year earlier in Japan with a couple different tracks and the cover version of "Long and Winding Road." Robert did the song for a Subaru Commerical and it was a mini-hit, enough to get him a deal in Japan. He then was released in Europe several months later and finally in the U.S. on another small label with no fanfare. Nobody knows Robert has a new CD and even less seem to care. Everybody remembers him for Simply Irresistible or Addicited to Love, but Robert was singing solo back in 1974 on his debut record Sneakin' Sally thru the Alley. He has stood the test of time very well. Robert changes and evolves constantly, he writes and arranges a lot of his music, sometimes he plays the instruments, witness the 1980 album Clues when he does a LOT of the instrumentals. To everyone who likes good music, buy this CD. But I warn you, it's ment to be played loud! Keep up the great music Robert!