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The British singer-songwriter Robert Palmer got his big break as the original vocalist for pop-supergroup Power Station, which also included Andy Taylor (guitar) and John Taylor (bass) from Duran Duran, with legendary session drummer Tony Thompson. Although Palmer had been working on a solo career for years it was his participation in Power Station and their two top ten hit singles "Some Like it… Read more in Amazon's Robert Palmer Store

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1. Mama Talk to Your Daughter
2. Why Get Up?
3. Who's Fooling Who?
4. Am I Wrong?
5. TV Dinners
6. Lucky
7. Stella
8. Dr. Zhivago's Train
9. Ain't That Just Like a Woman
10. Hound Dog
11. Crazy Cajun Cake Walk Band
12. I Need Your Love So Bad

Editorial Reviews

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Those who only know Robert Palmer from the suave-suited MTV-drag days of "Addicted to Love" may have overlooked one of the era's truly remarkable voices. Inspired by his work on the Robert Johnson tribute album Hellhound On My Trail and Faye Dunaway's adaptation of Tennessee Williams's Yellow Bird, Palmer delivers up a full album of largely unreconstructed blues--and "Stella"'s dash of beloved reggae. And if the specter of English white boys singing the blues has become one of rock's most indelible--and often tiresome--cliches, Palmer's chameleonic, woefully underrated vocal abilities illuminate this collection of blues--standards, oddballs, and nouveau alike--the way DeNiro inhabited Travis Bickle. His "Hound Dog" is more Big Mama Thornton than Elvis Presley; the takes on ZZ Top's "TV Dinners" and Keb Mo's "Am I Wrong" are spare, swampy delta dirges; and "Crazy Cajun Cake Walk Band" and Little Willie John's "I Need Your Love So Bad" are rewarding, greasy-grooved workouts. This is a musical love affair as conducted by a man who seems to channel the blues rather than merely sing them--and one of the most surprisingly sound albums of Palmer's long career. --Jerry McCulley

Product Description

International edition of 2003 album for the late blue-eyed Soul/Rock singer, his first studio album since 1989, features 16 tracks including four bonus tracks, '29 Ways (To My Baby's Door)', 'It Hurts Me Too', 'Stupid Cupid', and 'Milk Cow's Calf Blues'. Universal. --This text refers to an alternate Audio CD edition.

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20 Reviews

5 star:		(11)
4 star:		(6)
3 star:		(3)
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4.4 out of 5 stars (20 customer reviews)

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15 of 15 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Palmer's joyful parting statement, November 10, 2003

By	Nicolas S. Martin (Indianapolis, IN United States) - See all my reviews (REAL NAME)

It's hard not to write with a bit of sentiment given Robert Palmer's recent death, but this album stands as a fine, if inadvertant, tribute to one of the great popular music artists of the past 40 years.

More than anything, Palmer was one of modern music's best arrangers, a talent that is little recognized in the restrictive world of rock music. He put his inimitable stamp on whatever he touched, and never more distinctly than on Drive. He does rock, but it isn't a rock album. He does blues, but it isnt a blues album. Drive is Palmer mining his seemingly bottomless reservoir of joyfully idiosyncratic musical ideas. From his vocal phrasing to the way he refreshes old rhythms, Palmer excites the senses. It is apt that his youthful influences were the likes of Basie and Ellington, because, like them, he didn't succumb to the idiotic predictability that quickly afflicts almost all "rock stars," and especially those who had huge hits. Palmer was still making exciting music in his fourth decade in the rock business! Who else can that be said about? Only Ry Cooder comes to mind. Of course, neither has allowed himself to be confined within the suffocating boundary of rock.

Drive very much deserves a listen, and I cannot do justice to what you will hear. I will say that anyone who can not only equal but best Big Mama Thornton's version of Hound Dog has accomplished something special.

The U.S. release of Drive is missing some songs that are on the U.K. CD. It is worth a few extra dollars to buy the U.K. disc from Amazon UK.

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11 of 11 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Drive is Palmer's master work, December 10, 2003

By	K. G. Anderson "K. G. Anderson" (SEATTLE, WA USA) - See all my reviews (REAL NAME)

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Drive, recorded for an indie label shortly before Palmer's untimely death, is clearly a work of passion by one of the great blues artists. Palmer is in a category with Eric Clapton, Keith Richards, Eric Burdon, and Stevie Ray Vaughn when it comes to reinventing the blues�and he may well be the finest white blues vocalist to record since Elvis' early days. Drive is essentially a sample of his favorites from every blues subgenre, Delta, Caribbean, juke joint, Chicago, R&B, rock, and alt-blues. Different songs will appeal to you at different times, depending on your mood, but each one will at some time thrill or charm you. Palmer also does blues aficionados the favor of turning us on to new material�there is only one chestnut in the collection, and, amazingly, Palmer carries off the nearly impossible challenge of recording a "Hound Dog" as memorable as Big Mama Thornton's and, I'd argue, more nuanced than Koko Taylor's version. The first time I heard this album, I cried because I knew that Palmer wasn't able to devote the best years of his career to blues. But this album pretty much makes up for it. At the top of my top 10 for 2003.

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4.0 out of 5 stars Robert Palmer Returns To His Musical Roots, September 1, 2003

By	Jef Fazekas (Newport Beach, California United States) - See all my reviews

I'm surprised how many people are dismissing DRIVE as just another off-the-wall release from Robert Palmer. True, it's no RIPTIDE or HEAVY NOVA, his two top-selling pop releases but, at the same time, it's no vanity project like RIDIN' HIGH, his foray into jazzy standards. No, DRIVE is just a return to roots for Palmer, akin to his first three or four releases, and smacking of his bar band blues beginnings. In fact, throughout much of the CD you can just picture Palmer belting these tunes out in a pub somewhere! The disc opens with the driving (no pun intended!) "Mama Talk To Your Daughter." With it pounding arrangement (love the horns and harmonica!) and forceful lead vocal, Palmer comes across large and in charge, more earthy and grounded than he's sounded in years. His vocals snake thru "Why Get Up?" in a way that allows him to showcase just what an incredible singer he really is (a fact that's been overshadowed and/or forgotten over the years). The instrumentation is minimal at best (there are still nice touches, though, like the boogie woogie piano bridge), allowing this to basically be a vocal-driven track. Cool...VERY cool! Palmer next touches on his R&B roots, with the silky "Who's Fooling Who?" Once again, the arrangement is tight and the vocal just soars. The true beauty, though, of "Who's Fooling Who?", a clever tune about infidelity and two - and three! - timing ("Last Saturday evening you stayed out all night long/You said with your best friend/Doing nothin' wrong/I knew you were lying/'Cause any fool could see/You couldn't have been with her/When she spent the night with me"), is the fact that it could have fit on RIPTIDE just as easily as it could have on SNEAKIN' SALLY THROUGH THE ALLEY, Palmer's debut album. In other words, a timeless classic! "Am I Wrong?" is a bit too mannered for my tastes, but things rebound on an up note with a remake of ZZ Top's "TV Dinners." Palmer takes the Taxas boogie band's song and makes it his own, delivering it with a smile and a smirk. And, once more, Palmer is in fine voice. "Lucky" is also a unique cut; on this spritely track, Palmer seems to touch upon all of his major influences - pop, blues, reggae, new wave and world beat - and wraps them all up into one nice little vibe. "Stella" provides a dash of reggae, a genre that has appealed to Palmer for years. At first I thought the cut stood out like a sore thumb but, hey, he seems to be having so much fun performing it that you HAVE to enjoy it! "Dr. Zhivago's Train" floats along on a romantic wave of sleepy-eyed beauty. Palmer wraps his velvet-and-iron pipes around the lyrics in a way few men can. Things are kicked up a notch or ten with the next two tracks, "Ain't That Just Like A Woman" and "Hound Dog." "...Woman" barrels along with such conviction and energy that you can almost picture everyone bopping out to it in some back-alley underground dive. A TOTAL groovefest! "Hound Dog" is grittier, grungier and a whole lot guttsier than any Elvis Presley version, and believe me, that's saying a lot! "Crazy Cajun Cake Walk Band" is also a pure joy. Palmer wears the slippery bayou grooves well, sort of like a musical tails and top hat. Once again his voice is at the forefront, and it just sparkles! It's like being transported to New Orleans! Another gem! DRIVE ends with one last vocal workout, Little Willie John's "I Need Your Love So Bad." Backed only by a bare bones combo, Palmer's vocals are authoritative, passionate and from the heart. This kind of passion is what's lacking from so much of today's music. So pick up DRIVE...it may not be what you're expecting if his RIPTIDE-era material is all you know about Robert Palmer, but believe me, this disc is a brilliant example of both the singer's roots and his remarkable voice.

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Most Recent Customer Reviews

3.0 out of 5 stars OK but not recommended
I purchased this CD based on the other comments. I was not impressed. Unlike the other reviewers, I don't think Palmer's voice is a good fit for the blues. Read more

Published 2 months ago by Michael Del Tredici

3.0 out of 5 stars sad, decent album.
This album would have been great had Robert Palmer lived to see it through to completion. As it is, it's got some wonderful moments. Read more

Published 11 months ago by Milesfan!

4.0 out of 5 stars Farewell Mr. Palmer, and thankyou!
Robert Palmer's last album explodes with energy, life and great honesty. Its raw, gritty and stands up to all levels of scrutiny. Read more

Published 21 months ago by Andrew

4.0 out of 5 stars Well worth it.
Robert Palmer can sing the blues. This will please Palmer fans and newcomers. Mr. Palmer has the voice and as usual these songs have that twist that makes them more than cover... Read more

Published on May 14, 2007 by Charles H. Loer Jr.

5.0 out of 5 stars excellent final recording
as a lifelong bluesfan i was excited when robert released this collection of blues songs. this c.d. is uniformally excellent with some very original arrangements of blues... Read more

Published on May 3, 2006 by mojostrapper

5.0 out of 5 stars Drive is OUTSTANDING !!!
This CD is pure, undistilled Robert Palmer - true to himself and obviously loving what he does.

As a long time fan I have happily travelled down the RP musical road, looking... Read more

Published on November 12, 2003

4.0 out of 5 stars My Lost Hero
I lost my hero recently when Robert Palmer suddenly passed on.
He has inspiring, everchanging music styles that are clearly
the one and only Robert Palmer. Read more

Published on October 20, 2003 by James T. Mott

5.0 out of 5 stars Buy This Recording!
In a way this album may have been the way for Robert Palmer to go out. Basic, not overproduced (his stuff never was), just some great raunch and blues. Read more

Published on October 6, 2003 by Edward Dotson

5.0 out of 5 stars this is crazy insanely great stuff
These are blues songs, but it isn't Chicago, it isn't Texas, it isn't the scratchy ole stuff which you can only dig if you are that type of person. Read more

Published on August 8, 2003 by Tsuya

4.0 out of 5 stars Palmer V Burton
See here kidzells...ol papa Den here...the way(z)I see(z) it, Mssr. Palmer is the Richard Burton of RAWK/PAWP Muzik. Read more

Published on July 27, 2003 by Dennis J. Deja

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	61% buy the item featured on this page: Drive 4.4 out of 5 stars (20)
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