''Clues'' is the sixth studio album by Robert Palmer, released in 1980. It has a rockier, new wave edge compared to his previous releases. The album peaked at number 59 on the ''Billboard'' Top Pop Albums chart and No. 31 in the UK in 1980. The album also peaked at No. 1 in Sweden, No. 3 in France, No. 15 in the Netherlands and No. 42 in Italy. Donald Guarisco of

AllMusic AllMusic (previously known as All Music Guide and AMG) is an American online music database. It catalogs more than three million album entries and 30 million tracks, as well as information on musicians and bands. Initiated in 1991, the databas ...

described ''Clues'' as "one of Robert Palmer's strongest and most consistent albums", despite being somewhat short at 31 minutes. Palmer, who played percussion on

Talking Heads Talking Heads were an American rock band formed in 1975 in New York City and active until 1991.Talkin ...

' ''

Remain in Light ''Remain in Light'' is the fourth studio album by American rock band Talking Heads, released on October 8, 1980 by Sire Records. It was recorded at Compass Point Studios in the Bahamas and Sigma Sound Studios in Philadelphia during July and Augus ...

'', had the favour returned when the band's drummer

Chris Frantz Charton Christopher Frantz (born May 8, 1951) is an American musician and record producer. He is the drummer for both Talking Heads and Tom Tom Club, both of which he co-founded with wife and Talking Heads bassist Tina Weymouth. In 2002, Frant ...

played bass drum on "Looking for Clues" along with Palmer's drummer, Dony Wynn.

Andy Fraser Andrew McIan Fraser (3 July 1952 – 16 March 2015) was a British musician and songwriter, best known as the bassist and co-composer for the rock band Free, which he helped found in 1968 when he was 15. He also founded the rock band Sharks af ...

, the former bassist of Free and the author of Palmer's first breakthrough single " Every Kinda People", played bass on the album on two songs. New wave musician

Gary Numan Gary Anthony James Webb (born 8 March 1958), known professionally as Gary Numan, is an English musician. He entered the music industry as frontman of the new wave band Tubeway Army. After releasing two albums with the band, he released his d ...

co-wrote a song with Palmer (another co-write between the two appearing on ''

Maybe It's Live ''Maybe It's Live'' is a live album by Robert Palmer, released in 1982. It combines six live tracks of old songs with four new songs recorded in the studio, including "Some Guys Have All the Luck", which was a hit for Palmer in the UK, peaking ...

'') and played keyboards on a remake of his own song "I Dream of Wires". This was first issued on CD in 1985 when Island's catalogue was issued under

WEA Manufacturing WEA Manufacturing was the record, tape, and compact disc manufacturing arm of WEA International Inc. from 1978 to 2003, when it was sold and merged into Cinram International, a previous competitor. The last owner when the plant closed was Techn ...

. The WEA pressings are sought-after collector's items. The video to the first track on the album, " Looking for Clues", aired on

MTV MTV (Originally an initialism of Music Television) is an American cable channel that launched on August 1, 1981. Based in New York City, it serves as the flagship property of the MTV Entertainment Group, part of Paramount Media Networks, a di ...

's first day of broadcasting on 1 August 1981. The album was certified gold in Germany by BMieV in 1992.

Songs

The lead track, "Looking for Clues" was described by AllMusic as "a clever slice of new wave pop that surprises the listener with an unexpected

xylophone The xylophone (; ) is a musical instrument in the percussion family that consists of wooden bars struck by mallets. Like the glockenspiel (which uses metal bars), the xylophone essentially consists of a set of tuned wooden keys arranged in the ...

solo". "I Dream of Wires" is a cover of a song from Gary Numan's album ''

Telekon ''Telekon'' is the second solo studio album by English musician Gary Numan. It debuted at the top of the UK Albums Chart in September 1980, making it his third consecutive (and to date, final) No. 1 album. It was also the third and final studio ...

'' released the same year. The cover of

the Beatles The Beatles were an English Rock music, rock band, formed in Liverpool in 1960, that comprised John Lennon, Paul McCartney, George Harrison and Ringo Starr. They are regarded as the Cultural impact of the Beatles, most influential band of al ...

' "

Not a Second Time "Not a Second Time" is a song by English rock band the Beatles. It was written by John Lennon, though credited to the Lennon–McCartney partnership. It was first released on the Beatles second British album, ''With the Beatles'', and their seco ...

", featured a second verse added by Palmer.

Track listing

All songs by Robert Palmer except where noted. #" Looking for Clues" – 4:52 #"Sulky Girl" – 4:07 #"

Johnny and Mary "Johnny and Mary" is a song written and originally performed by Robert Palmer. Palmer's version was recorded in 1980 at Compass Point Studios, New Providence, in the Bahamas. The song was featured on Palmer's album '' Clues'' (1980). "Johnny a ...

" – 3:59 #"What Do You Care" – 2:44 #"I Dream of Wires" (

) – 4:34 #"Woke Up Laughing" – 3:36 #"

" (

John Lennon John Winston Ono Lennon (born John Winston Lennon; 9 October 19408 December 1980) was an English singer, songwriter, musician and peace activist who achieved worldwide fame as founder, co-songwriter, co-lead vocalist and rhythm guitarist of ...

Paul McCartney Sir James Paul McCartney (born 18 June 1942) is an English singer, songwriter and musician who gained worldwide fame with the Beatles, for whom he played bass guitar and shared primary songwriting and lead vocal duties with John Lennon. One ...

) – 2:48 #"Found You Now" (

, Robert Palmer) – 4:37

Personnel

* Robert Palmer – vocals, guitar, bass guitar, drums (track 6), percussion, production *Dony Wynn – drums *

Jack Waldman Jack Waldman (September 6, 1952 – May 17, 1986) was a jazz and rock musician, composer, producer, vocalist and multi-instrumentalist born in Perth Amboy, New Jersey. Waldman was best known for his studio work and performances with singer Rob ...

– keyboards *Kenny Mazur – guitar (tracks 1, 2, 7) *

– drums (track 1) *

– bass guitar (tracks 2, 7) *Alan Mansfield – guitar (track 3) *

Paul Gardiner Paul Andrew Gardiner (1 May 1958 – 18 February 1984) was a British musician who played bass guitar with Gary Numan and Tubeway Army, as well as creating material under his own name. Biography Paul Gardiner was born in Hayes, Middlesex. In e ...

– bass guitar (track 5) *

– keyboards (track 5) ;Technical *

Alex Sadkin Alex Sadkin (April 9, 1949July 25, 1987) was an American record producer, engineer, mixer and mastering engineer. Sadkin grew up in Fort Lauderdale, Florida across the street from Bennett Elementary School, and played saxophone in Sunrise Junio ...

– engineer, mixing *David Harper – executive producer *Graham Hughes – cover *Cover photograph taken by Susan Palmer in

Nassau, Bahamas Nassau ( ) is the capital and largest city of the Bahamas. With a population of 274,400 as of 2016, or just over 70% of the entire population of the Bahamas, Nassau is commonly defined as a primate city, dwarfing all other towns in the country. ...

*Mastering engineer –

Ted Jensen Ted Jensen (born September 19, 1954) is an American mastering engineer, known for having mastered many recordings, including the Eagles' ''Hotel California'', Green Day's '' American Idiot'' and Norah Jones' ''Come Away with Me''. Biography Ted ...

at Sterling Sound, NYC

Charts

Weekly charts

Year-end charts

Certifications and sales

References

{{Authority control Robert Palmer (singer) albums 1980 albums Island Records albums Albums produced by Robert Palmer (singer) New wave albums by English artists