''The Power Station'' is the debut album by the supergroup The Power Station, released in 1985 on

Capitol Records Capitol Records, LLC (known legally as Capitol Records, Inc. until 2007) is an American record label distributed by Universal Music Group through its Capitol Music Group imprint. It was founded as the first West Coast-based record label of note ...

. The album peaked at no. 6 on the US ''Billboard'' 200 and no. 12 on the

UK Albums Chart The Official Albums Chart is a list of albums ranked by physical and digital sales and (from March 2015) audio streaming in the United Kingdom. It was published for the first time on 22 July 1956 and is compiled every week by the Official Charts C ...

.Chart Stats – The Power Station – The Power Station
/ref> All three singles released from the album were Top 40 hits in the United States. An anniversary edition was released 21 February 2005, featuring 7 bonus tracks, as well as a 35-minute DVD.

Background

The Power Station was a

supergroup Supergroup or super group may refer to: * Supergroup (music), a music group formed by artists who are already notable or respected in their fields * Supergroup (physics), a generalization of groups, used in the study of supersymmetry * Supergroup ...

formed by Robert Palmer, Tony Thompson (of

Chic Chic (; ), meaning "stylish" or "smart", is an element of fashion. It was originally a French word. Pronounced Chick. Etymology ''Chic'' is a French word, established in English since at least the 1870s. Early references in English dictiona ...

) and

Andy Andy may refer to: People *Andy (given name), including a list of people and fictional characters *Horace Andy (born 1951), Jamaican roots reggae songwriter and singer born Horace Hinds *Katja Andy (1907–2013), German-American pianist and piano ...

and

John Taylor John Taylor, Johnny Taylor or similar may refer to: Academics *John Taylor (Oxford), Vice-Chancellor of Oxford University, 1486–1487 *John Taylor (classical scholar) (1704–1766), English classical scholar *John Taylor (English publisher) (178 ...

from

Duran Duran Duran Duran () are an English Rock music, rock band formed in Birmingham in 1978 by singer and bassist Stephen Duffy, keyboardist Nick Rhodes and guitarist/bassist John Taylor (bass guitarist), John Taylor. With the addition of drummer Roger ...

. They came together in 1984 to record a one-off album, as a respite from the relentless global touring and promotion of Duran Duran. The original plan for this one-album project was for the three musicians (Taylor, Taylor and Thompson) to provide musical continuity to an album full of material, with a different singer performing on each track. Those who were approached included

Mick Jagger Sir Michael Philip Jagger (born 26 July 1943) is an English singer and songwriter who has achieved international fame as the lead vocalist and one of the founder members of the rock band the Rolling Stones. His ongoing songwriting partnershi ...

, Billy Idol,

Mars Williams Mars Williams (born May 29, 1955) is an American jazz and rock saxophonist. Exposed to big band and dixieland jazz by his trumpet-playing father, Williams played classical clarinet for ten years, then migrated to saxophone in his last year of hig ...

(who eventually contributed brass to the album) and Richard Butler (of

The Psychedelic Furs The Psychedelic Furs are a post-punk band founded in London in February 1977. Led by lead vocalist Richard Butler and his brother Tim Butler on bass guitar, the Psychedelic Furs are one of the many acts spawned from the British post-punk scene ...

), and Mick Ronson. The group then invited eclectic soul singer Robert Palmer to record vocals for the track "

Communication Communication (from la, communicare, meaning "to share" or "to be in relation with") is usually defined as the transmission of information. The term may also refer to the message communicated through such transmissions or the field of inquir ...

". When he heard that they had recorded demos for " Get It On (Bang a Gong)", he asked to try out vocals on that one as well, and by the end of the day, the group knew that they had found that elusive chemistry which distinguishes successful bands. Before long, they had decided to record the entire album with Palmer. However, the union was not to hold. By the time the band decided to take the 8-track set on the road, Palmer had left to record his solo album ''

Riptide A rip tide, or riptide, is a strong offshore current that is caused by the tide pulling water through an inlet along a barrier beach, at a lagoon or inland marina where tide water flows steadily out to sea during ebb tide. It is a strong tidal flo ...

'' (which, likely because of the involvement of The Power Station participants Edwards, Thompson, and Andy Taylor, is very similar in sound to The Power Station album). He was replaced by Michael Des Barres (famed for co-writing Animotion's "Obsession"). During the promotion cycle for the album,

EMI EMI Group Limited (originally an initialism for Electric and Musical Industries, also referred to as EMI Records Ltd. or simply EMI) was a British transnational conglomerate founded in March 1931 in London. At the time of its break-up in 201 ...

released three singles, including the cover of T. Rex's "Get It On". Versions of these three singles are now included among the bonus tracks on the 2005 re-release. In addition, the re-release also includes the song "Somewhere, Somehow, Someone's Gonna Pay", the only known Power Station song featuring Michael Des Barres on lead vocals. The song was used for the end titles of the

Arnold Schwarzenegger Arnold Alois Schwarzenegger (born July 30, 1947) is an Austrian and American actor, film producer, businessman, retired professional bodybuilder and politician who served as the 38th governor of California between 2003 and 2011. ''Time'' ...

action film '' Commando'' and was titled "We Fight for Love".

Title

While the actual name of the album is ''The Power Station'', the specific formats were adopted as part of the name (similar to

PiL Public Image Ltd (abbreviated and stylized as PiL) are an English post-punk band (and incorporated limited company) formed by singer John Lydon (previously known as the singer of Sex Pistols), guitarist Keith Levene, bassist Jah Wobble, and dr ...

's 1986 ''

Album An album is a collection of audio recordings issued on compact disc (CD), Phonograph record, vinyl, audio tape, or another medium such as Digital distribution#Music, digital distribution. Albums of recorded sound were developed in the early ...

''), thus ''The Power Station 33'' vinyl album, and ''The Power Station CD'' on

Compact Disc The compact disc (CD) is a Digital media, digital optical disc data storage format that was co-developed by Philips and Sony to store and play digital audio recordings. In August 1982, the first compact disc was manufactured. It was then rele ...

Track listing

All songs written by Robert Palmer, Andy Taylor and John Taylor; except where noted ;Side one #"

Some Like It Hot ''Some Like It Hot'' is a 1959 American crime comedy film directed, produced and co-written by Billy Wilder. It stars Marilyn Monroe, Tony Curtis and Jack Lemmon, with George Raft, Pat O'Brien, Joe E. Brown, Joan Shawlee, Grace Lee Whitney and N ...

" – 5:05 #"Murderess" – 4:17 #"Lonely Tonight" (

Bernard Edwards Bernard Edwards (October 31, 1952 – April 18, 1996) was an American bass player and record producer, known primarily for his work in disco music with guitarist Nile Rodgers, with whom he co-founded Chic. In 2017, Edwards was selected as the ...

, Palmer) – 3:58 #"

" (Derek Bramble, Palmer, Andy Taylor, John Taylor) – 3:37 ;Side two #

" Get It On (Bang a Gong)" ( Marc Bolan) – 5:29 #"Go to Zero" (

Guy Pratt Guy Adam Pratt (born 3 January 1962) is a British musician. He is best known for his prolific work as a session bass player, working with artists including Pink Floyd (also David Gilmour and Nick Mason), Roxy Music (also Bryan Ferry), Gary M ...

, Palmer) – 4:58 #"

Harvest for the World ''Harvest for the World'' is the fourteenth studio album released by The Isley Brothers on their T-Neck imprint on May 29, 1976. The album was remastered and expanded for inclusion in the 2015 released CD box set ''The RCA Victor & T-Neck Albu ...

" (

Isley Brothers Isley is an English surname. The name can also be used as an anglicized variant for the German surnames Eisele and Eisler. Notable people with the surname include: *The Isley Brothers, American musical group **Ernie Isley (born 1952), American mus ...

) – 3:37 #"Still in Your Heart" – 3:20 ;2005 re-release bonus tracks #

"Someday, Somehow, Someone's Gotta Pay" – 4:32 #"The Heat Is On" – 3:18 #"Communication" ong Remixnbsp;– 4:39 #"Get It On (Bang a Gong)" "(Bolan) – 3:45 #"Some Like It Hot and the Heat Is On" – 6:36 #"Communication" emixnbsp;– 3:51 #"Some Like It Hot" "nbsp;– 3:44

Charts

Personnel

;The Power Station * Robert Palmer – lead and backing vocals * Andy Taylor – guitars, co-lead vocals on "Harvest for the World" *

– bass * Tony Thompson – drums ;Additional musicians * Michael Des Barres - lead vocals on track 9 * Curtis King Jr,

Fonzi Thornton Alfonso "Fonzi" Thornton is a U.S. songwriter/producer and vocal contractor. In a career spanning 40 years, Thornton has sung backing vocals for top artists across many genres of music. His vocal credits can be found on the recordings of Aret ...

, B.J. Nelson, Charmaine Burch – additional vocals *

Lenny Pickett Lenny Pickett (born April 10, 1954) is an American saxophonist and musical director of the ''Saturday Night Live'' band. From 1973 to 1981 he was a member of Tower of Power. He is known for his skill in the altissimo register (executed by using ...

Mark Pender Mark "The Loveman" Pender (born August 21, 1957 in Kansas City, Missouri) is a trumpet player and vocalist who has played with Southside Johnny, Little Steven and Bruce Springsteen. Since 1993 he has performed on ''Late Night with Conan O'Brien'' ...

Stan Harrison Stan Harrison (born December 8, 1953) is an American saxophonist who is also accomplished in playing other woodwind instruments, namely the horn, flute and clarinet. He has also written music for television. Harrison released his first solo album ...

, "Hollywood" Paul Litteral,

– brass *

Roger Taylor Roger Taylor may refer to: *Roger Taylor (Queen drummer) (born 1949), drummer for Queen *Roger Taylor (Duran Duran drummer) (born 1960), drummer for Duran Duran *Roger Taylor (author), author of epic fantasy Hawklan series *Roger Taylor (college pr ...

, Jimmy Bralower – percussive effects * Wally Badarou, David LeBolt,

Robert Sabino Robert Sabino is an American rock keyboardist.(14 July 1996)Star Turns From a Home in the Firehouse ''The New York Times'' ("Mr. Sabino, a well-known keyboardist, attracted a record producer, Nile Rodgers, who lived in Fairfield County, to some o ...

, Rupert Hine – keyboards ;Production * Produced by

* Recorded and Engineered by Jason Corsaro, Steve Rinkoff and

Rob Eaton Rob Eaton is an American guitarist. He is best known for his work with the renowned Grateful Dead tribute band, Dark Star Orchestra, of which he has been a member since 2001. Career Rob Eaton grew up in Vermont and was inspired to start playin ...

* Mixed by Jason Corsaro * Mastered by Howie Weinberg at

Masterdisk Masterdisk is an American multimedia company in New York, located at 8 John Walsh Boulevard in Peekskill. They provide production services such as audio mastering, vinyl cutting and enhanced CD and DVD production. Their clients include such no ...

, New York

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Power Station, The 1985 debut albums The Power Station (band) albums Albums produced by Bernard Edwards Parlophone albums EMI Records albums Capitol Records albums