The Power Station

Titre : The Power Station

Date de publication : 1985

Label : Capitol

Type : Album

Classement : US#6 / UK#12

Récompenses : Disque de Platine US / Disque d'Or UK

Morceaux :

1. Some Like It Hot

2. Murderess

3. Lonely Tonight

4. Communication

5. Get It On (Bang A Gong)

6. Go To Zero

7. Harvest For The World

8. Still In Your Heart

En 2005, pour commémorer le 20ème anniversaire de l'album, The Power Station est réédité dans une version incluant un DVD et de nombreux titres bonus :

9. Someday, Somehow, Someone's Gotta Pay

10. The Heat Is On

11. Communication (long remix)

12. Get It On (Bang A Gong) (edit)

13. Some Like It Hot And The Heat Is On

14. Communication (remix / edit)

15. Some Like It Hot (edit)

En janvier 2026, c'est un coffret de pas moins de 38 morceaux sur 4CD qui marque le 40ème anniversaire du supergroupe. The Power Station DLX comprend l'album original remasterisé, des versions éditées et remixées, des instrumentaux "bruts" issus des sessions d'enregistrement ainsi que des performances en concert avec le chanteur remplaçant Michael Des Barres au Live Aid et à Philadelphie durant l'été 1985. 

Simples :

   

• Some Like It Hot - edit  b/w  The Heat Is On (7")
• Some Like It Hot And The Heat Is On  b/w  Some Like It Hot - edit + The Heat Is On (12")
• Get It On (Bang A Gong) - edit  b/w  Go To Zero (7")
• Get It On (Bang A Gong) b/w  Get It On (Bang A Gong) - edit + Go To Zero (12")
• Murderess - remix  b/w  Murderess - edit (US promo 12")
• Harvest For The World  b/w  Still In Your Heart (PE promo 7")

Critiques / Reviews :

• "When a bunch of laddish superstars get together for a 'one-off project' it usually means a ghastly cacophony of self-indulgence. Not surprisingly then, most of this album seems to be made up of Andy Taylor's shamelessly butch guitar solos kept (just) from going completely bonkers by a mixture of hard funky rhythms, edgy brass and Robert Palmer's seductively controlled vocals. The overall blast lacks the emotion to carry off a song like 'Harvest For The World' convincingly but the sheer muscle of sound does hold a sort of forcible fascination." Rating: 7 out of 10 (Smash Hits)

• "John Taylor, Andy Taylor, Robert Palmer, Tony Thompson: two Durans, one studied white soulster, one session monster and former Chic-man. We expect craft, if not art, from such a crack crew - and we get it. It's the big sound here (Bernard Edwards producing); no mind-fest, but a good raw romp. The rawness surprises. We never doubted these fellows could play, we just questioned how hard. Here, a cover of T. Rex's 'Bang A Gong (Get It On)' convinces - pretty needn't always equate with prissy. The goodlookers sweat out an update of the glam anthem that sacrifices neither its troglodyte stomp nor fey poetry. And Power Station's own 'Murderess' is an outright guitar workout - an ax-primer from Keef-tuff to Jimi Hendrix-frienzied. Not everything is boom-bam rocking. 'Communication' and Isleys' oldie 'Harvest For The World' share a sure, if easier, power. 'Still In Your Heart', the almost-ballad, is graceful, but pedestrian. 'Some Like It Hot' is horn-happy, its pace fierce and funk-styled. While all concerned shine, Tony Thompson is stellar. Drumming this assured, this heatedly intelligent, compels, even in our day when all LPs have gone beat-crazy. If anyone's slightly overshadowed, it's the record's big solo name - Robert Palmer gives a righteous performance, but one less subtle than some of his previous work. This remains, however, a bold intro to a force that should be reckoned with. Wherever pop's shifting winds carry these boys in days to come, at present, Power Station ain't merely posing. This is real music - and who would've bet it would be?" (Record Magazine)

• "The Power Station is an attempt to create an '80s supergroup. Its membership combines the unlikely partnership of Duran Duran and Chic, tied together by the vocal skills of British soul-rocker Robert Palmer. While the lineup may leave the impression this is an ugly potpourri of teen bop and dancefloor funk, the results are actually much better. The music is not so much a combination of its obvious ingredients as it is an opportunity for the individual players to extend themselves a few steps beyond their accustomed bases. It is an album of tough-edged rock funk that is skilfully palyed. If there is one drawback, it is the sense of it being a nicely executed extra-curricular project. There is little feeling of the personal identity normally associated with full-fledged bands or solo careers. Regardless, this is an album of top-notch material. Palmer's vocals are just salty enough to duel with the gutsy funk foundations. His breathy edge gives it a seductive element. Andy Taylor's guitar cuts through with more determination that it does on the sweetly packaged pop of Duran Duran. Periodically, he applies a lose rambling acid-rock break, not as a centrepiece to the songs, but as an atmospheric link. A remake of Marc Bolan's 'Bang A Gong' is the album's curiosity item. It is an extended version, remolded with hard rhythms, rowdy rock riffs and free-form vocal phrasing. Although 'The Power Station' is largely gritty dancefloor music, there is the odd deviation, such as 'Still In Your Heart', a moody piece, which closes the album and is memorable for the boozy saxphone solo. This may be a side project, but the merits of the endeavor certainly warrant following up with further recordings." (The Ottawa Citizen)

• "If you haven't already done so, plug into The Power Station. (...) Conceived by John Taylor as hybrid of dance-funk rhythms and high-level rock energy, the project gives him and Andy Taylor greater musical credibility away from the pinup pop band image of Duran Duran. And for Island Records' veteran soloist Palmer, whose critical acclaim has rarely been reflected in album sales, the association with these younger teen idols virtually guarantees him his widest audience to date. Thompson, who has put the beat behind artists as varied as Chic, David Bowie, Madonna, Elton John, Mick Jagger and Diana Ross, performs impeccably throughout. No less impressive is the precision production of Bernard (Chic) Edwards who may have done for these boys what Nile (Chic) Rodgers did for Bowie on 'Let's Dance'. Included among the original material are two decent covers, the T. Rex hit 'Bang A Gong' and the nine-year-old Isley Brothers tune 'Harvest For The World', which is altogether timely today in light of the various famine relief efforts currently dominating entertainment news pages. The Taylor-Taylor-Thompson-Palmer teaming wasn't intended to last beyond this one album. Smart money, however, won't bet against a Power Station II." (The Leader Post)

• "It is not a Duran Duran album. It's more muscular than that. Thompson and John Taylor keep the beat feral, Palmer is in good voice, and Andy Taylor's work is hot although usually too short. The Isley Brothers' message song 'Harvest For The World', a hard-driving blend of funk and rock with melody, is the best cut, with 'Some Like It Hot' and 'Communication' not far behind (...) Everything else is better than OK, with the flaws being small ones (...) Producer Bernard Edwards generally lets the Power Station go, and the results aren't bad, although it could use a few zippier tempos." (The Pittsburgh Press)

• "It's an unprobable combination - a pair of young British technopoppers and one of England's most respected 'blue-eyed soul' singers - but it works, and it works well on 'The Power Station 33 1/3' (...) The magic of the hit 'Some Like It Hot', with its insistent, motivating rhythm, funky instrumental flourishes, and simmering vocals, is repeated on many of the cuts here. The band's eclectic style utilizes the best of both Palmer and the Durans, with some of the former's funkiest singing in years" (The Record Journal).

• "The Power Station, named after the studio where this specimen was commited to tape, seems to have been the baby of John Taylor and Duran's guitar abraser Andy Taylor. Somehow Robert Palmer was enticed over to sing with them. The only good idea the two Taylors are ever likely to have. (...) The single 'Some Like It Hot' is mirepresentative for it's light and very Palmerfied - except for that typical high cholesterol 'axe' from A Taylor - barely hinting at the simplified progressive rock that massacres the low-key crooning of Palmer." (New Musical Express) Read complete review

• "The album is weird. I have no idea what we would make of it if we didn't know it was two of the Taylor-Durans, Bob Palmer, and Nile and Tony T of the Chic Organisation. The material first - gritty, gravelly funk with a distinctly Heavy Metal overtone through many of the originals. 'Murderess' is nearer to HM than to anything else, relying on the bluster to carry it through. Grievous damage is done to 'Get It On', which I am not prepared to forgive or forget. 'Go To Zero' is, to these ears, the only really great track on the collection, sweeping cudgel-funk. Then they make an unholy mess of the Isleys' 'Harvest For The World', which will not be forgiven either. So - the return of the supergroup album. Full of sound and fury, a good deal less than the sum of its parts. I will hang on for a twelve inch of 'Go To Zero' (backed with 'Lonely Tonight', perharps?) and leave it at that." (Beat Magazine)