Robert Palmer - Live At The Apollo flac mp3 download

Live At The Apollo finds Robert Palmer and band live in concert, here on the final stop of the US leg of his mammoth 1988-89 Heavy Nova Tour, stopping at the legendary New York concert venue just before the Christmas Holiday, Edited to fit on a single CD many Palmer staples that were a part of his usual set list on this tour are absent, including early hits such as "Sneaking Sally Through The Alley" and the popular "Bad Case Of Loving You" along with "Early in The Morning", which was in the US Top 20 around the time of this show. That said, you do get a fairly nice overview of Palmer's career, live, at least through 1988 (future hits like "Mercy. Mercy, Me/ I Want You" & "You're Amazing" are not present as this show pre dates them). Palmer delves into his back catalogue for album cuts like "Pride" & "Woke Up Laughing" which spotlight his forays into World Music, embracing strong Carribean & African Influences, a hall mark of his work from the late 70s through mid 90s. Palmer's affection for torch songs and pre rock romantic standards is also highlighted through his live performance of "Riptide", a 1930's torch song that also served as the title track to his multi million selling 1985 album. The rest of the set focuses on hit singles, from his US Top 10 with The Power Station "Some Like It Hot", through minor US hits such as "Discipline Of Love", "Tell Me I'm Not Dreaming", and "Hyperactive" into much bigger sellers such as a much funkier, R&B tinged version of "I Didn't Mean To Turn You On", his anti racism ballad "Every Kinda People", and of course his dueling chart topping Grammy Winners "Addicted To Love" & "Simply Irresistible", alongside a spirited, high octane rendition of his early 80s minor club hit "Looking For Clues", alongside his massive UK hit, the power ballad "She Makes My Day", the set becomes more a referendum on Palmer's radio success than his career as a whole (minus "Bad Case..." & "Early In The Morning", both glaring omissions). Palmer's band was fine form, operating with an almost mechanical precision, likely due to the singer's hectic performance schedule (at one point Palmer & Band did 55 straight shows on consecutive nights, each in a different city, an almost backbreaking pace that actually earned him brief mention in The Guinness Book of World Records). Other than the much more funky arrangement for "I Didn't Mean To Turn You On" the musical scores are very similar to the studio versions, at times only Palmer's live vocals showing a clear separation from the live versions and the original album cuts. The band rocks its hardest on two lesser known album selections, "Flesh Wound" from the aforementioned Riptide and "More Than Ever", a manic screamer from Heavy Nova. Those numbers provide the best glimpse into the diversity of Palmer musically, contrasting sharply with the quiet, bossa nova rhythms of the romantic ballad "Between Us" or the African influenced island arrangements that dominate "Pride" and the comedy song "Change His Ways". It's that diversity that best exemplifies Palmer's career, not the rote list of Hot 100 hits, and despite being an edited version of his show with some notable exclusions, this set still manages to shine a satisfactory spotlight on that aspect of the singer's career.BJ Nelson, at this point working with Palmer going on three years, is in fine form as his primary back up singer and handles her solo in "Tell Me Im Not Dreaming" as good as on the record. Longtime drummer Donny Wynn and lead guitarist Eddie Martinez also excel. This may have been Palmer's best line up of band mates, at least for combining in studio work with live performing, and was basically the same unit he had been working with for the past few years at this point.80s music fans and Robert Palmer fans will enjoy this set, it may not be perfect (maybe the entire concert, spread over two discs, would have been preferable) but it is enjoyable while providing a good, if not great, look at the first half of Robert Palmer's solo career, while playing with his best touring band.