Riptide is the eighth studio album by the English singer Robert Palmer, released on 4 November 1985 by Island Records. The album was recorded over a period of three months in 1985 at Compass Point Studios in Nassau, Bahamas. The album peaked at No. 5 on the UK Albums Chart and at No. 8 on the US Billboard 200. It was certified double Platinum in the US by the RIAA in March 1996 and certified Gold in the UK by BPI in August 1986. It features the songs "Addicted to Love", "I Didn't Mean to Turn You On", "Hyperactive", "Discipline of Love", and "Riptide" which were all released as singles. The single "Addicted to Love" was accompanied by an iconic and much-imitated music video, directed by Terence Donovan, in which Palmer is surrounded by a bevy of near-identically clad, heavily made-up female "musicians," either mimicking or mocking the painting style of Patrick Nagel. In September 1986, Palmer performed "Addicted to Love" at the 1986 MTV Video Music Awards in Los Angeles, California. In 1987, he won the Grammy Award for Best Male Rock Vocal Performance for "Addicted to Love". At the 1987 Brit Awards, Palmer received his first nomination for Best British Male.

Another single from Riptide, his cover of R&B singer Cherrelle's "I Didn't Mean to Turn You On", also performed well (US No. 2, UK No. 9).

The title track of the album is a cover of a 1933 song written by Walter Donaldson and Gus Kahn and first recorded by Eddy Duchin and his orchestra.

2013 reissue

Riptide was reissued on 30 April 2013 by Culture Factory USA, an independent label that specialises in cult artists. The reissue CD was packaged in a miniature replica of the original quality vinyl packaging complete with an inner sleeve that features the original lyrics, photographs of Palmer and credits for the album. The label side of the CD features a replica of what the original Island label looked like at the time of issue and even features "grooves" as if the black CD is made of vinyl.

The reissues did not have any additional outtakes or bonus tracks.

Critical reception

In a contemporary review music critic Robert Christgau gave the album a "C+" and described it as "his pop breakthrough" and added that "what makes him barely listenable is his holdings in r&b."

  • Robert Palmer – vocals, backing vocals
  • Wally Badarou – keyboards
  • Jeff Bova – keyboards
  • Jack Waldman – keyboards
  • Eddie Martinez – guitars
  • Andy Taylor – guitar (3)
  • Bernard Edwards – bass (1–7, 9)
  • Guy Pratt – bass (8)
  • Tony Thompson – drums (1–4, 6, 7, 9)
  • Dony Wynn – drums (5, 8)
  • Lenny Pickett – saxophone
  • Benny Diggs – backing vocals (3, 8)
  • Fonzi Thornton – backing vocals (3, 8)
  • Chaka Khan – vocal arrangements (3)

Production

  • Producer – Bernard Edwards
  • Post-production – Eric "ET" Thorngren and Robert Palmer
  • Engineer – Jason Corsaro
  • Assistant engineers – Michael Abbott, Benjamin Armbrister, Steve Boyer, Jamie Chaleff, John Davenport, Billy Miranda, Dan Peterkofsky and Steve Rinkoff.
  • Mixed by Eric "ET" Thorngren
  • Recorded at Compass Point Studios (Nassau, Bahamas).
  • Mixed at The Power Station, Electric Lady Studios, The Hit Factory and Right Track Recording (New York, NY).
  • Mastered by Jack Skinner at Sterling Sound (New York, NY).
  • CD mastering by Barry Diament at Atlantic Studios (New York, NY).
  • Illustration – Susan Palmer
  • Design – Robert Palmer
  • Photography – Giuseppe Pino

Charts

Weekly charts

{| class="wikitable sortable"

|-

!Chart (1985–86)

!Peak<br>position

|-

|Australia Albums (Kent Music Report)

| style="text-align:center;"|17

|-

|Canadian Albums (RPM)

| style="text-align:center;"|2

|-

|-

|-

|-

|}

Year-end charts

{| class="wikitable"

|-

!Chart (1986)

!Position

|-

|US Billboard 200

| style="text-align:center;"|11

|-

!Chart (1987)

!Position

|-

|US Billboard 200

| style="text-align:center;"|63

|}

Certifications

Release history

{| class="wikitable"

|-

! Label

! Cat. No.

!

! Format

! Date

|-

| Island || 90471-1, 7 90471-1 || <sup>US</sup> || Vinyl || 1985

|-

| Island || 7 90471-4 || <sup>US</sup> || Cassette || 1985

|-

| Island || 610 541-222, CID 130, 90471-2 || <sup>GE</sup> || CD || 1985>

|-

| Island || ICT 9801 || <sup>UK</sup> || Cassette || 1985

|-

| Island || 407 083-630, 407 083 || <sup>GE</sup> || Cassette || 1985

|-

| Island || ZCI-9801 || <sup>UK</sup> || Cassette || 1985

|-

| Island || A4-90471, A4 90471 || <sup>US</sup> || Cassette || 1985

|-

| Island || ISLC-1066, ISLC 1066 || <sup>CA</sup> || Cassette || 1985

|-

| Island || ILPS 9801 || <sup>UK,</sup> <sup>IRE,</sup> <sup>PO,</sup> <sup>SC</sup>|| Vinyl || 1985

|-

| Island || R25D-2014 || <sup>JP</sup> || Vinyl || 1985

|-

| Island || ISL 1066 || <sup>CA</sup> || Vinyl || 1985

|-

| Island || 7 90471-2 || <sup>US</sup> || CD || 1986

|-

| Island || P35D 20010 || <sup>JP</sup> || CD || 24 April 1987

|-

| Island, Island Masters || 826 463-2, IMCD 25 || <sup>EU</sup> || CD || 1989

|-

| Island Masters || PSCD-1152 || <sup>JP</sup> || CD || 25 November 1991

|-

| Island Masters || UICY-6600 || <sup>JP</sup> || CD || 22 November 2006

|-

| Culture Factory || 782026 || <sup>FRA</sup> || CD || 30 April 2013

|}

References