Creatively Fearless
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Archived from the IMDb Discussion Forums — Robert Palmer
asteffen — 22 years ago(September 26, 2003 12:24 PM)
Just like for everyone, to hear the news of Robert Palmer's passing was a shock. What a loss. I have been a fan for over 20 years and the one thing that stands out to me about him, more than anything else, was his passion for fresh work. He was always trying something new, some different musical angle or genre, and musically speaking he was a huge change-agent. He brought me into musical styles I did not even like at first but grew to embrace over time. Who knew that the Little Feat-ish Robert Palmer I first loved in "Sneaking Sally Through The Alley", "Pressure Drop", "Some People Can Do What They Like", would evolve into more reflective, sentimental, yet still playfully fun work like "Double Fun" and "Secrets", which would then lead me into his techno era with works like "Clues" and "Maybe It's Live", and then into his most well known work in "Riptide" and "Pride"? Certainly I never thought I'd like that stuff but with his pipes it was inevitable. Man did he have a voice! "Heavy Nova" was born of that era of commercial success but as always there was evidence of the next phase for him on board. Then his more mature work was spawned like "Don't Explain" and the album I least liked at first but now most like, "Riding High". Imagine a singer who could belt out that blue eyed soul and then turn around and croon like no other! And let's not forget "The Power Station"! "Honey" was certainly not lost on me - who else but Robert Palmer could play with Lowell George at one point, then Taylor, and then Bettencourt? Talk about creative flexibility and talent! I very much enjoyed "Rythym and Blues", and will now pick up "Drive", which again shows how willing he was to embrace change and stretch his creative talents yet again. I do not know of another musician who did that better than Robert Palmer. He will be missed. He was my musical muse. My thoughts and prayers go out to him and his family and friends. Peace.