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Nel 1980 Robert Palmer è un affermato artista musicale la cui carriera può vantare già numerose avventure. Giovanissimo esordisce nella big band jazz-rock-fusion Dada, poi continua in una sorta di diluizione del gruppo, i Vinegar Joe con i quali incide tre lavori molto apprezzati di blues dalle varie contaminazioni. Dal '74 avvia una carriera solista ricca di sperimentazioni che lo vedono protagonista della corrente "blue eyed soul", album come "Pressure Drop" ('75), "Double Fun"('78) e "Secrets" ('79) lo portano al successo, meritato, sia di pubblico che di critica.
Gli anni '80 si aprono con questo "Clues". Disco molto noto grazie alla famosissima ballata sintetica "Johnny And Mary", manifesto riassuntivo dello spirito del lavoro e della nuova stagione di Palmer. Il suono è vicino alla New-Wave, collaborano Gary Numan e Chris Frantz dei Talking Heads. "Clues" si caratterizza per una selezione di brani ben bilanciata tra elettronica e suoni più tradizionali, il denominatore comune è una ricerca di semplicità e immediatezza che fanno del disco una piacevole esperienza d'ascolto. Palmer recupera una vecchia canzone dei Beatles, "Not A Second Time"; una cover curiosa con arrangiamenti del periodo che non perde però lo spirito gioioso dell'originale di Lennon-McCartney, e l'accosta alla ventata rock di "Sulky Girl" e all'elettronica claustrofobica di "I Dream Of Wires". Il brano d'apertura, "Looking For Clues" vede la partecipazione del batterista dei Talking Heads, Chris Frantz, per una canzone dinamica di facile presa radiofonica che contribuì al successo del disco.
Con il lavoro successivo, "Pride" dell'83, Palmer recupererà in parte lo spirito soul-reggae bianco dei '70 accostandolo alle sonorità contemporanee. Nel '85 con "Addicted To Love", contenuta nell'album "Riptide", si ritroverà nei circuiti heavy rotation di Mtv facendosi conoscere anche da un pubblico più giovane che difficilmente probabilmente lo avrebbe scoperto.
Elenco tracce testi samples e video
01 Looking for Clues (04:53)
It’s crazy but I’m frightened by the sound of the telephone, oh yeah
I’m worried that the caller might have awful news, oh my
Who knows these days where on earth the money goes, oh yeah
No doubt we could put it to a better use, oh my
You keep insisting that nobody showed you how to keep relationships, oh yeah
Your daddy made a real good try, oh my
You said you knew all along we could work it out, oh yeah
Do you have to make a fuss everytime we fly
Ooh I’m looking for clues
I'll have to make an effort now just to be serious, oh yeah
Nobody’s gonna give you the benefit of the doubt, oh my
Everytime I pick a paper up it’s harder to believe the news, oh yeah
I’m gonna have to shake it up and twist and shout, oh my
You can’t do nothing that you don’t put your mind to, oh yeah
I suspected all along you were a dream come true, oh my
I’m never in the dark 'cause my heart keeps me well informed, oh yeah
I’m convinced that there’s a way of getting through to you
Ooh I’m looking for clues
It’s crazy but I’m frightened by the sound of relationships, oh yeah
I swear we could put it to a better use, oh my
Do hurry baby you’ve forgotten how to catch a night groove, oh yeah
You told all the callers you were not amused
Ooh I’m looking for clues
You keep insisting that nobody showed you how to use a telephone, oh yeah
Nobody’s gonna give you a second chance, oh my
I don’t have to make an effort now to find out where the money goes, oh yeah
Do you have to make a fuss everytime we dance
Ooh I’m looking for clues
Do ya do ya do ya do ya
Ooh I’m looking for clues
Ooh I’m looking for clues
Ooh I’m looking for clues
03 Johnny & Mary (03:59)
Johnny’s always running around
Trying to find certainty
He needs all the world to confirm
That he ain’t lonely
Mary counts the walls
Knows he tires easily
Johnny thinks the world would be right
If it could buy truth from him
Mary says he changes his mind more than a woman
But she made her bed
Even when the chance was slim
Johnny says he’s willing to learn
When he decides he’s a fool
Johnny says he’ll live anywhere
When he earns to time
Mary combs her hair
Says she should be used to it
Mary always hedges her bets
She never knows what to think
She says that he still acts
Like he is being discovered
Scared that he’ll be caught
Without a second thought
Running around
Johnny feels he’s wasting his breath
Trying to talk sense to her
Mary says he’s lacking a real
Sense of proportion
So she combs her hair
Knows he tires easily
Johnny’s always running around
Trying to find certainty
He needs all the world to confirm
That he ain’t lonely
Mary counts the walls
Says she should be used to it
Johnny’s always running around
Running around
06 Woke Up Laughing (03:34)
I was waiting for you
I was sat in the sun
I could picture your face on the tip of my tongue
I woke up laughing
I broke into a sweat
I broke into a run
You were hot in my heels so I hired a gun
I woke up laughing
I was flat on my back
I was taking a plunge
It was making a stand but my plan was undone
I woke up laughing
Well I planned an escape for the middle of june
But I drug too fast and I fire too soon
I woke up laughing
Woke up laughing
You make yourself a fortune, out in hong kong
You sit at home and wonder whether you were wrong
You take a small vacation just to keep sane
You find on your return your home has blown away
You meditate, you make haste
You run a risk, you come late,
You pay a bill, you lose face
You’re not fully unaware
Your star or your fate
If you fall do you break
You go to war, you make love
You sign out in a box
Repeat whole song
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