Thursday, July 29, 2021

"Simply Irresistible" by Robert Palmer

Top 10 Alert!
Grammy Alert!
Song#:  3566
Date:  07/02/1988
Debut:  59
Peak:  2
Weeks:  20
Genre:  Rock


Pop Bits:  Palmer's solo career was at an all-time high in '86. His album Riptide would reach #8 and go double-platinum thanks to a pair of Pop Top 10s including the Grammy-winning #1 "Addicted to Love." After that success, Palmer made the move from Island Records, with whom he had been since '74, over to EMI. He then got back in the studio to record his ninth album. By the summer of '88, Heavy Nova was ready for release. This first single was pushed out and it easily sailed to the top of the Rock chart. It would also be a winner at Pop where it got to #2 for a couple of weeks. The hit would push the album to #13 and it didn't take long for it to go platinum. This song would earn Palmer his second Grammy award. He would win for Best Rock Vocal Performance, Male. Two years earlier, he took home that same trophy for "Addicted to Love."

ReduxReview:  This song was just like its title. It seems Palmer set out to try and replicate the success of "Addicted to Love" and he came up with another winner. The tune was fun, groovy, hooky, and highly memorable. Palmer did a nice, meaty production on the track as well. The bass and guitar had a lot of crunch while the synth stabs provided some extra emphasis. While it didn't quite reach the classic status of "Addicted to Love," it was still a great tune that gave Palmer one last Pop Top 10.

ReduxRating:  9/10

Trivia:  While this song wasn't a sequel to "Addicted to Love," its video was done in the same style as the one for "Addicted." That highly memorable video had Palmer singing the song in front of a "band" of models that were dressed the same, had the same makeup, and basically moved the same. Their look was inspired by the paintings of Patrick Nagel. His work was famously shown on the cover to Duran Duran's 1982 LP Rio. Since the video was nearly as popular as the #1 hit, Palmer revisited the theme for his follow-up single "I Didn't Mean to Turn You On."  He would dive in that well one more time with director Terrence Donovan for the video to "Simply Irresistible." For the third video in the series, the band was, well, disbanded. Instead, Palmer sang in front of two groups of women. The first group pretty much stayed in place and sort of lightly grooved to the song while a second group in back did more of a dance routine. Both groups would be featured separately doing various moves and some would even don swimsuits and dance in a sort of rain shower of water. The video would prove to be just as successful as the previous two and it helped drive the song up to #2.

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