Drive (Robert Palmer album)
Encyclopedia
Drive is a 2003 album by British
musician Robert Palmer, and his last album before his death.
Although Drive was released in 2003, all work on the project was completed by November 2002. The release date had to be delayed due to the length of the recording. Compendium Records wanted to cut two additional songs from the project which Robert Palmer had written and Palmer wanted to keep the songs on the recording. Eventually Robert Palmer agreed with the record company in 2003 and allowed the two songs to be cut, accounting for its delayed release date. Drive was originally slated to be released in December 2002.
Drive was critically hailed as the grittiest and most heartfelt album of his career. Initially approached by guitarist Carl Carlton
to contribute to the 2001 Robert Johnson tribute album Hellhound on My Trail, for which Palmer recorded "Milk Cow's Calf Blues
" with Carlton on guitars, Palmer was then invited by Faye Dunaway
to provide the soundtrack to her 2001 directorial debut The Yellow Bird
, set in Mississippi
and New Orleans during the 1940s and 1950s. Palmer took both signs as a good omen, and the impetus for Drive was born. After more thoroughly researching this particular genre of music, Palmer assembled a list of fifty possible tracks, and then began the arduous task of whittling that list down to a manageable set of twelve. The selections from Drive can best be described as a loose collection of both standard and contemporary blues compositions (Robert Johnson, Little Willie John, Keb' Mo'), with a smattering of other genres, including folk (Nicolai Dunger) and calypso (Mighty Sparrow), prompting Palmer to call the end result "a gut-buckety swamp thing." The recording and mixing of Drive took place in both Logic Studios (Milan, Italy) and Palmer's home studio (Lugano, Switzerland), with his long-time, trusted engineer Pino "Pinaxa" Pischetola at the mixing board. Because of the satisfaction and enthusiam having recording the initial twelve songs, Palmer decided to cut three more tracks ("29 Ways [To My Baby's Door]," "It Hurts Me Too," "Stupid Cupid"), this time at the Sphere in London, England, with Ben Georgiades engineering the sessions.
The album peaked at #10 on the US Blues albums chart.
United Kingdom
The United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern IrelandIn the United Kingdom and Dependencies, other languages have been officially recognised as legitimate autochthonous languages under the European Charter for Regional or Minority Languages...
musician Robert Palmer, and his last album before his death.
Although Drive was released in 2003, all work on the project was completed by November 2002. The release date had to be delayed due to the length of the recording. Compendium Records wanted to cut two additional songs from the project which Robert Palmer had written and Palmer wanted to keep the songs on the recording. Eventually Robert Palmer agreed with the record company in 2003 and allowed the two songs to be cut, accounting for its delayed release date. Drive was originally slated to be released in December 2002.
Drive was critically hailed as the grittiest and most heartfelt album of his career. Initially approached by guitarist Carl Carlton
Carl Carlton (German musician)
Carl Carlton is a German rock musician, guitarist, composer and producer who has played in top international bands and with many well-known musicians...
to contribute to the 2001 Robert Johnson tribute album Hellhound on My Trail, for which Palmer recorded "Milk Cow's Calf Blues
Milk Cow Blues (song)
-Original version:The original version was recorded by Arnold in Chicago on September 10, 1934, and released the next month by Decca Records.-Robert Johnson version:...
" with Carlton on guitars, Palmer was then invited by Faye Dunaway
Faye Dunaway
Faye Dunaway is an American actress.Dunaway won an Academy Award for Best Actress for her performance in Network after receiving previous nominations for the critically acclaimed films Bonnie and Clyde and Chinatown...
to provide the soundtrack to her 2001 directorial debut The Yellow Bird
The Yellow Bird
The Yellow Bird is a 2001 film written by Faye Dunaway and Tennessee Williams, and directed by Faye Dunaway....
, set in Mississippi
Mississippi
Mississippi is a U.S. state located in the Southern United States. Jackson is the state capital and largest city. The name of the state derives from the Mississippi River, which flows along its western boundary, whose name comes from the Ojibwe word misi-ziibi...
and New Orleans during the 1940s and 1950s. Palmer took both signs as a good omen, and the impetus for Drive was born. After more thoroughly researching this particular genre of music, Palmer assembled a list of fifty possible tracks, and then began the arduous task of whittling that list down to a manageable set of twelve. The selections from Drive can best be described as a loose collection of both standard and contemporary blues compositions (Robert Johnson, Little Willie John, Keb' Mo'), with a smattering of other genres, including folk (Nicolai Dunger) and calypso (Mighty Sparrow), prompting Palmer to call the end result "a gut-buckety swamp thing." The recording and mixing of Drive took place in both Logic Studios (Milan, Italy) and Palmer's home studio (Lugano, Switzerland), with his long-time, trusted engineer Pino "Pinaxa" Pischetola at the mixing board. Because of the satisfaction and enthusiam having recording the initial twelve songs, Palmer decided to cut three more tracks ("29 Ways [To My Baby's Door]," "It Hurts Me Too," "Stupid Cupid"), this time at the Sphere in London, England, with Ben Georgiades engineering the sessions.
The album peaked at #10 on the US Blues albums chart.
Track listing
- "Mama Talk To Your Daughter" (J. B. LenoirJ. B. LenoirJ. B. Lenoir /ləˈnɔːr/ was an African American blues guitarist and singer-songwriter, active in the 1950s and 1960s Chicago blues scene....
, Alex Atkins) (2:27) - "Why Get Up?" (Bill Carter, Ruth Ellsworth) (3:01)
- "Who's Fooling Who?" (Steve BarriSteve BarriSteve Barri is an American songwriter and record producer.Early in his career Barri was a staff writer with Dunhill Records. He frequently collaborated with P.F. Sloan, and the partners were responsible for the success of The Grass Roots and contributed largely to the band's first album...
, Michael OmartianMichael OmartianMichael Omartian is an Armenian-American singer-songwriter, keyboardist, and music producer. He has been a participant in over 350,000,000 albums and CD’s sold worldwide, as a producer, arranger, artist or musician, during a career that has spanned over 38 years...
, Harvey Price, Daniel Walsh) (2:49) - "Am I Wrong?" (Kevin R. Moore, aka Keb' Mo'Keb' Mo'Keb' Mo is an American blues singer, guitarist, and songwriter, currently living in Nashville, Tennessee, United States.-Early life:From early on he had an appreciation for the blues and gospel music...
) (2:04) - "TV Dinners" (Frank BeardFrank Beard (musician)Frank Lee Beard is the drummer in the rock band ZZ Top. Beard was formerly with the bands The Cellar Dwellars, who originally were a three-piece band, The Hustlers, The Warlocks, and American Blues before starting to play and record with Billy Gibbons and Dusty Hill as ZZ Top.Beard was born in...
, Billy GibbonsBilly GibbonsWilliam Frederick "Billy" Gibbons is an American musician, actor and car customizer, best known as the guitarist of the Texas blues-rock band ZZ Top. He is also the lead singer and composer for many of the band's songs. Gibbons is known for playing his Gretsch Billy Bo guitar and his famous 1959...
, Dusty HillDusty HillJoseph Michael "Dusty" Hill is the bassist and vocalist with the American rock group ZZ Top.-History:Hill was in Dallas, Texas and grew up in the Lakewood neighborhood of East Dallas...
) (3:24) - "Lucky" (Carl CarltonCarl Carlton (German musician)Carl Carlton is a German rock musician, guitarist, composer and producer who has played in top international bands and with many well-known musicians...
, Robert Palmer) (2:22) - "Stella" (Slinger Francisco) (3:59)
- "Dr Zhivago's Train" (Nicolai DungerNicolai DungerNicolai Dunger is a singer and acoustic songwriter from Piteå in Sweden. He has released twelve EPs and albums, singing primarily in English, and collaborated notably with Will Oldham, the Esbjörn Svensson jazz trio and Ebbot Lundberg. He also records under the alias A Taste of Ra...
) (3:58) - "Ain't That Just Like A Woman" (Claude DemetriusClaude DemetriusClaude Demetrius was an African American songwriter.Born in Bath, Maine, by his early twenties he was in New York City writing music for and/or with the likes of Louis Armstrong, Jimmy Witherspoon and B.B. King. Demetrius wrote the 1945 musical comedy short film Open the Door, Richard...
, Fleecy Moore) (1:59) - "Hound DogHound Dog (song)"Hound Dog" is a twelve-bar blues written by Jerry Leiber and Mike Stoller and originally recorded by Willie Mae "Big Mama" Thornton in 1952. Other early versions illustrate the differences among blues, country, and rock and roll in the mid-1950s. The 1956 remake by Elvis Presley is the best-known...
" (Jerry Leiber, Mike Stoller) (2:03) - "Crazy Cajun Cake Walk Band" (Jim Ford, Lolly Vegas, Pat VegasRedbone (band)Redbone is a Native American rock group that was most active in the 1970s. They reached the Top 5 on the U.S. Billboard Hot 100 chart in 1974 with the million-selling gold-certified single, "Come and Get Your Love".-History:...
) (3:08) - "Need Your Love So BadNeed Your Love So Bad"Need Your Love So Bad" sometimes known as "I Need Your Love So Bad", is a blues song first published in 1955 and written by Mertis John Jr....
" (Mertis John Jr.) (2:14) - "29 Ways (To My Baby's Door)" (Willie DixonWillie DixonWilliam James "Willie" Dixon was an American blues musician, vocalist, songwriter, arranger and record producer. A Grammy Award winner who was proficient on both the Upright bass and the guitar, as well as his own singing voice, Dixon is arguably best known as one of the most prolific songwriters...
) (2:42) - "It Hurts Me Too" (Melvin R. London) (2:17)
- "Stupid Cupid" (Howard GreenfieldHoward GreenfieldHoward Greenfield was an American lyricist and songwriter, who for several years in the 1960s worked out of the famous Brill Building...
, Neil SedakaNeil SedakaNeil Sedaka is an American pop/rock singer, pianist, and composer. His career has spanned nearly 55 years, during which time he has sold millions of records as an artist and has written or co-written over 500 songs for himself and other artists, collaborating mostly with lyricists Howard...
) (2:10) - "Milk Cow's Calf BluesMilk Cow Blues (song)-Original version:The original version was recorded by Arnold in Chicago on September 10, 1934, and released the next month by Decca Records.-Robert Johnson version:...
" (Robert Johnson) (2:20)
Personnel
- Robert Palmer - vocals, bass
- Carl CarltonCarl Carlton (German musician)Carl Carlton is a German rock musician, guitarist, composer and producer who has played in top international bands and with many well-known musicians...
- guitars - Mauro Spina - drums, percussion
- James Palmer - drums, percussion, on "Dr. Zhivago's Train"
- Dr. Gabs - piano, organ, synthesizer, bass on "Stella"
- Franco Limido - harmonicas
- Sharon O'Neill, Tina Ann Hart, Mary Ambrose - Backing Vocals