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Colt1861Navy

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Re: Colt1861Navy post# 715

Wednesday, 06/26/2002 3:47:49 PM

Wednesday, June 26, 2002 3:47:49 PM

Post# of 1767
Rock 'n' Roll Artists...Power Station

http://www.karentaylor.force9.co.uk/power%20station.htm

http://www.geocities.com/Hollywood/2578/power.html

Chance and circumstance played a major part in the formation of The Power Station in 1985, but it took a more determined approach to re-form the group in 1993 and co-create a new album, "Living In Fear."

In 1985, Andy Taylor and John Taylor, both members of Duran Duran, found their paths crossing regularly with Chic drummer Tony Thompson, who was performing on David Bowie's Serious Moonlight tour. Andy kept in touch with Tony who eventually introduced him to his close friend and musical associate, Chic bassist Bernard Edwards. They talked of a possible musical collaboration with Bernard as producer. Eventually, Andy and John played some demos for Tony and Bernard, and the trio recorded a cover of T. Rex's "Get It On" in London. As the project gained momentum, John suggested calling in Robert Palmer, whom he'd met a few years earlier in Birmingham, England. Robert, once he heard his material, agreed to get on board.

The band's name came about by accident. A journalist approached John and Robert as they were walking to the Power Station Studios and asked them what they were doing in New York. "We said, 'We're working in the Power Station,' but we got misquoted in the newspaper as a band called "The Power Station," Robert recalls. "We liked it, so we left it at that."

The resulting album, "The Power Station," was a platinum success on both sides of the Atlantic (#6 in the US and #12 in the UK), and spawned the Top 10 singles "Some Like It Hot" (#6) and "Get It On" (#9) -- one chart notch above T. Rex's original. However, this lineup of the group (Andy, Robert, Tony & John) performed only once in front of a live audience ("Saturday Night Live") before Andy and Robert had a "huge ruck." Robert walked away from the band and back to his solo career. Micheal DesBarres took over the leas singer role during the band's 1985 Summer Tour.

John and Andy first discussed reuniting The Power Station in 1991, but it wasn't until the end of 1993 that they decided to embark on it seriously. Calls to the original members and Bernard Edwards revealed that they were all ready and willing to have another go at it. But this time there was a strong feeling within the band to take a slower, more considered approach to recording. "On the first album we didn't have time for pre-production," recalls Tony. "We respected each other's work and wanted to get together and play, but we started talking music while the clock was ticking in the recording studios and the album was pieced together there. This time we had the opportunity to have pre-production, so we really did an album. We lived together in a house, sat around and wrote, and we had all kinds of material."

Robert brought the skeleton of "Life Forces" and "Fancy That" to the initial rehearsal, while Andy contributed embryonic versions of "She Can Rock It," "Notoriety," and "Living In Fear." Eighteen songs were whittled down to eleven which were chosen for the album. The recording process was slow but steady as the band members continued with individual career commitments. Moreover, their homes were scattered around the world: Bernard was based in Connecticut, Tony and John in California, Robert in Switzerland and Andy in the UK and Spain. Just when the bulk of the recording was completed, John suddenly went AWOL and eventually left the band and the project altogether. After thinking about it, the band realized that the solution was right there. "The most obvious and logical thing to do was to ask Bernard to do the bass and it was the best result we could have got," says Andy. "Bernard redid all the bass guitar parts and then we got together with him to finish everything off. He was the best bass player anyone could have brought in and it really made a difference to what we were doing. It really kicked the rhythm section up -- he and Tony are pretty special together."

Then the story took a turn. Soon after mixing the album, Bernard went to Japan to perform in concert with Nile Rodgers. During his visit, Bernard contracted an especially dangerous form of influenza and died suddenly in his sleep in Tokyo on April 18, 1996. He was just 43 years old.

"We had to sit down and take a big, deep breath," recounts Andy, "but it was kind of strange because in a matter of days, everybody said, 'We can't stop -- we love the record and his contribution on it has been so fantastic, this record must come out at all costs.' And the maestro wouldn't have had it any other way."

After the album was completed, Andy, Robert and Tony were glad that they carried on through it all. "It's given everyone in the band a real opportunity to be extremely objective -- even cruel! -- about the record and say, 'Okay, we need to redo this and that,'" Robert explains. "To a certain extent the wait's been worth it because we're still excited about it as we were in the first place."

The breadth of material on "Living In Fear" is astonishing, ranging from the unashamedly upfront first single, "She Can Rock It," and heavy rock sensibilities of the title track, to the funky subtleties of "Life Forces" and "Fancy That." The band members attribute this to the fact that during The Power Station's ten-year lay-off, each has been involved in a number of diverse projects -- as performers, songwriters and producers. "Living In Fear" is also a truly international record. The band members come from both sides of the Atlantic; it was recorded in Los Angeles, New York, Milan and Capri; the engineer, Stan Katayama, is Japanese; and it features guest French keyboard players Wally Badarou and Philippe Saisse, as well as the Tower of Power horn section.

Ultimately, the success of "Living In Fear" lies in the fact that this disparate group of musicians has once again captured the chemistry that made The Power Station so successful the first time around. "When you take the cast of characters and all the different influences, there's a bit of everybody in there and that makes the whole," says Andy.

At the end of 1996, following the European and Japanese release of the album, The Power Station finally played in front of live audiences again, touring Germany and Japan. They plan to be on the road in the US this fall. "The album was recorded pretty much live, there are no tricks on it, and when we play together it sounds just like the record," says Andy. "This is a group of people who have worked together for the past thirteen years in different formats and we'd rather play the music to people and say 'It's for real,' than hide behind a glossy video and some clever PR. The most convincing thing to me is still to go out and play in front of people, and this band is pretty fearless on that score. We'll play anywhere to anybody."

Despite Duran Duran ruling the earth by late 1984 (due to countless hits and sold-out tours), the band had completely burned themselves out with a non-stop, grueling work schedule. 1985 was supposed to be a year-long break for its members from band duties, but its five members ultimately formed two separate side-projects: the Power Station, which was comprised of Duranee's John Taylor (bass) and Andy Taylor (guitar), plus solo artist Robert Palmer (vocals) and ex-Chic member Tony Thompson (drums); as well as Arcadia, which featured the three other Duran members, singer Simon Lebon, keyboardist Nick Rhodes, and drummer Roger Taylor.

The formation of the Power Station came as a complete accident, as John Taylor was dating model/groupie Bebe Buell at the time, and offered to assemble a funky version of T. Rex's classic rocker, "Bang a Gong (Get It On)," for Buell to contribute vocals to (with Andy Taylor and Tony Thompson joining the proceedings). But before the recording could take place, Taylor and Buell split up. The trio decided to press on, however (having already demoed several originals, as well), with a plan to have several different noted pop singers provide vocals. Robert Palmer was invited to sing on a track, but with the vocalist and the rest of the band extremely impressed with the results, Palmer ended up singing on all of the resulting album's eight tracks. Issued in early 1985, the quartet's self-titled debut was a sizeable hit, due to a pair of monster hit singles which merged rock with a dance edge, the original tune "Some Like It Hot" and the aforementioned cover of "Bang a Gong." The album's immediate commercial success prompted the group to organize a supporting tour, but surprisingly, Palmer pulled out just a few days before the tour's launch.

The Power Station first attempted to lure Paul Young into the group (who had just scored a hit with the ballad, "Everytime You Go Away"), before settling on former-Silverhead frontman Michael Des Barres. Despite an appearance at the mammoth Live Aid benefit festival in July of 1985, the bandmembers decided to call it quits upon the tour's completion. As a side note, the band member's temporary "break" from Duran Duran failed to recharge their batteries, as both Andy and Roger Taylor split from the band shortly thereafter, while Palmer would go on to issue some of the '80s biggest pop hits, including "Addicted to Love" and "Simply Irresistible." Surprisingly, the original Power Station lineup re-formed almost exactly ten years later, issuing a sophomore effort, Living in Fear, in 1996. Unsurprisingly, the album failed to replicate its predecessor's success. ~ Greg Prato, All Music Guide

Discography and Photos

http://www.karentaylor.force9.co.uk/power%20station.htm

http://www.geocities.com/Hollywood/2578/power.html



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