CONCERT REVIEW: Power Station
- Bob Gajarsky
The Power Station have lost two members in the past two years. The first, John Taylor, departed during the recording of Living In Fear to pursue his solo career. After calling in another ex-Chic member, Bernard Edwards, to double on bass guitar as well as with production duties, Living In Fear was completed. However, Edwards contracted a dangerous form of influenza and died in his sleep in Tokyo in April, 1996. The group decided to continue on in his absence as a trio.
At a recent showcase at New York City's Fashion Cafe, the Power Station flexed their collective muscle with six additional performers. While their debut album on Guardian features members of the Tower of Power horn section, the Big Apple show included four members of the Uptown Horns, along with two additional guitar players.
Lead singer Robert Palmer was decked out in his trademark brown suit, and waited 'backstage' before the show. The former Duran Duran member Andy Taylor was affable to his fans, many of whom were clutching their Rio albums, now emblazoned with the guitarist's John Hancock. And the other former member of Chic, Tony Thompson appeared powerful while testing out the drum kit.
The band opened with the T. Rex classic, "Get It On", which was trying for Palmer; he subtly instructed the soundman to raise his vocals to rise above the guitars, but unfortunately, throughout the entire performance, those vocals weren't at the proper level. They proceeded to a trio of songs from the new disc; the first single, "She Can Rock It", which comes off as a slower version of their cover of "Get It On"; "Power Trippin'", seen here as a faster version of "Murderess", and the title cut "Living In Fear". This latter song showcased the path towards which the Power Station have moved; Thompson's pounding on the skins and cymbals with Taylor's searing guitars would have fit in perfectly with mid 1980s Def Leppard, making an awkward place for Palmer's poorly mixed vocals. So while the Power Station may have returned back to the music scene, some of the funk which made their eponymous debut so special ten years back has been replaced with a driving force nearly the equal of arena rock.
This would prove to be the only new tracks the group would perform; the top 10 hit "Some Like It Hot" and Palmer's own #1 hit "Addicted To Love" brought the six song set to a rousing conclusion. The audience, consisting almost entirely of twenty and thirty somethings, were clearly pleased that the song selection included a couple of the 'classic' cuts.
A funny, but unfortunate, incident was recounted by Palmer to preclude "She Can Rock It". Apparently, the band was booked to perform on the Regis & Kathy Lee show, but objections were raised to the line 'kisses like cocaine'. Palmer agreed to modify the drug to 'champagne', but the puritanical show then complained about the line 'It's a sorry looking doughnut if it doesn't have a hole', and the booking was cancelled. Makes you wonder how many other artists don't appear on daytime television because of an overly sensitive watchdog.
While the Power Station may have modified their music output, the drive and determination is still present. They've still got some time left before joining the ranks on any of the 1980s reunion tours.
