Robert Palmer Maybe It's Live CD

The "maybe" in the title refers to the fact that though this set is mostly taken from live concerts, some of the tracks are studio recordings. The live tracks here serve as a sort of de facto greatest hits collection for the first phase of Robert Palmer's career. The set begins with a rousing take on Allen Toussaint's "Sneakin' Sally Through the Alley," which stomps where the original had sashayed. Palmer essays two hot tracks from his early solo albums--the reggae/doo wop flavored "Best of Both Worlds," and the soulful Caribbean concotion "Every Kind of People," and turns in a solid, crowd-pleasing version of his biggest hit thus far, "Bad Case of Loving You."

The highlight of the studio recordings is the ultra-catchy "Some Guys Have All the Luck," with which Rod Stewart would have a huge chart hit a few years later. The studio tracks show Palmer beginning to cross over to a sleek, modern production style that would be his chosen medium in his subsequent '80s records. Other studio tracks range from "Style Kills" (an ironic title for Palmer), co-written with Gary Numan, to "Maybe It's You" a hyper chunk of straight-ahead new wave rock.

Orinaly released in 1982 , his seventh album combines six live tracks of old songs with four new songs recorded in the studio, including Some Guys Have All the Luck, at #16 UK Hit.

Originally released on Island (9665).

Personnel: Robert Palmer (vocals, guitar, keyboards, drums); Alan Mansfield (guitar, keyboards); Danny Wilde, Kenny Mazur, Alan Numan, Adrian Belew (guitar); Gary Numan, Jack Waldman (keyboards); Donny Wynn, Dany Wynn, Michael Dawe (drums).

Photographer: Graham Hughes.

Reissue producers: Jeff Fura, Lynise Levine.