Secrets

Personnel: Kenny Mazur (guitar); Jack Waldman, Steve Robbins (keyboards); Dony Wynn (drums).
Audio Mixer: Karl Pitterson.
Recording information: Compass Point Studios, New Providence, Bahamas.
Photographer: Graham Hughes.
Robert Palmer finally broke through to a wide audience on SECRETS, his fifth solo record. The storming opening cut, the blues-based "Bad Case of Lovin' You (Doctor Doctor)," is a far cry from the exotic tempos and polished offerings that dominated Palmer's early recordings. Harking back to the venerable love-as-illness metaphor, the track would be a runaway success, and from his joyful opening vocal salvo it sounds like Palmer knew it.
In addition to the chart success of "Bad Case of Lovin' You," SECRETS had the depth to make Palmer a familiar voice on FM rock radio. His masterly cover of Todd Rundgren's "Can We Still Be Friends" and the chugging, not-quite punk "Jealous" also received a fair amount of play on the American airwaves. The look of the record, with its airbrushed, stylized cool, shows a newly packaged Palmer playing up his suave good looks. Nevertheless, he continues to work in an impressive number of styles, indulging his love of reggae, ska, soul, and pop, and even flirting with a disco beat on "Love Stop."