"Sweet Lies" by Robert Palmer

Song#:  3455

Date:  03/26/1988

Debut:  94

Peak:  94

Weeks:  2

Genre:  Pop, Rock, Soundtrack

Pop Bits:  Late in 1985, Palmer released what would end up being his best performing album, Riptide. It would reach #8 and go double-platinum thanks to a pair of Top 10 hits; the classic #1 "Addicted to Love" and the #2 "I Didn't Mean to Turn You On." He spent most of '87 relocating to Switzerland and preparing his next album, which wouldn't be ready for release until the summer of '88. In the meantime, Palmer was tapped to supply some music for an upcoming film titled Sweet Lies. He would write/co-write and record three songs for the movie including the title track. All of them would be featured on the film's soundtrack album. To promote the LP and the film, this title track single was released. It would barely be a blip on the Pop chart spending a very minor two weeks near the bottom. Since it got nowhere, the album failed to chart. Palmer would have better luck with singles from his next album..

ReduxReview:  I don't know what Palmer was going for here. It kind of sounds like his attempt at a cool, sophisti-pop tune, but it didn't work at all. I find the track very muddled. I had a hard time trying to make out the lyrics as Palmer seems to slur them together and the production doesn't help. He gets overrun by the fretless bass and other effects. Then the chorus, or what I assume to be the chorus, doesn't hit until near the halfway mark. It was an odd song and one that was nowhere near being single-worthy. Not one of Palmer's best moments.

ReduxRating:  3/10

Trivia:  The film Sweet Lies was a rom-com that starred Treat Williams. In it, Williams played an insurance investigator who finds himself in Paris for work, but then gets tangled up as the objective of a seduction bet between three women. Of course things get complicated when the women end up falling for the guy. It was directed by French actress Nathalie Delon. The movie was produced by Island Pictures, an offshoot of Island Records, which just happened to be Robert Palmer's label. How convenient! Island got Palmer on board, but his songs didn't do anything for his career or for the movie, which quickly came and went to little notice.

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