Now here’s a title that covers a multitude of sins - but for me, it only seemed fitting for my seventh album in nine years. The previous two efforts had been quite laborious, and I was determined to adopt a more immediate, somewhat less precious approach to “Creatures...”

True to the title (don’t remember at what stage of the project I actually came up with it), I moved back into Power Station with the cast of characters that had finished up “Hear & Now.” One noteworthy change was, I had Jeff Golub back in the ‘stage left’ guitar slot. Over the years, he and I have often reminisced about this album producing some of our best collaborations...I was happy to have him back! Sure enough, the project ran quite smoothly, and I didn’t have to mortgage my apartment or sell one of my prized guitars to pay the studio bill. I recall it being a lot of fun.

Jeff came into the band at the start of the “Don’t Say No” tour in ’81. We played a lot together over the next few years, and developed a real instinct for each other’s playing (maybe I should credit Jeff with developing an instinct for my playing). Jeff started out taking a lot of direction from me, but really came into his own as the recordings and tours progressed. He contributed more and more...and as I saw what he was capable of, I tried to avail myself of his particular strengths. We’re different players in many ways, but we’ve always found a common ground in the music. And we formed a close friendship that’s endured to this day.

There’s no real playbook in songwriting, contrary to what you might be led to believe from the incessant deluge of crap regurgitated by the elite class of behind-the-scenes songwriters and their offspring. With “She Goes Down,” I thought I’d stumbled upon a perfect sequel to “The Stroke”—a sexually provocative title masking what, in fact, was an ode to strong women...thereby earning me rock’s coveted x-rating while preserving my credibility as a socially conscious writer. Throw in the big guitar riff...and BINGO—HIT RECORD!

Not. What I thought was close to a sure thing didn’t work out according to plan. Shows you how much I know. I still think it was a good idea, it just didn’t translate at the time. Other songs on the album were less cryptic and more autobiographical: “Lover,” “Facts of Life,” “Four-Letter Word,” to name a few, found me wearing my heart on my sleeve to some extent. This was a somewhat different lyrical approach for me, and I’ve always been happy with the results. Musically, we covered a fair bit of ground - I’m not always sure if this is desirable from a fan’s perspective, but it keeps things interesting for me. Anyway, it still wears well, and I’m looking forward to pulling a few numbers off of “Creatures...” for the summer tour.

Be there.

Creatures Of Habit 33RPM/CD/Tape
Creatures Of Habit extra track 33RPM/CD/Tape (Japan)
She Goes Down CD Single
She Goes Down/Strange Fire Tape Single
Facts Of Life/Young At Heart Tape Single