FEATURE:
A Buyer’s Guide
Part Ninety-Eight: Lionel Richie
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NEARING in…
PHOTO CREDIT: Jeff Kravitz/FilmMagic
on the hundredth edition of this feature, I am including the legendary Lionel Richie in A Buyer’s Guide. Rather than concentrate on his work with The Commodores, I am recommending his best solo work. I will highlighting his four best studio albums, an underrated album that deserves more love, and his latest studio album. I will also include a Lionel Richie book. Before getting to those recommendations, here is some biography about the iconic Lionel Richie:
“Although rooted in soul and R&B, Lionel Richie became a global superstar of the pop charts, blurring musical borders in the 1980s with solo hits like "All Night Long (All Night)," "Hello," and "Stuck on You," as well as chart-topping collaborations like the Diana Ross duet "Endless Love" and the star-studded charity single "We Are the World" which he co-wrote with Michael Jackson. A consummate singer, songwriter, and producer, Richie steered the Commodores into their most successful period, fronting the band on late-'70s hits like "Easy" and "Three Times a Lady" before making himself a household name as one of the most dominant male solo acts of the following decade. During his commercial peak, he proved himself a master of smooth romantic balladry, sending songs like "Truly" and the Oscar-winning "Say You, Say Me," to the top of the pop charts, though he also had a knack for more uptempo fare like 1986's "Dancing on the Ceiling." Richie also forged a unique crossover connection to country music, writing and producing for Kenny Rogers and collaborating with Alabama. Although his popularity faded during the '90s and early-2000s, Richie updated his sound with 2006's Coming Home and was rewarded with his first Top Ten LP in 20 years. The singer's renaissance continued over the next decade with 2012's country-driven Tuskegee returning him to the top of the pop charts. Beginning in 2018, Richie began a new high-profile role as a judge on American Idol, introducing him to younger generations of fans.
Lionel Brockman Richie, Jr. was born on June 20, 1949 in Tuskegee, Alabama, and grew up on the campus of the Tuskegee Institute, where most of his family had worked for two generations. While attending college there, Richie joined the Commodores, who went on to become the most successful act on the Motown label during the latter half of the '70s. Richie served as a saxophonist, sometime-vocalist, and songwriter, penning ballads like "Easy," "Three Times a Lady," and "Still" (the latter two became the group's only number one pop hits). Although the Commodores maintained a democratic band structure through most of their chart run, things began to change when the '70s became the '80s. In 1980, Richie wrote and produced country-pop singer Kenny Rogers' across-the-board number one smash "Lady," and the following year, Richie's duet with Diana Ross, "Endless Love" (recorded for the Brooke Shields film of the same title), became the most successful single in Motown history, topping the charts for a stunning nine weeks. With the media's attention now focused exclusively on Richie, tensions within the Commodores began to mount, and before the end of 1981, Richie decided to embark on a solo career.
He immediately set about recording his solo debut for Motown. Titled simply Lionel Richie, the album was released in late 1982 and was an immediate smash, reaching number three on the pop charts on its way to multi-platinum status. It spun off three Top Five pop hits, including the first single, "Truly," which became Richie's first solo number one. If Lionel Richie made its creator a star, the follow-up, Can't Slow Down, made him a superstar. Boasting five Top Ten singles, including the number ones "All Night Long (All Night)" and "Hello," Can't Slow Down hit number one, eventually reached diamond status, and won the 1984 Grammy for Album of the Year. Such was Richie's stature that he was invited to perform at the closing ceremonies of the 1984 Olympics in Los Angeles, a spectacular stage event that was broadcast worldwide.
In 1985, Richie put his superstar status to work for a greater good, joining Michael Jackson in co-writing the USA for Africa charity single "We Are the World"; the all-star recording helped raise millions of dollars for famine relief. By the end of the year, he was on top of the charts again with "Say You, Say Me," a ballad recorded for the film White Nights but not included on the soundtrack album. The song was slated to be the title track on Richie's upcoming album, but delays in the recording process prevented the record from being released until August 1986, by which time the title was changed to Dancing on the Ceiling (in order to promote Richie's next single release). Three more Top Tens followed "Say You, Say Me," as did "Se La," which became the first of Richie's solo singles not to reach the pop Top Ten. Overall, Dancing on the Ceiling didn't reach the commercial heights of Can't Slow Down, though it was by any means a significant success.
Richie's nine-year streak of writing at least one number one single (a feat matched only by Irving Berlin) came to an end in 1987. As a matter of fact, Richie all but disappeared from the music business, exhausted after two decades of recording and performing, and also occupied with taking care of his ailing father. Richie's silence was broken in 1992, when Motown released a compilation titled Back to Front; in addition to some of his solo hits and a few Commodores tracks, Back to Front also featured three new songs, including the number one R&B hit "Do It to Me." Finally, in 1996, Richie returned to the studio with his first album or new material in a decade. With a sound updated for the era, Louder Than Words, was a moderate success, reaching the Top 30 and going gold. Appearing two years later, Time found Richie in a more familiar element, relying on his signature sound with only slight musical updates. However, it marked a commercial nadir for the veteran artist, spending only a few weeks in the lower reaches of the charts.
Richie's next album, Renaissance, was released to a favorable reception in Europe in late 2000; it was issued in the U.S. in early 2001. It fared best in the U.K., where it went platinum. Three years later Richie released Just for You, another album that was most successful in the U.K. The 2006 album Coming Home -- released the same year his popularity in certain Arab states was covered by mainstream media outlets -- found him working with an all-star cast of collaborators including Jermaine Dupri, Raphael Saadiq, Sean Garrett, and Dallas Austin. In the U.S., it reached the Top 10 of the pop and R&B charts. The wholly modern Just Go, released in 2009, featured assistance from Stargate, Terius "The-Dream" Nash, Christopher "Tricky" Stewart, and Akon. His next release was much different: 2012's Tuskegee featured fully countrified updates of hits from his past, including "Easy" (with Willie Nelson), "Hello" (with Jennifer Nettles), and "Dancing on the Ceiling" (with Rascal Flatts). The album reached the top of the U.S. pop and country charts.
The following year, Richie embarked on his first North American tour in a decade. The All the Hits, All Night Long show took in some 18 different cities, before being extended over the next two years, with dates taking in cities across the world including a performance at the 2015 Glastonbury Festival. In 2016, Richie took the show to Vegas and performed a residency at the Planet Hollywood Zappos Theater. Over the next few years, Richie acted as a judge for the revived talent show American Idol, as well as playing more dates in Vegas. A recording of his show, Hello: Live from Las Vegas, was released in 2019 -- it debuted at two on Billboard -- while Richie once again embarked on a mammoth 33-date tour of North America. Heading into the next decade, he retained his role on American Idol, serving through the show's 2021 season”.
If you need a guide regarding the best Lionel Richie albums to own, I hope the suggestions below are of use. I am not sure if we will get another studio album. His most recent, Tuskegee, was released in 2012. Let’s hope there is more to come from the legend! Here are the albums that you need to get from…
THE one and only Lionel Richie.
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The Four Essential Albums
Lionel Richie
Release Date: 8th October, 1982
Label: Motown
Producers: James Anthony Carmichael/ Lionel Richie
Standout Tracks: Tell Me/My Love/Truly
Buy: https://www.discogs.com/sell/list?master_id=45720&ev=mb
Stream: https://open.spotify.com/album/5R8J87WpdqO4t4pB4F4LNJ?si=x1V-bWsqSdOCOKTp8dBOxA
Review:
“Lionel Richie's solo career began while he was still in the Commodores, as he wrote and sang (as a duet with Diana Ross) the theme to the Brooke Shields romance Endless Love, which became a bigger hit than any of the group's singles, thereby setting the stage for his departure and his 1982 self-titled solo debut. He wasn't working in unfamiliar territory, or with new musicians. The Commodores decided to work as their own band, so their producer, James Anthony Carmichael, was able to devote his energy to working on Richie's album. Using the pop-crossover ballad style of "Endless Love," "Three Times a Lady," and "Easy" as their template, the duo turned Lionel Richie into a sleek, state-of-the-art record that, at its best, provides some irresistible pop pleasures. The key to its success -- and the reason it was scorned by some Commodores fans -- is that Richie doesn't even make a pretense of funk here, leaving behind the loose, elastic grooves of his previous bands (a move that makes sense, since his voice never suited that style particularly well), choosing to concentrate on ballads and sparkly mid-tempo pop, peppered with a few stylish dance grooves. The ballads, of course, provided two big hits with "My Love" and "Truly," two numbers that illustrate that he was moving ever-closer to mainstream pop, since these are unapologetic AOR slow-dance tunes. The other big hit, "You Are," is an effervescent, wonderful pop tune that showcases Richie at his sunniest; it's one of his greatest singles. Throughout the first part of the record, the dance numbers are served up and they're very good -- "Serves You Right" has a shiny, propulsive groove, while "Tell Me" jams nicely. After "You Are," the record bogs down with a couple of ballads that are on the wrong side of adult contemporary -- too formless, too hookless to really catch hold -- but they don't hurt the first seven songs, which form a dynamic mainstream pop-soul record, one of the best the early '80s had to offer. It's the sound of Lionel Richie finding his solo voice, and, the next time out, he knew how to use it even better than he does here. [The 2003 reissue of Lionel Richie includes two bonus tracks: a solo demo of "Endless Love" which not only fits perfectly with this record, but is less cloying, and an instrumental of "You Are" whose primary worth is to hear the detail and expertise in the production Richie and Carmichael assembled.]” – AllMusic
Choice Cut: You Are
Can't Slow Down
Release Date: 11th October, 1983
Label: Motown
Producers: James Anthony Carmichael/Lionel Richie/David Foster
Standout Tracks: Stuck on You/Running with the Night/Hello
Buy: https://www.discogs.com/sell/list?master_id=45794&ev=mb
Stream: https://open.spotify.com/album/609oTPBaxPzZUCHzQikOtC?si=5ZROANMsQQihjtnLRrRqTg
Review:
“By 1983, Lionel Richie had become Motown’s biggest star almost by default. With Stevie Wonder always a law unto himself when it came to releasing albums and Diana Ross, Marvin Gaye and Michael Jackson all departing the imprint, a significant release was needed in the label’s much-lauded 25th year.
Jackson’s Thriller was the new high water-mark in commercial pop/soul. Richie, arguably Jackson’s nearest rival at that point, had seen Jackson return to his old label for one night only on Motown’s 25th Anniversary in May that year and upstage everybody with his version of Billie Jean. Although his self-titled debut solo album from 1982 had been a confident step away from the Commodores, Richie knew that the bar had been raised for his second album on which he was currently working.
Richie stepped up to the challenge and created Can’t Slow Down, an album that became almost as ubiquitous as Jackson’s landmark. Made by around 50 people, it is one of the smoothest, most closely produced albums of the 80s.
Can’t Slow Down is very good indeed, Richie’s last true moment as a cutting-edge balladeer. Stuck on You is in the line of Commodores love songs Sail On and Easy; Penny Lover and The Only One are sweet and beguiling. Although it became a laughing stock in some quarters because of its video with the blind girl making a statue of the singer’s head out of modelling clay, album closer Hello showcased the craft that Richie had made his mark of quality.
And although virtually all of his old Commodores grit had been worn smooth, there was still a modicum of spikiness in the title-track, Running with the Night and the late night soul of Love Will Find a Way, is like the musical equivalent of cooking a gourmet meal – a drizzle of piano here, a pinch of synthesizer, there; tasteful, and sweet.
Released just ahead of the album, All Night Long (All Night) is one of the last great Motown singles. Using a lilting, infectious rhythm and a mumbo-jumbo breakdown, Richie created a dance masterpiece.
Can’t Slow Down was, of course, a huge hit, and went on to sell over eight million copies and garnered sundry Grammys. It further established Lionel Richie as the go-to ballad singer for millions, and, unlike many other records made in the mid-80s, is still very listenable” – BBC
Choice Cut: All Night Long (All Night)
Dancing on the Ceiling
Release Date: 15th July, 1986
Label: Motown
Producers: Lionel Richie/James Anthony Carmichael/Narada Michael Walden for Perfection Light Productions
Standout Tracks: Se La/Ballerina Girl/Say You, Say Me
Buy: https://www.discogs.com/sell/list?master_id=41732&ev=mb
Stream: https://open.spotify.com/album/5IvqScO5vIXQ2zrxtpCVHf?si=tY5Mot-lQL2J15OWqlU7Fg
Review:
“Lionel Richie will never surprise you. His triumph has been his ability to turn conservative dependability into a commercial, and at times even an aesthetic, virtue. If he's rarely galvanizing, he's never less than accomplished, and Dancing on the Ceiling sets an impressive standard for mainstream pop craft in the Eighties.
Following the massively successful formula defined by 1983's Can't Slow Down, Dancing on the Ceiling assembles a tasteful sampler of established musical styles. Among the most satisfying of these are the insinuating reggae groove of "Se La" and the Marvin Gaye-in-spired Motown sensuality of "Don't Stop." On these tracks, Richie and coproducer James Anthony Carmichael blend elegant rhythmic and percussive figures with synthesizer atmospherics to create alluring, sonically complex musical statements. The gritty roots of these songs inspire Richie to give committed vocal performances, toughening his phrasing and roughening the grain in his voice's timbre.
The title track flashes Richie's signature buppie funk, and "Love Will Conquer All" is a smart, bouncy pop duet with Marva King. The LP's two modest stretches are "Tonight Will Be Alright," a polished heartland rocker that features Eric Clapton's stinging guitar, and "Deep River Woman," an easy-listening country ballad on which Alabama provides rich background vocals. "Ballerina Girl," unfortunately, provides a virtual anthology of Richie's worst saccharine excesses.
Richie's musical brilliance, however, reveals itself on "Say You, Say Me," the bracing, Beatlesque pop classic that closes the album. That song's stirring arrangement, affirmative message and gentle expansiveness embody Richie's finest qualities – qualities in abundant supply on Dancing on the Ceiling” – Rolling Stone
Choice Cut: Dancing on the Ceiling
Just Go
Release Date: 13th March, 2009
Label: Island
Producers: Akon/JB & Corron/John Ewbank/Nando Eweg/David Foster/Clayton Haraba/Martin K./Sean K./Stargate/Tricky Stewart
Standout Tracks: Forever/Forever and a Day/Good Morning
Buy: https://www.discogs.com/sell/list?master_id=369227&ev=mb
Stream: https://open.spotify.com/album/0SF4YWvJFsZBXublew4PsF?si=z69IZoUERHCh7iZBs0hCtw
Review:
“Lionel Richie is a one-man service economy through much of “Just Go,” his solicitous new album. He wants to make sure you’re comfortable, fulfilled and secure in his devotion. “I am not okay/Unless you’re okay,” he declares in one ballad, “I’m Not Okay.” On the lightly Caribbean-flavored title track produced by Akon and now on the Hot Adult Contemporary chart he sings, “I’m here to take that stress from you.” Then he offers to cook a meal, make the bed and spirit you by sailboat to the Bahamas, where he’ll make good on the promise of a massage.
“You” in this case is a placeholder for Mr. Richie’s core demographic, which skews overwhelmingly female, and generally older than any of his kids. But if that makes “Just Go” a textbook adult-contemporary album, it also lends credible emotional footing to the songs. It’s one reason that Mr. Richie doesn’t sound out of his element singing on tracks provided by contemporary R&B hit makers, complete with up-to-the-minute production.
In that sense Mr. Richie is expanding on a formula that brought success a few years ago, when he released “I Call It Love,” a ballad produced by the Norwegian duo Stargate. “Just Go” features five songs apiece by Stargate and another bankable team, Christopher Stewart, known as Tricky, and Terius Nash, known as The-Dream. Mr. Richie has inspired both camps, and maybe sparked some competition: Stargate writes a song called “Forever,” and the other duo comes up with “Forever and a Day.”
Mr. Richie’s most relaxed moment occurs during “I’m in Love,” a Stargate song written with Ne-Yo. As for his weirdest moment: “Into You Deep,” by Mr. Stewart and Mr. Nash, weighs guilt-stricken pleas against a stark, thumping beat, with compellingly creepy results.
Then there’s “Eternity,” a utopian hymn arranged by David Foster, and a distinctly grown-up valediction. Mr. Richie sounds fine there, but he’s even better singing, “Party like there’s nothing left to give,” his refrain from a second track produced by Akon. Never mind the hint of exhaustion in those lyrics; your host is here to please” – The New York Times
Choice Cut: Just Go (featuring Akon)
The Underrated Gem
Louder Than Words
Release Date: 16th April, 1996
Label: Mercury
Producers: James Anthony Carmichael/David Foster/Jimmy Jam and Terry Lewis/Lionel Richie
Standout Tracks: Still in Love/Don't Wanna Lose You/Climbing
Buy: https://www.discogs.com/sell/list?master_id=257865&ev=mb
Stream: https://open.spotify.com/album/3DSci5KKdb4imJa66kVRf4?si=yY7K8FqnTZqrhbvSK9RyZA
Review:
“Remember when Lionel Richie was one of the biggest names in R&B? When Dancing on the Ceiling topped the charts in 1986, Richie was second only to Michael Jackson in crossover appeal, thanks to an impressive run of top 10 singles — ”All Night Long,” ”Hello,” and the Oscar-winning ”Say You, Say Me,” among them. These weren’t mere commercial successes, either; there was a melodic ingenuity to Richie’s work that put him on par with Motown’s finest songwriters. At the time, his career momentum seemed unstoppable.
But stop it did. Between writer’s block, an embarrassing divorce, and a record company dispute, it took six years for Richie to deliver his next album, and even then the best he could manage was the greatest hits collection Back to Front. When that slid off the charts after barely cracking the top 20, even his fans filed Richie under ”has-been.”
Let’s not be hasty, though. Richie’s career may be colder than a Minnesota winter, but with Louder Than Words, his first album of new material in a decade, he makes it clear that he hasn’t lost his touch. From the singalong charm of ”Ordinary Girl” to the slow-boil balladry of ”Piece of Love,” these songs are very much in the vein of his ’80s output. In fact, the soulful ”Don’t Wanna Lose You” sounds as if he were back with the Commodores.
But that’s the trouble. Though it’s only been 10 years since he dominated the charts, Richie’s middle-of-the-road rhythm & blues may as well be from another century. It isn’t that he can’t work a groove; what makes Richie seem so old-fashioned is that he doesn’t understand that these days the groove is everything.
Richie does strive for something contemporary. But it’s hard to be convinced by the sinuous synth-funk (courtesy of Jimmy Jam and Terry Lewis) of ”I Wanna Take You Down” when it’s immediately preceded by the countrified ballad ”Still in Love.” Even the space shuttle couldn’t get from Nashville to Minneapolis that quickly.
Still, Richie is only partly to blame. With the rise of rap, and R&B’s movement toward a street sensibility and harder beats, crossover became a dirty word. Compared to tough-lovers R. Kelly, Mary J. Blige, or Jodeci, Richie comes across as a fuddy-duddy.
A pity, because even if he hasn’t kept up with the times, he has grown. There’s a complexity to ”Can’t Get Over You” that wasn’t there a decade ago, as Richie’s protagonist tries to bridge the gap between what he knows and how he feels. Unlike the simple sentimentality of an early-’80s hit like ”Still,” Richie goes for emotional ambiguity here, relying on pacing and dynamics to convey the anger and regret mere words could never capture. It’s a subtle piece of work, but totally convincing.
Then there’s his singing. Where Richie’s older hits evoked Barry Manilow, Louder Than Words finds him sounding more like Marvin Gaye, bringing a lush sensuality to the loping rhythms of ”I Wanna Take You Down” and evoking the jazzy confidence of ”What’s Going On” in ”Change.” Even better is the sultry ”Piece of Love,” which finds Richie wading into the sort of soulful backwaters his music hasn’t visited since the Commodores left Tuskegee.
Just as ”Piece of Love” reminds us of Richie’s roots, the gutsy delivery he gives ”Say I Do” defines his new maturity. Had it been left to, say, Janet Jackson, this Jam & Lewis ballad would have been predictable Top 40 fare. But in Richie’s hands ”Say I Do” strikes a deeper chord, begging for commitment in a way that makes the chorus seem less like a melodic ploy than the sort of dramatic payoff his performance demands.
Whether that can convince contemporary radio that Richie is as dope as Janet Jackson remains to be seen. But even if Louder Than Words doesn’t put him back on top of the charts, it’s proof that Richie is on top of his game” – Entertainment Weekly
Choice Cut: Ordinary Girl
The Latest Album
Tuskegee
Release Date: 5th March, 2012
Label: Mercury
Producers: Tony Brown/Buddy Cannon/Nathan Chapman/Kenny Chesney/Dann Huff/Dirk Vanoucek (assoc.)
Standout Tracks: My Love (with Kenny Chesney)/Hello (with Jennifer Nettles)/Endless Love (with Shania Twain)
Buy: https://www.discogs.com/sell/list?master_id=434599&ev=mb
Stream: https://open.spotify.com/album/5FnNO3IO6veN62ZdaV7j3z?si=GpNg2E4ZRy2JVHAbtCEaJw
Review:
“From Tuskegee, Alabama, Lionel Richie was always a county boy at heart: that much was implicit by the narrative-heavy ballads that pepper his back catalogue and the countless countrified covers of Three Times a Lady. Here, his Stetson is truly out of the closet as he gives a collection of his classic numbers a pronounced rural makeover, duet-style as he brings in some of the genre’s biggest names. Shrewd choices too, running from the legendary to the contemporary, meaning Kenny Rogers, Willie Nelson and Shania Twain put in appearances, as do Rascal Flatts, Darius Rucker and Rasmus Seebach – but this isn’t simply a sales pitch. Richie constantly crops up at the Country Music Association Awards and is probably as marketable to the lighter end of the country music audience as most of his guests. And this album won’t have affected such a status quo.
With the exception of a couple of ill-advised collaborations – Hello, with Sugarland’s Jennifer Nettles, is even more mawkish than the original; Angel, featuring Pixie Lott, becomes a bland power ballad – it all works with total synchronicity. The tempos, sentiments and story-telling centres of these songs are perfect country fodder, and Richie’s light touch with the vocals and the instrumentation has long been established. Dancing on the Ceiling becomes a mildly raucous banjo-fest; Say You Say Me adopts a pedal steel guitar; Deep River Woman, featuring Little Big Town’s delicate harmonising, is rural gospel personified; Easy has a creeping organ that’s pure Memphis, while the harmonica and Willie Nelson’s singing give it nearly an outlaw quality; and Jimmy Buffett fits perfectly with the restrained island pulse of All Night Long. Perhaps the most remarkable thing about these hayride makeovers is the music and the vocal interactions seem so natural, in quite a few cases you have to go back to the originals to check something has actually been changed.
Whether Tuskegee, the album, is enough to please hard core country fans is not really the point here – Richie’s post-Commodores output was largely ignored by soul fans. He’s a pop artist of substance, and as such brings a touch of class and sufficient flavour of another genre to the mainstream to make music that’s interesting and lasting” – BBC
Choice Cut: Stuck on You (with Darius Rucker)
The Lionel Richie Book
Lionel Richie: Hello
Author: Sharon Davis
Publication Date: 1st March, 2009
Publishers: Equinox Publishing Ltd,SW11
Synopsis:
“For nearly thirty years Lionel Richie has never looked back as a performer. From fronting his group the Commodores - the premier R&B pop unit of the seventies - he became the most popular singer/songwriter in the world by the eighties. A decade later he was the ultimate star entertainer with a 'nice guy' image. The "Lionel Richie" story is about a five-time Grammy winner who has sold more than 100 million albums worldwide. For nine consecutive years he had no 1 singles in America, a feat matched only by Irving Berlin. It is also the story of two broken marriages, personal insecurities, near-death experiences and an insight into the man behind a success story that broke the rules. "Lionel Richie" is the first book written about Lionel Richie and the Commodores and draws on Sharon Davis' unique access to the Motown archive, her numerous in depth interviews with Richie as well as her time as the Comodores' publicist” – Amazon.co.uk