Lionel Richie [Bonus Tracks]

Lionel Richie [Bonus Tracks]

by Lionel RichieLionel Richie

Overview

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.]

Product Details

Release Date: 05/06/2003
Label: Universal I.S.
UPC: 0044003830127
catalogNumber: 0383012

Tracks

Album Credits

Performance Credits

Lionel Richie   Primary Artist,Piano,Background Vocals,fender rhodes
Joe Walsh   Guitar,Soloist
Joe Chemay   Bass Guitar
Harry Bluestone   Strings,Concert Master
Michael Boddicker   Synthesizer,Vocoder
R. Brown   Bass
James Anthony Carmichael   Celeste
Leon "Ndugu" Chancler   Drums
Charles Veal   Violin
E. Cipriano   Woodwind
David Cochrane   Piano,Bass Guitar,Electric Guitar,Saxophone,Background Vocals,Synthesizer Bass,Soloist,Prophet 5
Jimmy Connors   Background Vocals
Morty Corb   Bass
Paulinho Da Costa   Percussion
Assa Drori   Strings,Violin
B. Douglas   Violin
Nathan East   Brass
Arni Egilsson   Double Bass
Jesse Ehrlich   Celli
Henry Ferber   Strings
B. Findlay   Trumpet
Ronald Folsom   Strings
Endre Granat   Violin
G.A. Grant   Trumpet
W. Green   Saxophone
Allan Harshman   Strings,Viola
Gary Herbig   Saxophone,Woodwind
Jerry Hey   Trumpet
P. Hochalter   Celli
Howard Kenny   Background Vocals
Paul Jackson   Electric Guitar
W. Johnson   Trumpet
Armand Karpoff   Strings,Celli
Dennis Karmazyn   Strings,Celli
Michael Lang   Piano,fender rhodes
Paul Liem   Drums
W. Lucning   Trumpet
Warren Luening   Trumpet
Joy Lyle   Strings,Violin
Clarence McDonald   fender rhodes
A. Maebe   French Horn
Virginia Majewski   Viola
Richard Marx   Background Vocals
Timothy May   Acoustic Guitar
Lew McCreary   Trombone
Buell Neidlinger   Double Bass
Erno Neufeld   Strings
Gareth "Garry" Nuttycombe   Viola
William Payne   fender rhodes
Richard Perissi   French Horn
John "J.R." Robinson   Drums
H. Roth   Violin
Myron Sandler   Strings
S. Sanov   Violin
David Schwartz   Strings
F. Sekura   Strings
J. Shulman   Violin
P. Shure   Strings,Violin
Henry Sigismonti   French Horn
Fred Tackett   Acoustic Guitar
Deborah Thomas   Background Vocals
Kin Vassy   Background Vocals
E. Watts   Saxophone
Terry Williams   Background Vocals
L. Williams   Woodwind
Tibor Zelig   Strings
Richie Zito   Guitar,Soloist
William Henderson   Strings
Darrell Jones   Electric Guitar
William Frank "Bill" Reichenbach   Trombone
Nathan Watts   Bass Guitar
Mari Tsumura-Botnick   Strings,Violin
Richard Schlosser   Percussion
Dave Rockin Duke   French Horn
Rob Dale   Strings
Leonard Castro   Percussion
MC Rob   Bass
W. Kurash   Strings
G. Le Vant   Harp
D. Palmer   Violin
N. Ross   Strings
James Atkinson   French Horn
Donald Ashworth   Woodwind
David H. Speltz   Strings
Louise di Tullio   Flute
Alan de Veritch   Viola
Brian O'Connor   French Horn

Technical Credits

Lionel Richie   Composer,Producer,Vocal Arrangements,rhythm arrangement
Gene Page   Arranger
James Anthony Carmichael   Arranger,Producer,Horn Arrangements,String Arrangements,rhythm arrangement
Jim Cassell   Engineer
David Cochrane   Arranger,Composer
Kenny Rogers   Vocal Arrangements
Fred Law   Engineer
Greg Phillinganes   Composer
Harry Weinger   Producer
John McClain   Composer
Steven Ivory   Liner Notes
Vartan   Art Direction
Stephen Johnson   Engineer
Michael "Mike Dee" Johnson   Engineer
Ryan Null   Photo Coordination
Johnny Lee   Art Direction
Brenda Harvey-Richie   Composer
Calvin Harris   Engineer

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