Published on May 10, 1999
You don’t need to be a music reviewer to know that the finger of
fame is fickle indeed. (Try saying that five times fast!) An artist
can be topping the charts one day, and pouring milkshakes at the
local Dog & Suds the next day. One album can top the charts for
months at a time, the next album will collect the dust of ages in
the “we’ll pay
you to take it” bins.
But there are some artists whose fall from grace I am at a loss
to understand. One such artist is Lionel Richie. Granted, he might
have suffered from overexposure at the height of his fame, but
there’s no denying that his music has been quality throughout most
of his career. His self-titled debut solo album from 1982 is proof
of this – and the surprising thing is that some of the best music
never made it to the airwaves.
After leaving the Commodores, Richie hit paydirt with a trio of
songs from this album. “My Love” is one that people might not
immediately recall, but as soon as the opening notes drift from the
speakers, the lightbulb will go on. I don’t know if I would call
this one a ballad in the true sense of the word, but it’s a great
slow dancing song that has not lost any of its magic after almost
two decades. Likewise, the ballad “Truly” is one that will bend
your ear – if anything, I’d argue that this one is far too
short.
But don’t think that Richie doesn’t know how to bring out the
groove. The third single, “You Are,” is yet another song that shows
Richie’s mastery of smooth R&B. Building from a soft groove to
a powerful chorus, it’s no wonder why Richie and this song drew a
lot of attention in the early ’80s.
If you think, however, that
Lionel Richie has only those three good songs on it, you’d
be sorely mistaken. If anything, one listen to this album will show
that Richie was a lot more than the gentle balladeer that we heard
on the radio. Two cuts in particular, “Wandering Stranger” and
“Round And Round”, both are uptempo R&B tracks that lay down a
solid groove – and Richie knows how to work it to near
perfection.
Possibly the best song on the album is a ballad – “Just Put Some
Love In Your Heart”. However, I do have a complaint with this track
– it’s far too short! Just when Richie has got me locked into the
track – bam! – the album is over. Then again, maybe Richie knew
that had he drawn out the track, it would have lost a lot of its
momentum.
After one listen to
Lionel Richie, I found myself wondering why this guy wasn’t
still near the top of the R&B or adult contemporary charts.
It’s not that Richie’s style of love song has fallen out of chic,
though I will admit there tends to be a little more “hardcore”
R&B in some of today’s songs. But this album not only proved
that Richie could succeed as a solo artist, but that he was a
singer extraordinaire – and this debut leaves no doubt in my mind
that he’s overdue for a resurgence in popularity.