Commodores - Commodores (1977) - €3,99

Commodores is the fifth studio album by the Commodores, released in 1977. The album spent eight weeks at the top of the R&B/soul albums chart, the second of their albums to do so, and was their first Top 5 pop album.

The band employed a variety of musical styles for the album, highlighted by the popular anthem "Brick House". With Walter Orange's deep voice on the lead, and Ronald LaPread's roundtone bassline, this track peaked on the U.S. Hot 100 at #5, and the U.S. R&B Chart at #4. As their second single, "Brick House" helped to propel the Commodores into the spotlight as a leading R&B act.

In contrast to "Brick House", "Easy" is a pop-soul ballad with mellow vocals by Lionel Richie with a Southern country twist.

"Zoom" is one of the Commodores' best known tunes, despite not being released as a single in the US. It reached #38 on the UK singles chart.

The Commodores' early years were spent on the Southern funk circuit, where their energetic, catchy tunes, and keyboard-oriented funk made them both a college and a radio staple. 

They scored seminal hits with "Brick House" and "Slippery When Wet," although it became apparent quite early that lead vocalist Lionel Richie also had a bright future as a solo balladeer, with such tunes as "Easy" signaling his future on adult contemporary and Quiet Storm/urban contemporary radio. This collection highlights early up-tempo and ballad hits. 

Side A

A1. Squeeze The Fruit - 2:58  

A2. Funny Feelings - 4:50  

A3. Heaven Knows - 4:48  

A4. Zoom - 6:43  

Side B

B1. Won't You Come Dance With Me - 3:49  

B2. Brick House - 3:28  

B3. Funky Situation - 3:44  

B4. Patch It Up - 3:59  

B5. Easy - 4:14  

Notes

Release:  1977

Format:  LP

Genre:  Funk / Soul

Label:  Motown Records

Catalog#  M7-884R1

Vinyl:  G

Cover:  G

Prijs:  €3,99

Commodores - 13 (1983) - €10,00

 

Commodores 13 is the tenth studio album (and thirteenth overall, including two greatest-hits compilations and a live album) by the Commodores, released in 1983 on Motown Records.

Commodores 13 was produced by William King, Thomas McClary, Walter Orange and Milan Williams. 

Singers Vesta Williams and Melissa Manchester made guest appearances on the album.

For the Commodores, losing Lionel Richie in 1982 was a lot like L.T.D. losing Jeffrey Osborne and Rose Royce losing Gwen Dickey -- it was a severe blow, although not a fatal one. In fact, the Commodores had a few major hits after Richie's departure, including "Nightshift" (a number one R&B/number three pop smash) in 1984 and "Goin' to the Bank" in 1986. 

Released in 1983, Commodores 13 was the band's first post-Richie album as well as its first album without producer James Carmichael (who had been working with the Commodores since 1974). 

This LP came out around the same time as Richie's second solo album, Can't Slow Down, which sold over eight million copies in the U.S. alone. Commodores 13 didn't do nearly that well, although it's a generally decent, if uneven, record that had a number 20 R&B hit in "Only You." The lead vocals are handled by Walter Orange, Thomas McClary, and the Mean Machine's Harold Hudson, who was an interim vocalist rather than an official full-time vocalist. 

Not surprisingly, the Commodores cover both their R&B bases and their pop bases, getting into everything from sleek keyboard funk ("Touchdown," "Nothing Like a Woman") to adult contemporary ballads ("Only You"). Meanwhile, "Ooo Woman You," which McClary co-wrote with Melissa Manchester, is a catchy pop/rock number. Is Commodores 13 a masterpiece? 

No. This release isn't in a class with essential treasures like 1976's Hot on the Tracks or 1977's The Commodores. But it isn't a bad album, and it indicated that there could be life after Lionel Richie for the Commodores. 

Side A             

A1. I’m In Love - 4:05

A2. Turn Off the Lights - 4:20

A3. Nothing Like a Woman - 4:56

A4. Captured - 4:37

Side B

B1. Touchdown - 4:30

B2. Welcome Home - 4:20

B3. Ooo, Woman You - 4:22

B4. Only You - 4:10

Notes

Release:  1983

Format:  LP (Gatefold

Genre:  Soul / Funk

Label:  Motown Records

Catalog#  542045                

Vinyl:  VG+

Cover:  VG+ (Gatefold)

Prijs: €10,00

Commodores - Commodores Live! (1977) - 2Lp

Released:  1977
Genre:  Soul, Funk
Format:  LP
Label:  Motown Records
Catalog#  M9-894A2
Prijs:  €20,00

Commodores Live! is a live album by the Commodores, released in 1977. The album reached number 3 on the Billboard 200 chart.

Hot on the heels of their 1977 self-titled LP -- which included studio versions of the classics "Brick House" and "Easy" -- Commodores Live! was issued as a seasonal offering the same year. The band wisely included extended readings of not only its most recent hits, but also a healthy sampling from its previous four studio albums, as well as the track "Too Hot ta Trot," which had been featured in the motion picture Thank God It's Friday.
The six-man original Commodores were a powerful and self-contained unit that could effortlessly alternate between turning over mean and serious funk jams or a slow, sexy power ballad. Heralded as the Black Beatles, the Commodores were able to fuse a more traditional pop music headlong into the funk stylings of their contemporaries: Parliament, the Ohio Players, and Earth, Wind & Fire.
However, instead of being propelled by seemingly endless -- and often aimless -- jams, William King (trumpet), Thomas McClary (guitar), Ronald LaPread (bass), Walter "Clyde" Orange (drums), Lionel Richie (alto saxophone), and Milan Williams (keyboards) were able to tighten up their arrangements and make them more potent in the process.
From right out of the gate, the opening trio of "Won't You Come Dance With Me," "Slippery When Wet," and "Come Inside" pounce and bounce around with undeniably hardcore funk grooves -- replete with distorted and screaming electric lead guitar lines, emphatic accents from the horns, and an authoritative rhythm section that James Brown would have been proud of. The mellower side of the band is equally represented by several key Lionel Richie ballads. "Just to Be Close to You" shimmers and is notable for Richie's extended vocal interlude. "Easy" -- an audible audience favorite -- swings with an urgency and passion conspicuously lacking in the more familiar studio version. Milan Williams' tasty keyboards are also a highlight as they lightly soar above the rest of the band. Without a doubt it is the ten-plus-minute version of "Brick House" that allows the band to reach a funkified critical mass. Ronald LaPread's rubbery basslines adhere themselves around "Clyde" Orange's Latin-tinged percussion inflections.
The searing Richie and William King sound more akin to a full-fledged horn section than the hard-workin' duo behind their wall of solid brass. Commodores Live! is overall one of the finest R&B concert albums of the '70s -- of which there are far too few.


Side A
A1. Won’t You Come Dance With Me  (3:36)
A2. Slippery When Wet  (3:00)
A3. Come Inside  (3:12)
A4. Just To Be Close To You  (7:17)

Side B
B1. Funny Feelings  (5:16)
B2. Fancy Dancer  (4:44)
B3. Sweet Love  (8:39)

Side C
C1. Zoom  (10:00)
C2. Easy  (7:23)

Side D
D1. I Feel Sanctified  (2:58)
D2. Brick House  (11:18)
D3. Too Hot Ta Trot  (5:38)

Album: Goed
Cover: Licht Beschadigd

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