Lionel Richie - The Hi-Res Album Collection (1982-1996) [Official Digital Download]

Sprung by his artistic songwriting and dynamic performing style, pop-soul legend Lionel Richie has created a legacy reaching new standards in his craft and in the industry. His musical career begun by accident on his grandmother’s piano, instilling him with the basic foundation of music. When he began college, he and five other classmates formed The Mystics, better known as The Commodores. In 1982, Richie embarked on his own solo career with his single, “Truly,” which was a number one hit for many weeks. His landmark recording, Can’t Slow Down, sold over 15 million copies worldwide, and spawned five chart-topping singles, and became the best selling album in Motown history… This Hi-Res collection includes 4 studio & 1 compilation album.

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.

Tracklist:

01 - Serves You Right
02 - Wandering Stranger
03 - Tell Me
04 - My Love
05 - Round And Round
06 - Truly
07 - You Are
08 - You Mean More To Me
09 - Just Put Some Love In Your Heart

On Can't Slow Down, his second solo album, Lionel Richie ran with the sound and success of his eponymous debut, creating an album that was designed to be bigger and better. It's entirely possible that he took a cue from Michael Jackson's Thriller, which set out to win over listeners of every corner of the mainstream pop audience, because Richie does a similar thing with Can't Slow Down – he plays to the MOR adult contemporary audience, to be sure, but he ups the ante on his dance numbers, creating grooves that are funkier, and he even adds a bit of rock with the sleek nocturnal menace of "Running With the Night," one of the best songs here. He doesn't swing for the fences like Michael did in 1982; he makes safe bets, which is more in his character. But safe bets do pay off, and with Can't Slow Down Richie reaped enormous dividends, earning not just his biggest hit, but his best album. He has less compunction about appearing as a pop singer this time around, which gives the preponderance of smooth ballads – particularly "Penny Lover," "Hello," and the country-ish "Stuck on You" – conviction, and the dance songs roll smooth and easy, never pushing the beats too hard and relying more on Richie's melodic hooks than the grooves, which is what helped make "All Night Long (All Night)" a massive hit. Indeed, five of these songs (all the aforementioned tunes) were huge hits, and since the record ran only eight songs, that's an astonishing ration. The short running time does suggest the record's main weakness, one that it shares with many early-'80s LPs – the songs themselves run on a bit too long, padding out the running length of the entire album. This is only a problem on album tracks like "Love Will Find a Way," which are pleasant but a little tedious at their length, but since there are only three songs that aren't hits, it's a minor problem. All the hits showcase Lionel Richie at his best, as does Can't Slow Down as a whole.

Tracklist:

01 - Can't Slow Down
02 - All Night Long (All Night)
03 - Penny Lover
04 - Stuck On You
05 - Love Will Find A Way
06 - The Only One
07 - Running With The Night
08 - Hello




Dancing on the Ceiling is Lionel Richie's third solo album, recorded beginning in 1985 and released in mid-1986. The album was originally to be titled Say You, Say Me, after the Academy Award-winning track of the same name, but it was renamed after Richie rewrote the album. The album was released to generally positive reviews and warm sales, peaking at No. 1 on the Billboard Hot 200 and moving 4 million copies. Following the album's release Richie went on a long hiatus, releasing his first album of entirely new material ten years later.

Lionel Richie wasn't necessarily emboldened by the success of Can't Slow Down – after all, he had experienced huge success since the Commodores – but there is nevertheless a sense of swagger on its 1986 successor, Dancing on the Ceiling. This isn't entirely a good thing, since it means he indulges in silliness (the title track) and sappiness ("Ballerina Girl") in equal measure, seemingly without quite realizing how ridiculous either extreme is. Maybe that's because he still has a strong sense of popcraft, something that makes "Dancing in the Ceiling" stick in the head even if its lyrics are awful, something that makes "Ballerina Girl" work for a slow dance even if it is awfully sugary. This dichotomy is evident throughout the record, as Richie pulls out good music even if he indulges all of his worst impulses a little bit too much. He adds a bit more dance to this album, and while the grooves are funkier than anything since the Commodores, they run on too long – at eight minutes, "Don't Stop" takes its title command far too seriously. This same tendency is apparent on the ballads and slower songs, which all stay around a little longer than they should, something that gives the impression that this record is a little less focused or consistent than the two blockbusters that preceded it. While it is true that there is nothing here nearly as good as the hits on Lionel Richie and Can't Slow Down, it also is true that on a track-by-track level, it's more consistent, never having resorting to the formless filler that peppered those two otherwise excellent records. This is a good thing, but it would have been better if the record had boasted one or two undeniable singles, or, if it didn't, would at least have been a little tighter. That said, Dancing on the Ceiling is a solid, enjoyable affair – a comedown after the peaks of Lionel Richie and Can't Slow Down, and one that suggests that Richie needed the extended break he took after its release, but a good record all the same.

Tracklist:

01 - Dancing On The Ceiling
02 - Se La
03 - Ballerina Girl
04 - Don't Stop
05 - Deep River Woman
06 - Love Will Conquer All
07 - Tonight Will Be Alright
08 - Say You, Say Me
09 - Night Train (Smooth Alligator)

Back to Front is an ideal greatest-hits collection from Lionel Richie, featuring all of his biggest hits, including "All Night Long," "Truly," and "Say You, Say Me." It's the ideal place to start listening to Richie, as well as the most consistent, enjoyable record he ever released.

Tracklist:

01 - Do It To Me
02 - My Destiny
03 - Love Oh Love
04 - All Night Long
05 - Easy
06 - Still
07 - Endless Love
08 - Running With The Night
09 - Sail On
10 - Hello
11 - Truly
12 - Penny Lover
13 - Say You, Say Me
14 - Three Times A Lady




Released in 1996, Louder Than Words was Lionel Richie's first album of new material in 10 years. Fans welcomed Richie back with enthusiasm; the album peaked at number 28 and sold over half-a-million copies in the US.

After the greatest-hits collection "Back to Front" disappeared without a trace in 1992, Lionel Richie spent four years making Louder Than Words, his first album for Mercury Records. Although there are some slight attempts to incorporate new jack and hip-hop influences into Richie's sound, Louder Than Words relies on his trademark balladeering, which remains his forte. All of the weak moments on Louder Than Words are ill-advised forays into rap – to put it bluntly, he can rap about as well as Snoop Dogg can sing. Although the ballads aren't as strong as his late-'70s and early-'80s standards, they are nevertheless pleasant, which makes the record a worthwhile purchase for fans.

Tracklist:

01 - Piece Of Love
02 - Still In Love
03 - I Wanna Take You Down
04 - Can't Get Over You
05 - Change
06 - Nothing Else Matters
07 - Ordinary Girl
08 - Say I Do
09 - Paradise
10 - Don't Wanna Lose You
11 - Lovers At First Sight
12 - Climbing

Digitally Remastered.


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