I've been going through a lot of my old albums lately. Amoung my collection are all of the Commodore albums leading up to "Night Shift" Now of course I remembered the Commodores were funky in their early years but I had forgot just HOW FUNKY these cats were! Now Lionel had a hand in writing some of these cuts but not nearly as much as Thomas McClary did. If it's funky you can rest assured McClary had a hand in it. Hell, he wrote "Slippery When Wet" (The Commodores all-time funkiest record IMO) all by himself. Lionel was clearly the force behind the cross-over ballads but was only a bit player in the groups funk jams of the mid to late 70's. Why didn't the group just return to making funky records after Richie left? Was it their choice to keep attempting to cross-over or were they being pushed by Motown to churn out more songs like "Still", "Three Times a Lady", "Sail On', etc? It's a clear example of how a band got caught up more in selling records than creating music from the heart. In the end what could have been a super-group on the level of Earth, Wind and Fire, is now remembered more for cheesy cross-over ballads and as Lionel Richies back-ups. In any case, what happened to the Commodores is one of the saddest chapters in black music of the 70's and 80's. Any other Commodore fans here? Thoughts?
[This message was edited Thu Jul 3 8:59:26 PDT 2003 by intha916]

The Commodores ain't the Commodores without Lionel Ritchie to me. Just a preference. That song Night Shift made me wanna hurl. Slippery When Wet is indeed the funkiest Commodores song.

stymie said:

I agree the Commodores are much better with Lionel Richie, but he wasn't the whole group. There was no reason they couldn't have made some great music after he left. And notice I said "Up until NightShift" That record made me ill as well. Why did they feel the need to bring in a Heatwave reject as a lead singer. Should have just left that to Walter Orange. I would love to see a reunion tour with Lionel and the boys. It's time to kiss and make up fellas.
[This message was edited Thu Jul 3 11:47:16 PDT 2003 by intha916]

intha916 said:

Heatwave reject? LOL! I would definately pay to see a reunion tour as long as Mr. Heatwave didn't come along for the ride. Walter Orange, yep he coulda carried on after Lionel left, especailly considering he sang lead on one of their biggest hits ever, Brick House.

I heard Lionel Ritchie's son is on the Real World.

stymie said:

i thought that was thomas mcclary that sang the lead on that 1n... it don't matter cause the whole band was/still is 1n of the baddest along with jb's, e,w,f, parliament, ohio, con-funk, t.o.p. bar-kays, cameo, and kool

I actually like that Heatwave guy who joined the group when Lionel left (he is STILL in the group,btw).The 'Nightshift' album (1985) had a few good songs,such as the hypnotic "Lay Back" (yeah,I know it has too many synths,but it's still a cool song...lol).But yeah,I see your point.The Commodores could have got really funky after Lionel left,but instead,they continued to make light,adult-contemporary type music.I had heard that,after Lionel left in 1982,the guys were pissed because Motown was more interested in his career.The label didn't really treat the Commodores as a priority anymore,so they left after 'Nightshift'.