I talked with one crucial band member
of the Commodores
and he said that all the original members
including Lionel,Walter Clyde,William King ,Thomas Mcclary and Ronald la Pread already started preparations.
so its not a rumor its a first hand info.
get ready for the funk

Great news.

Hope it works out and it don't turn out to be the
disaster that the Supremes reunion turned out to be
years ago.

phunkdaddy said:

The people I know that saw them reunited at the Essence fest last year were really happy to see them together on stage.

I hope it's decent.

on Essence festival only Lionel Ronald and Thomas reunited.
this time it will include Walter Clyde and William King.
it wont be disaster
this guys are the Beatles of Funk

thebanishedone said:

Not to mention they could all use the cash.

thebanishedone said:

Will they invite J.D Nichols? They are longing for
that British accent.

Well the tour is one thing, but an album??? I worry about this only because it seems that more with RB artists re-grouping they always feel the need to bring in the "hip" help for the day. I mean when Styx reunited in 1996 toured and then recorded a new album in 1999 they didnt bring in Nsync to be on a track. Meaning we ALL know Lionel and where his last 2 albums have been going, and anyone who thinks he will not be executive producer, you have another thing coming, my worry is Machine Gun 2011 featuring Lil Wayne and Akon.

lastdecember said:

phunkdaddy said:

Never doubt Lionel, i mean Rick James did the same thing too with "Urban Rhapsody" he felt the need he had to get with rappers? why?

lastdecember said:

True, Rick did, but at least he had some 'good rap' on that album, should the Commodores Reunion ever materialize, then I would hope they get some good rap, if any at all. So no Wayne, no 50, and no flavor of the hour rappers.

This has been in the skuttlebutt for a while. I figured they were working on something all this time.

I think they wont brig hip producer
.i talk with one member of the Commodores
and i told him that they should come back to their Roots and
that in my opinion
Commodores should not bring outside musicians
on tour because they can handle the stage like in the old days.
Lionel played saxophone piano and clavinet .
Maybe they need only one more keyboard thought
nobody can replace late great Millan Williams.

And that Commodores member said he agrees with me
and they will do it that way.
all by them self.
Remember Lionel experimented as a solo act
while Commodores are one of the best Funk acts and i doubt Lionel will make them do something that will dismiss their importance.

thebanishedone said:

Touring wise i dont worry its when they get to a studio for an album and money is involved and wanting to "sell" comes to play, i mean i hope and pray they stick to doing it for themselves, with no outsiders to try and "sell" to a new audience

thebanishedone said:
on Essence festival only Lionel Ronald and Thomas reunited.
this time it will include Walter Clyde and William King.
it wont be disaster
this guys are the Beatles of Funk


That'll be great 2 see...the more funk, the better in this day and age....But there were only one "Beatles of Funk", & you know know who they were. Unfortunately, their leader can't perform with them anymore. But I'll be looking out for the mighty Commodores. It'll be good to see Mr. Ritchie return to his funk roots after 25+ years of "soft" pop....We'll see what happens.

thebanishedone said:

Bring on the funk! We need it badly, not some updated R&B shit, which is the trap so many other old school groups fall into.

I doubt there will be any funk on the new album. Every old act that makes a new album makes sellout bullshit.

vainandy said:

Yeah, it's always disappointing in the songwriting and production. They can always play well live, but to do something as funky and fresh as it was 30 years prior usually falls short.

Everytime an old act makes a new album, all the tracks never get past midtempo and they always have those damn cheap sounding drum machines on the tracks. If they ain't going after the shit hop crowd, then they're going after the adult contemporary crowd. Hell, get back to jammin'.

vainandy said:

Totally agree. It'll probably sound like Lotusflow3r outtakes.

lastdecember said:

Yeah i would prefer just a tour and a live cd of the reunion
in lieu of a new sellout album.

Does anyone know when this is happening (all original members)? The Commodores are already a touring act. I've seen them myself.

ernestsewell said:

STOP IT NOW!!!!

phunkdaddy said:

It would be a shame if they didn't include J.D. Nichols.He's been a faithful member since 1984,filling the slot that Lionel abandoned.

vainandy said:

You're absolutely right.I kinda wish they would just find a bunch of outtakes from the 70s,re-work them without "modernizing" the sound in any way,and release it as the 'new' album.

thebanishedone said:

The Commodores are great and all, but...

vainandy said:

sad but true.

abigail05 said:

You hit the nail on the head, Andy. But there is a way to reach both audiences...The band I spoke of on the last post, Earth,Wind & Fire, did it on their last LP, 2006's "Illumination". True, none of it was produced by them, but it was still their funkiest, most up-tempo album in years. It garnered multiple award nominations...& yes, it included contributions from Will.I.Am, Big Boi from Outkast and Kelly Rowland of D.C.
But EWF's signature sound is so strong, you can't get away from it. The sound was current and true to their sound at the same time. Some of my younger friends & ex's loved it... The ONLY reason why it wasn't more successful "sales-wise" was because their record label's CEO was too busy force-feeding his daughter to the masses....But that's another story.

That is an example of what the Commodores could do when they get into the studio. It would be hard though since Lionel hasn't recorded with them since the early 80s...EWF really never stopped releasing good music...

That train....has derailed.

dannyd5050 said:

Not the same though with J.D Nichols singing Lionel's parts
and the bass wizardry of Ronald LaPread.