Lionel Richie
Just Go (Island)
“Hello.” “Three Times a Lady.” “Brick House.” Lionel Richie is one of the most successful R&B/pop singer/songwriters of the past three decades. So you’d think that a new Lionel Richie album would feature new Lionel Richie songs. But Just Go doesn’t. At least not many. The superstar’s first album in three years is a solid, if not consistently energized tribute album to Lionel Richie. In a delicious bit of musical meta, he teams up with acolytes like Stargate, Akon, “Tricky” Stewart, and The-Dream on Just Go to, as Richie says in the liner notes, come up with “something Lionel Richie would do.” Which sort of makes Just Go a Lionel Richie record but without…you get the idea.
Thankfully the whippersnappers don’t do a half bad job fulfilling Richie’s request. All of the tracks fit Richie’s yearning, smooth tone nicely. On the sunny and salsa/calypso sprinkled “Nothing Left To Give” (a stand-in for Richie’s “All Night Long”) Akon’s so reverent, he tones down his trademark Konvict theme. But most of the material is mature, melodic and, in great measure, hooky—all good things. Stargate ease in with the subtle “Forever” while Tricky and The-Dream’s contributions include “I’m Not Okay,” a seamless slow burn cut and one of the few on Just Go with any sense of tension and energy.
Richie’s biggest burst of emotion is on “Eternity.” But the overwrought track, produced by the legendary David Foster (Whitney Houston), is one of those faux inspirational anthems perfect for weddings and American Idol. Ironically, it’s Richie’s sole songwriting credit. On Just Go, the best Lionel Richie songs are the ones he didn’t write.
Richie's latest is in stores now.
Track listing for Just Go- “Forever”
- “Just Go” feat. Akon
- “Nothing Left To Give” feat. Akon
- “Forever And A Day”
- “I'm Not Okay”
- “Good Morning”
- “Through My Eyes”
- “I'm In Love”
- “Think Of You”
- “Into You Deep”
- “Pastime”
- “Face In The Crowd” feat. Trijntje Oosterhuis
- “Somewhere In London”
- “Eternity”
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