The Commodores - In the Pocket

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Lionel Richie's Commodores demise

Eight great tracks on this album,but unfortunately Lionel Richie decided to call it quits with the Commodores after touring with the other members to promote it. The only Top 10 smash single from this album is LADY(YOU BRING ME UP). The words in parentheses were added to avoid confusion with another composition(minus those words) by Richie and recorded by Kenny Rogers. Around 1974 or '75,the Commodores first formed and were quite successful. The band remained intact without Richie for about two or three more years. Richie first three solo albums,respectively released in 1982,'83 and '86 were huge best-sellers. Before quitting the band,Richie wrote his first non-Commodores hit ENDLESS LOVE and recorded it with ex-Supreme Diana Ross for the 1981 film of the same title starring Brooke Shields. The song was covered later by Mariah Carey with the late Luther Vandross. OH NO was a Top 20 hit but was never positioned higher than #16 on the pop/rock/R&B charts. The other songs are great. January 11, 2007

More hits than misses

IN THE POCKET was Lionel Richie's last album with the Commodores. By the time he exited the band in late 1982, they had gone from being hard-core R&B funksters to masters of the pop power ballad, due to the overwhelming influence of Richie. This album is miles away from previous offerings like CAUGHT IN THE ACT, MOVIN' ON, HOT ON THE TRACKS and the group's self-titled LP that contained smoldering funk and deep, infectious grooves, so don't expect to find much of that here. However, this album does has some highlights worth hearing.

The writing may have been on the wall, as far as Richie's future with his Alabama homies when this album was recorded. Usually his voice dominated the leads on earlier Commodores' LPs, but this time around, the lead vocals are evenly distributed between him and drummer Walter "Clyde" Orange...almost as if he were deliberately being low-key. Also, the only songs Richie leads on are "Lady (You Bring Me Up)" and the ones he wrote, whereas the other Commodores who contributed material to this album seemed to be writing for Clyde at this point. A lot of the songs sound like they could have easily fit onto other R&B acts' albums, like the 1980s version of Kool and the Gang, the Brothers Johnson, Michael Jackson, ConFunkShun and Rufus and Chaka Khan, with thumping bass lines and similar vocal arrangements.

This CD opens with "Lady (You Bring Me Up)"...the Pop Top 20/R&B Top 10 hit single from 1981, an enjoyable and upbeat William King composition that sounds like a Kool and the Gang tune. Next is the underplayed (and sadly overlooked) R&B hit "Saturday Night" - a nice, mellow and rare ballad turn for Clyde, who usually had the lockdown on singing lead on the band's funkiest numbers. On this song, he more than rises to the occasion with some passionate vocals. Next is another Clyde-led tune, "Keep On Taking Me Higher" - a party thumper reminiscent of Michael Jackson's "Get On The Floor" from OFF THE WALL - decent. "Oh No", a Richie tune that was the other pop hit from this album, oozes country/western and it would not have been out of place on his debut solo album. The song isn't bad, in fact it's one of Richie's better ballads - but there's not much R&B to find in it.

"Why You Wanna Try Me", a pop/R&B Brothers Johnson-like dance tune is a great performance by Richie. It was released as a single but was only a minor hit...don't see why, the song is pretty good. Love the ending: "Stop right there - hold on - why you wanna try me?" The next two songs feature Clyde on lead and were both penned by him: "This Love" is an okay R&B ballad, and the cool, playful funk of "Been Loving You" is one of the best tunes on the CD. It seemed to be a reminder that even as far pop as they had gone, they could still funk out and lay it down when the opportunity arose. The CD closes out with "Lucy", a Richie pop ballad that has blatant country overtones. Not really one of my favs, but like "Oh No", it sounds very much like the early ballad material Richie would record as a soloist. The fact that I didn't particularly care for this tune did not keep me from purchasing this album a second time, just to own it on CD.

Overall, IN THE POCKET has more strengths than weaknesses. If you're comparing it to any Commodores LP recorded before 1978, well, of course it will come up short. But if you really enjoy this band's music, then it's a sure bet that you'll want to jump on this. (Rating: 3 1/2 stars) August 18, 2004

Stars For The Commadores,Good Luck To Lionel!

Lionel Riche was about to leave the Commodores when this
album came out in 1981.The only really memorable cuts are
the classic hit "Lady (You Bring Me Up)","Why You Wanna Try Me"
and "Keep On Taking Me Higher",all exuberant uptempo funky pop
in the fine Commodores tradition.Though actually it's two best
songs are the ultra-grooving "Been Loving You" and the smoldering "Saturday Night" in whitch this BAND-not it's vapid
lead singer,take center stage on the last two classic Commodores
jams as in the days of yore.But by the time you get to Riche's musical sweet n' low on "Oh,No" it becomes a reminder of what
happened to this group after he took more control-they became
just another black love song group without the tangy funk
flavors that made their early material so enjoyable.So this has
a whole package and would be more stars then this had "Oh,No"
been omitted but that tune ruins it.So can you take 'In The
Pocket' despite one lame song?You should try because the rest
is basically 4-5 star stuff!Just ignore the drivel. July 25, 2004

Pocket Change

1981's In The Pocket was the last album that Lionel Richie recorded with The Commodores. It was a nice send off as the band assembled a strong eight song set that includes one of their all-time best songs, the beautiful "Oh No". Other strong tracks include the bouncy "Lady (You Bring Me Up)", "Lucy" and the moving "Saturday Night". October 30, 2001

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