Lionel Richie - Can't Slow Down

CAN'T SLOW DOWN, LIONEL RICHIES MAGNUM OPUS, WHAT A CAREER LIONEL ONCE HAD.............

I remember hearing the release on Sept.8th 1983 of "All Night Long" on my FM radio. Thriller was the big album of the day. "Can't Slow Down" was a worthy competitor to "Thriller" and had it share of number one hits and hits in general. I look back at those years of 1983-1984 when "Can't slow Down" was climbing the charts and realize what a creative recording this really was. I had the vinyl lp back in those years and even the "All Night Long" 45 on the blue Motown label.(remember those 45s). David Foster co-produced this landmark Motown recording. David Foster also produced the 1984s 7,500,00O seller Chicago 17. Everything Lionel Richie touched at this time, from music to Pepsi commercials turned to gold. Lionel Richie was at a creative zenith at this time of his career that few music stars or even celebrities even reach, Lionel could do no wrong. Lionel was even selling out big arenas with his music tours. After some marriage problems Lionel Richie lost his magic touch, and really disapeared from the publics eye and recorded and released some more recordings with little fanfare. As of 2004 here in NYC I saw Lionel Richie performing a free concert at Bryant Park which he really enjoyed performing, what a fall from the mountain Lionel was once on top of. The extra demos might be overkill but it gives you some insight to how this 1980s landmark album was created. I enjoyed the intstrumental of "All Night Long". The linear notes are very informative and facinating. Definitly highly recommended listening. "CAN'T SLOW DOWN" is a recording worth a delux cd edition. Regardless of the negatives and naysayers Lionel Richie during the years 1983-1984 reached a peak in his career few musicians or celebrities have and ever will. January 26, 2007

NOT THAT GREAT

I agree with the March 2, 2006 reviewer. Beware when you purchase this "remastered" version because the sound quality is so low, that you almost have to cut your CD player up to full volume to hear some of the tracks (hence the idea of remastering is to give you better sound quality not worse). I find the bonus material to be acceptable, however, and the additional remixes are fine as well (if you are a fan). Just don't understand who in the quality control department, (or why even Lionel himself) let this one fly, because volume wise it is absolutely terrible. I am curious if the single disc remastered version is any better. January 20, 2007

So Many Things Wrong With This, I Don't Know Where To Begin!

So I'll start with the alleged remastering; you'd think that at least the main course should sound better than the appetizers but that isn't the case here. The volume levels are so low and the voice levels are so soft you can hardly hear Lionel above the music. The sound quality is also very patchy with some tracks sounding a lot better than others but what really gets me is that the bonus remixes added on to disc one sound a lot better than the main album which is criminal.

Secondly, there are only so many versions of "All Night Long" I can stand on one album before I get really sick of the song and we have 3 of them here. Disc 2 is totally redundant and is full of fillers. The only redeeming track is "Tell Me" for me and only because it shows me what the great track "Please Hold On" written by David Foster and performed so brilliantly by Chicago on their album "17" sounded like as a rough idea that was demo-ed by Lionel Richie. Listen to "Please Hold On" by Chicago and you'll know what I mean about how much better the final product is that started out as the skeleton track "Tell Me".

Save your money folks because Disc 2 is truly forgettable and unnecessary unless you have money to burn. I really hope they remaster this album again properly without the bonus fillers and perhaps package it in a mini-lp sleeve on one disc; that's the only way they will do justice to this otherwise classic album and by far Lionel Richie's best solo work.

Final recommendation: not worth the money; get the normal one disc version that's out there. March 2, 2006

One Of The Best Remastered Albums

I have listened to this album alot since i bought it, i also bought this orginal album on cassette when it came out as well. This is by far Lionel's best album. I even loved the extended cuts as well as the ones that didn't make the orginal. excellent work Lionel, i would love it if you still keep playing wonderful music for a long time to come. February 25, 2006

An R&B/Pop masterpiece, and one of my all-time favorites.

I practically grew up with this album, along with Michael Jackson's "Thriller." The hit singles bring back so many wonderful memories of 1984. Of course, even shorn of those memories, the tracks are absolutely stellar on their own.

"All Night Long" was the very first Lionel Richie track I can remember hearing (I was a year-and-a-half old when it was released in late 1983). Because of that, I consider it to be his signature song. "Hello" also captured my fancy; one would think that such a young child would not be interested in it, but I certainly was. Mr. Richie's earnest and friendly vocal performance, coupled with the wonderful melodies and chords, made this track very memorable for me.

"Stuck on You" is another very earnest track, which took me a while to warm up to. It is in the key of F-major, which always left me with an almost sad, bittersweet feeling whenever I heard such a song. But it's chorus hook and guitar hook after each chorus always stayed with me.

I've saved my absolute favorite track for last: "Running With the Night," which is my all-time favorite Lionel Richie track. Not only is it completely danceable, but I love the fact that it was written in the key of A-minor, the one key with which I usually associate many of my favorite early-'80s tracks.

The title track is my favorite non-single; it is a shame that it was not released as a single. To read in the liner notes of this new edition the excitement and energy felt by Mr. Richie when he first wrote and then cut the track makes it all the more shameful that such exhuberant effort was not given the exposure it deserved. Oh well. It is still a killer track.

The re-mastered audio doesn't fare so well. It's decent, but it doesn't sound better than the original CD release. The bass and treble have been tweaked greatly, but the bass seems to have been overemphasized, which makes some tracks sound muddy. I don't know what the engineer was trying to accomplish, but he mucked it up by pushing the bass.

Despite that, this edition of the album is absolutely recommended. September 29, 2005

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