Lionel Richie - Just Go Review

It's been a long time ago since Lionel Richie graduated from Commodores front-man to Pop/R&B icon. Richie ruled the 80's as the king of "Records to Please Everyone". He mastered the soul/pop sound to the tune of 15 singles landing in the Top 40 during the early to mid eighties, 5 of which topped the chart. This in-spite of releasing only 3 studio albums during that time.  Almost all of those songs can still be heard on radio today.

Speaking of today, Richie is fast approaching the big 6-0 and probably wants to be known by today's audiences for more than being Nichole's dad. He's also savvy enough to know Top 40 radio stations aren't likely to play a single by a 59 year old dude, no matter how hot his career once was.  So, in an obvious attempt to be relevant, Richie has embraced the Neo-Soul sound and some relevant help for Just Go, his 10th studio album.

Even now Lionel Richie has one of the best voices around, no matter what he sings, and that voice alone helps him pull off most of the material here. Production by Antonio "LA" Ried, Akon,  and "Tricky" Stewart serve up the "modern" soul sound.  It's the classic Lionel who goes missing here. And that's a shame.

Lead track Forever, gets us off to a promising MOR R&B vibe and finds Richie in fine voice and tackling a familiar subject, regret at driving away the one he loves.

Current single Just Go, featuring vocals by Akon and a little reminiscent of Running With the Night, floats on a swaying, breezy melody as Mr Richie dotes on his woman, trying to make up for not giving her the attention she deserves.

Nothing Left to Give, also featuring Akon is about as close to Dancing on the Ceiling energy as this album gets, with a little conga-line music at the end.

Forever and a Day slows us down a bit to find him lavishing his eternal love on his girl.

Mr Richie pretty much does nothing but think of her on the mid-tempo Think of You, with some slightly silly lyrics.

Face in the Crowd is a made-for adult contemporary hit and duet with Trijntje Oosterhuis about unrequited love.

Eternity is the only track written by Richie and is a moody, dreamy discourse on just what might be out there for us after this life. It also is the only track sounding remotely like the old Lionel Richie.

THE BOTTOM LINE

Just Go features the great Lionel Richie.  That alone makes it worth a listen.  But where Al Green and Glen Campbell recently had success going retro, Richie achieves mediocrity by trying to be modern.  He can still flat out sing and it's a joy to hear him again. Not to mention dude doesn't look a day over 40.  In the end, though, Just Go is a collection of MOR/Neo-Soul that mostly lacks soul and, for all its love songs, heart.  It's  middle of the road, and Mr. Lionel Richie is just too good for that.  GRADE: B-