Me First and the Lionel Richies
Published January 06, 2004
Now to Richie: perhaps Lionel's time has come again, although not all for the right reasons. His daughter, Nicole Richie, is co-star with Paris Hilton on Fox's rich-sluts-on-the-farm reality show, The Simple Life, after the taping of which she went into rehab for heroin. Oops - not that Nicole can be entirely blamed on Lionel, but neither can he be entirely absolved of his offspring's nincompoopery.
But there is also a Richie arousal for the right reasons - his mega-successful Motown albums from the '80s were rereleased this year: Lionel Richie, Can't Slow Down (given the Deluxe Edition treatment) and Dancing On the Ceiling, as well as the aptly named Definitive Collection.
His eponymous solo debut in '82 still displayed the funky R&B of his Commodores origins, but the album's smash hit, "Truly," was adult contemporary all the way and Richie hesitated not in turning down that path to superstardom. Can't Slow Down featured five Top Ten singles, including number ones, the Latin-influenced "All Night Long (All Night)," and "Hello." Can't Slow Down hit number one, eventually sold over ten million copies, and won the 1984 Grammy for Album of the Year.
Richie's way with a melody, and his fine, rich voice are undeniable at a safe remove from the '80s overkill. "Penny Lover" is a memorable Quiet Storm ballad, but "Stuck On You" startled the hell out of everyone - it's such an undeniably great country-esque ballad that it even made the country charts. Whoa, talk about dogs and cats sleeping together (of course Richie had already written Kenny Rogers' smash "Lady," so the groundwork had been laid, but still...). I have to admit, that one gives me a bit of a chill after a 15-year break.
Richie may have worn out his welcome (who hasn't at that level of success?), but the success was warranted. Okay, th blind girl in the video for "Hello" was hokey, but people, it was the '80s. The backlash had already begun to set in by Dancing On the Ceiling, but the title track actually rocks (to a certain extent), "Se La" would have made a great Police song, and so "Say You, Say Me" pretty well sucks - no one is perfect.
Of the three studio albums, Can't Slow Down is the obvious choice, but that Definitive Collection is packed tight and would be my recommendation. Welcome back Lionel - now do something about that girl of yours.
- Me First and the Lionel Richies
- Published: January 06, 2004
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- Section: Music
- Filed Under: Music: Alternative Rock, Music: Pop, Music: Hip-hop
- Writer: Eric Olsen
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Dude, I'm not saying I would actually listen to his newer stuff, just talking up the reissues and the collection.
I think the Gimmes transcend the schtick - makes raspberry noise.
the blind girl in the "Hello" video was hokey...but she was hot!
and the Gimme Gimme's are too much fun to ignore. c'mon, their website uses a spinning martini glass as a wait-cursor!
And I freely confess to having been plied with the coolest of swag: a Me First shot glass set. Not that my approval could ever be bought.
Me First rocks. They may be totally predictable, but are oh-so-fun to listen to. Quite possibly one of the bast bands for when you're stuck in traffic.
My personal fav is their version of "Runaway."
And hey, does Blogcritics not have a rock category for punk?
It's all "alternative rock," my friend.
All "alternative" rock? I disagree, if only because the term "alternative" is so vague and broad that it now means next to nothing.
If blogcritics has a seperate category for "Indie Rock," i think Punk Rock is no less deserving.
If i were to review a Minor Threat album, i'd have a hard time classifying it as "alternative." I may be picking nits, but calling a band like Me First alternative makes me shiver.
I have no problem with punk rock as a viable category, the problem is a year and a half's worth of posts already categorized under the, I agree, very broad alternative rock. I have zero time or desire to go back and recategorize all the punk records currently under alternative rock, if you see what I mean. Actually, it makes it much easier that alternative rock IS very broad because then you don't have to make a lot of fine distinctions.
Gotcha. A year and a half's worth of posts is a lot to wade through. But I still think it couldn't hurt to add the category...
Yeah, no need for you to worry about that Eric. Just add the "punk" category for future reference, and any authors who want can go back and edit old entries to include it. No big effort needed on your part.
ok, so this morning i brought in the Gimme Gimme's "Blow In The Wind".
their version of Sloop John B, which starts off as the Ramones "Teenage Lobotomy" is effin' brilliant.
easily-amused-on-friday-mark
I like that one too, Mark - they're good, funny AND have style - a nice combo.
Music: Punk Rock subcategory added - your wishes are my command.
My favorite MFATGG record is the one where they do the broadway tunes. I love their version of the Phantom of the Opera. Over the Rainbow and The Rainbow Connection are also really good.
This is an odd article for me because I was raised on Lionel Richie. I have memories of being 5 or 6 years old, zipping around suburban Ohio with my dad in his Prelude listening to the Lionel Richie album that had the "Whoa Whoa" song on it. Turns out that song was really called "You Are" from the 1982 album. Then we followed that up by listening to the "haircut album" a couple years later. If you look at the covers for the 1982 album and then the cover for the other one, you will see why we called it the haircut album.
Just to think that two random things like Me First and the Gimme Gimmes and Lionel Richie can hold this much interest for me is ridiculous.
I'm glad it held your attention, and if you're "ridiculous" what am I? I had to write it.
Didn't mean to call you ridiculous, but the breadth of music that I (and many other people) can listen to is always amazing to me. I can listen to death metal and Hey Ya! by Outkast. This shouldn't be normal, but similar opposites exist in many other music collections, I am sure.
Just kidding around, dude, the oddness of the juxtaposition was why I thought of it in the first place.
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I've heard Me First/et al. several times from friends and just couldn't get past the schtick. It was just too by-the-numbers. Every song title I read I could immediately hear the punk'd version of in my head, and upon hearing the songs they were exactly as I imagined they would be. I mean, it's punk, so there's only a very few variants of that worn-out genre they could choose from . . . but still, I just thought it was too much of a gimmick. It's just too easy for me to stay interested. Give me the Constantines' take on the Talking Heads' classic "Thank You For Sending Me An Angel" anyday. Who cares if it's not punk - it's faithful and yet original at the same time.
Your Lionel Ritchie review made me think of the line in High Fidelity delivered by Jack Black: "is it in fact unfair to criticize a formerly great artist for his latter day sins, is it better to burn out or fade away?" Make of that what you will.