#COMMODORES MIDNIGHT MAGIC SONGS FREE#

Stephen Holland on Nick DrakeР В Р вЂ Р В РІР‚С™Р Р†РІР‚С›РЎС›s Pink Moon aР В Р вЂ Р В РІР‚С™Р вЂ™Р’В¦Р В РІР‚СњР В РІР‚РЋrank Hudson on World Cup of ClosingР В РІР‚в„ўР вЂ™Р’В TracР В Р вЂ Р В РІР‚С™Р вЂ™Р’В¦Р В РІР‚СњР В РІР‚РЋollow songs from so deep on WordPress.Sail on down the line 'bout-a half-a mile or soР В РІР‚СњР В РІР‚С›nd-a don't really wanna know-a where you're goin' It.Р В РІР‚СњР В РІР‚РЋrank Hudson on Nick DrakeР В Р вЂ Р В РІР‚С™Р Р†РІР‚С›РЎС›s Pink Moon aР В Р вЂ Р В РІР‚С™Р вЂ™Р’В¦ Seriously, two voices in absolute, mathematically perfect harmony is a freaky sound. Most importantly, it isnР В Р вЂ Р В РІР‚С™Р Р†РІР‚С›РЎС›t Auto-Tuned to within an inch of its life. The drummer realised he wasnР В Р вЂ Р В РІР‚С™Р Р†РІР‚С›РЎС›t playing a heavy metal power ballad. For a start, it doesnР В Р вЂ Р В РІР‚С™Р Р†РІР‚С›РЎС›t have an ass-clown like Tim McGraw singing half of it. *Of course, it hardly needs saying that the original version is much the superior. When Richie went solo and he lost these guys, his ballads were never again as interesting. Orange (with LaPread locked in on bass) take a less obvious route, and give the song a definite funk/R&B underpinning. They might sometimes do the Mick Fleetwood heartbeat thing (adding a second strokes on the kick on Р В Р вЂ Р В РІР‚С™Р РЋРЎв„ўandР В Р вЂ Р В РІР‚С™Р РЋРЎС™ three: one, two, and three, four), or the Neil Young thing (a second stroke on the quaver after one and/or three), but the feel is straight, unsyncopated. Whether the feel is straight eights or a shuffle, country drummerР В Р вЂ Р В РІР‚С™Р Р†РІР‚С›РЎС›s play one and three on the kick, pretty much. His syncopated bass drum work is a key element in what makes this track (and Easy) a fusion of R&B sensibilities with country (or in EasyР В Р вЂ Р В РІР‚С™Р Р†РІР‚С›РЎС›s case) pop ballad writing. So itР В Р вЂ Р В РІР‚С™Р Р†РІР‚С›РЎС›s an intriguing blend: downhome at the start and uptown-aspirational at the end.Р В РІР‚СњР В РІР‚С› quick word about the performance of Walter Orange, the unsung hero of RichieР В Р вЂ Р В РІР‚С™Р Р†РІР‚С›РЎС›s Commodore-era ballads. Lady aside, this was the most obvious song for Richie to dust off for his Tuskegee self-covers album*.Р В РІР‚СњР вЂ™Р’В«y the time we get to the final choruses, the song has found its way into territory that would come to be called yacht rock: smooth harmonies, horns, mellow vibes, nautical metaphors. When those higher voices come in (again, the video suggests these are drummer Walter Orange and guitarist Thomas McClarey, though all this may be artistic licence on the part of the clipР В Р вЂ Р В РІР‚С™Р Р†РІР‚С›РЎС›s director), it becomes unmistakeable. The harmony vocals of Richie and (I assume from the video) bassist Ronald LaPread are pure country from the outset, but as the two are singing in their lower registers, itР В Р вЂ Р В РІР‚С™Р Р†РІР‚С›РЎС›d be possible to miss it. Even before he took a batch of old songs and remade them with country musicians a couple of years back (2012Р В Р вЂ Р В РІР‚С™Р Р†РІР‚С›РЎС›s Tuskegee) before, even Kenny Rogers had a huge hit with Lady, there was evident in his songs an audible country-music streak, a legacy RichieР В Р вЂ Р В РІР‚С™Р Р†РІР‚С›РЎС›s childhood in Alabama: Р В Р вЂ Р В РІР‚С™Р РЋРЎв„ўI grew up with the Grand Ole Opry, Dottie West, Conway Twitty, Buck Owens Р В Р вЂ Р В РІР‚С™Р вЂ™Р’В¦ not realizing it was influencing me as much as it was.Р В Р вЂ Р В РІР‚С™Р РЋРЎС™ Sail On one of RichieР В Р вЂ Р В РІР‚С™Р Р†РІР‚С›РЎС›s most obviously country songs. But Sail On is a song bursting with inspired moments, of which the intro is just the first. The dual piano-and-guitar part that begins the song is one of those immediately identifiable, Р В Р вЂ Р В РІР‚С™Р РЋРЎв„ўSurely someoneР В Р вЂ Р В РІР‚С™Р Р†РІР‚С›РЎС›s thought of this before?Р В Р вЂ Р В РІР‚С™Р РЋРЎС™ moments that record producers and radio programmers say nightly prayers for. RichieР В Р вЂ Р В РІР‚С™Р Р†РІР‚С›РЎС›s talent is founded upon his ability to craft simple melodic hooks, both in the piano accompaniment and the vocal melody, and Sail On is a great example of this. But IР В Р вЂ Р В РІР‚С™Р Р†РІР‚С›РЎС›d like to speak up in favour of the country-tinged Sail On, from 1979Р В Р вЂ Р В РІР‚С™Р Р†РІР‚С›РЎС›s Midnight Magic.

#COMMODORES MIDNIGHT MAGIC SONGS FREE#

It should hardly need saying that one of those songs is Easy, a record so wonderful that I am willing to give him a free pass, pretty much, for anything else heР В Р вЂ Р В РІР‚С™Р Р†РІР‚С›РЎС›s done, even Say You Say Me. But he left his band with a legacy of strong love songs. So his decision to go solo was not a surprising one. In the late 1970s, the tension between his soft, smooth ballad writing and the harder R&B leanings of his Commodores bandmates eventually led to tensions in the band, which were added to by the fact that the groupР В Р вЂ Р В РІР‚С™Р Р†РІР‚С›РЎС›s one-time sax player and maker of synthesiser noises had grabbed the limelight for himself. Sure, heР В Р вЂ Р В РІР‚С™Р Р†РІР‚С›РЎС›s released dance-oriented records from time to time, but give Lionel Richie a piano, a blank piece of paper and a couple of hours, and nine times out of ten heР В Р вЂ Р В РІР‚С™Р Р†РІР‚С›РЎС›ll give you a ballad. He staked out his signature territory with Three Times a Lady, which bores me by the first time he sings Р В Р вЂ Р В РІР‚С™Р РЋРЎв„ўTwiceР В Р вЂ Р В РІР‚С™Р РЋРЎС™, and has continued to cover that territory for four decades. And itР В Р вЂ Р В РІР‚С™Р Р†РІР‚С›РЎС›s true that he did essentially the same thing so often that even his fans could easily get tired of it. YouР В Р вЂ Р В РІР‚С™Р Р†РІР‚С›РЎС›ve learned something already, havenР В Р вЂ Р В РІР‚С™Р Р†РІР‚С›РЎС›t you?Р В РІР‚СњР В РІР‚РЋor some Richie will always be beyond the pale. Lionel RichieР В Р вЂ Р В РІР‚С™Р Р†РІР‚С›РЎС›s songwriting voice is a sappy, ballad-oriented one.

Commodores midnight magic songs