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Product Description
Review
From Tuskegee, Alabama, Lionel Richie was always a county boy at heart: that much was implicit by the narrative-heavy ballads that pepper his back catalogue and the countless countrified covers of Three Times a Lady. Here, his Stetson is truly out of the closet as he gives a collection of his classic numbers a pronounced rural makeover, duet-style as he brings in some of the genre’s biggest names. Shrewd choices too, running from the legendary to the contemporary, meaning Kenny Rogers, Willie Nelson and Shania Twain put in appearances, as do Rascal Flatts, Darius Rucker and Rasmus Seebach – but this isn’t simply a sales pitch. Richie constantly crops up at the Country Music Association Awards and is probably as marketable to the lighter end of the country music audience as most of his guests. And this album won’t have affected such a status quo.
With the exception of a couple of ill-advised collaborations – Hello, with Sugarland’s Jennifer Nettles, is even more mawkish than the original; Angel, featuring Pixie Lott, becomes a bland power ballad – it all works with total synchronicity. The tempos, sentiments and story-telling centres of these songs are perfect country fodder, and Richie’s light touch with the vocals and the instrumentation has long been established. Dancing on the Ceiling becomes a mildly raucous banjo-fest; Say You Say Me adopts a pedal steel guitar; Deep River Woman, featuring Little Big Town’s delicate harmonising, is rural gospel personified; Easy has a creeping organ that’s pure Memphis, while the harmonica and Willie Nelson’s singing give it nearly an outlaw quality; and Jimmy Buffett fits perfectly with the restrained island pulse of All Night Long. Perhaps the most remarkable thing about these hayride makeovers is the music and the vocal interactions seem so natural, in quite a few cases you have to go back to the originals to check something has actually been changed.
Whether Tuskegee, the album, is enough to please hard core country fans is not really the point here – Richie’s post-Commodores output was largely ignored by soul fans. He’s a pop artist of substance, and as such brings a touch of class and sufficient flavour of another genre to the mainstream to make music that’s interesting and lasting.
--Lloyd Bradley
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CD Description
Tuskegee is the city in Alabama where Lionel Richie grew up. His first musical influences came from the area, which has a rich history in gospel, R&B, and country. This record explores these influences in new takes on 14 of his most revered songs, inviting some of his favorite artists to share the journey. Richie is joined by renowned artists such as Shania Twain, Kenny Rogers and Willie Nelson as well as his pick of today’s contemporary scene in Pixie Lott and Jennifer Nettles (Sugarland).
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Customer Reviews
Most Helpful Customer Reviews
35 of 39 people found the following review helpful
Format:Audio CD
One of the biggest acts of the eighties, Lionel Richie was born in Tuskegee, Alabama in 1949 so, as he declares, he's a country boy at heart. But Richie has never been that far from country music in his career. After all, he did write and produce Kenny Roger's US #1 hit "Lady" in 1980 and a year later he took it to #8 with the Commodores. Here, Lionel Richie duets with Kenny Rogers in a perfect reprise of one of Richie's most beautiful songs.
Blessed with a silky, smoky voice, ideally suited to the soulful ballads that he purveys, he is also a prolific songwriter and all of the thirteen songs that made the US top ten between 1981 and 1986 were written by him. On Tuskegee, he reprises eight of those hits but this time with some of country's top performers. "Endless Love" was originally a #1 with Diana Ross, but here there is a sumptuous version with Shania Twain, with both in perfect harmony and with a dramatic arrangement. Released as a single in the United States it deserves to be a hit all over again.
There are three other original #1 hits reworked on this album: "Say You, Say Me" with Jason Aldean; "Hello" with Jennifer Nettles and "All Night Long" complete with steel drums and having a good time with the irrepressible, Jimmy Buffet.
The album also contains three of Lionel's Commodores' hits; the fabulous "Easy" with "Willie Nelson; the above mentioned "Lady" and "Sail On" with the Swedish singer, Jill Johnson.
The album works on several levels. First, as a vehicle for Richie's soft, brown, bewitching voice; second, as a platform for some fabulous songs and third as a reminder that R & B and country is a perfect combination. Suffused with country steel and laced with soul, pop, Richie's voice and some sympathetic arrangements this album should have wide appeal.
Blessed with a silky, smoky voice, ideally suited to the soulful ballads that he purveys, he is also a prolific songwriter and all of the thirteen songs that made the US top ten between 1981 and 1986 were written by him. On Tuskegee, he reprises eight of those hits but this time with some of country's top performers. "Endless Love" was originally a #1 with Diana Ross, but here there is a sumptuous version with Shania Twain, with both in perfect harmony and with a dramatic arrangement. Released as a single in the United States it deserves to be a hit all over again.
There are three other original #1 hits reworked on this album: "Say You, Say Me" with Jason Aldean; "Hello" with Jennifer Nettles and "All Night Long" complete with steel drums and having a good time with the irrepressible, Jimmy Buffet.
The album also contains three of Lionel's Commodores' hits; the fabulous "Easy" with "Willie Nelson; the above mentioned "Lady" and "Sail On" with the Swedish singer, Jill Johnson.
The album works on several levels. First, as a vehicle for Richie's soft, brown, bewitching voice; second, as a platform for some fabulous songs and third as a reminder that R & B and country is a perfect combination. Suffused with country steel and laced with soul, pop, Richie's voice and some sympathetic arrangements this album should have wide appeal.
3 of 3 people found the following review helpful
Format:Audio CD|Amazon Verified Purchase
Just received this excellent album!! What an absolute winner, every track is a masterpiece.
And with those steel guitars in the background, how can you fault it?
Buy it now, you will not regret it!!
And with those steel guitars in the background, how can you fault it?
Buy it now, you will not regret it!!
1 of 1 people found the following review helpful
Format:Audio CD|Amazon Verified Purchase
Absolutely great album with lots of good songs. As always cd came well packaged and within the allotted time for this to arrive.
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Most Recent Customer Reviews
Different but not
Bought this as a present and had the chance to listen myself and really enjoyed it.
Same songs but with a country and western take on it and it really works A+++++
Same songs but with a country and western take on it and it really works A+++++
Published 8 days ago by Jayuk88
tunes
this has all the old faves on but with other artists joining in. Some are quite slow but still love them all
Published 12 days ago by ProudMummy
perfect combination
As a country music lover and big fan of Lionel Richie since his first album - this album is a real treat being the perfect combination of Lionel Richie's music and voice together... Read more
Published 14 days ago by Mrs. Ann Wright
Excellent Lionel Richie
Although I was familiar with most of the tracks prior to buying Tuskegee,and some are my all time favourites,the arrangements were different, appealing and allowed a new... Read more
Published 21 days ago by 936trt
ahhhh so good.
i brought this CD a couple weeks ago.love it .i have many of Lionel songs -but to have some of my favorite's on 1 CD. is brilliant.thanks Lionel
Published 23 days ago by P. VAUGHAN
Tuskegee - whiz!
A tour de force featuring old timers and newcomers with theaim man and with great interpretations of all the main hits and some less well known tunes. Read more
Published 26 days ago by Birdie
loved this album
As I am a great fan of Lional Richie and country music I loved this album of his best songs dueted with some of my favourite country artists.Brilliant!
Published 27 days ago by samknight
Home Town Boy
I have lived and loved with Lional Richie and as flash as It sounds I knew he had an album like this In him. Read more
Published 1 month ago by P. WALKER
An ideal gift
This was really a Mother's Day gift for the Wife, not only did Amazon provide plenty of choice, the seller could beat the high-street prices. Read more
Published 1 month ago by Car Wizard
Tuskegee
These are old songs but is still very interesting to hear..almost new..done with various artists..enjoyed it very much. Quite clever idea by Lionel.
Published 1 month ago by Dominic
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