Heroes is the eighth studio album by the Commodores, released in June 1980 by Motown Records. It has been certified platinum in the US by the RIAA.[1][2]
| Heroes | ||||
|---|---|---|---|---|
 | ||||
| Studio album by | ||||
| Released | June 1980 | |||
| Genre | Soul, R&B, gospel | |||
| Length | 43:26 | |||
| Label | Motown | |||
| Producer | James Anthony Carmichael, The Commodores | |||
| The Commodores chronology | ||||
| ||||
Critical reception
edit| Review scores | |
|---|---|
| Source | Rating |
| AllMusic |   [3] |
| Robert Christgau | B[5] |
| Smash Hits | 9/10[4] |
With a 9 out of 10 rating, Bev Hillier of Smash Hits called Heroes "a highly polished, versatile album."[4] Phyl Garland of Stereo Review praised the album, writing: "On it they explore a broad range of subjects and show a willingness to tackle material that is not so obviously tailored to ride the charts. Furthermore, they have gone beyond the simplistic boy -loves -girl and dance -dance -dance lyrics that are the formula staples of contemporary soul music. The album offers plenty of the kind of soul funk we have come to expect of the Commodores, performed with stunning precision, but there are also some interesting variations."[6] Robert Christgau of The Village Voice gave a B, describing Heroes as "an improvement. For one thing, most of the brotherhood anthems--which avoid the gender-specific, actually, with lots of "people," "folks," and "y'all"--have a somewhat more rousing beat than "Three Times a Lady." And on the fond "Old-Fashion Love" and the cold-hearted "Sorry to Say," the brothers remind Lionel that this is still supposed to be a funk band."[5]
Accolades
editHeroes was nominated for a Grammy award in the category of Best R&B Performance by a Duo or Group with Vocals.[7]
Songs
editRecord World said of the title track that "Lionel Ritchie sings with loving sincerity."[8] Record World said of "Old-Fashion Love" that "Multi-octave vocal carousing and a funky percussion backdrop provide the setting on this plea for some premium love."[9] Record World called the single "Jesus Is Love" an "inspirational ballad."[10]
Track listing
edit- "Got to Be Together" (Lionel Richie, Thomas McClary) – 5:44
- "Celebrate" (Harold Hudson, Larry Davis, Thomas McClary) – 5:03
- "Old-Fashion Love" (Milan Williams) – 4:56
- "Heroes" (Darrell Jones, Lionel Richie) – 5:24
- "All The Way Down" (David Cochrane, Walter Orange) – 3:35
- "Sorry to Say" (Darrell Jones, Ronald LaPread) – 4:01
- "Wake Up Children" (Lionel Richie, Thomas McClary) – 4:33
- "Mighty Spirit" (Harold Hudson, William King) – 4:06
- "Jesus is Love" (Lionel Richie) – 6:04
Personnel
editCommodores
- Lionel Richie – vocals, saxophones, acoustic piano, keyboards
- Milan Williams – keyboards
- Thomas McClary – vocals, guitars
- Ronald LaPread – bass
- Walter Orange – vocals, drums, percussion
- William King – trumpet
Additional personnel
- David Cochrane – keyboards, guitars, saxophones
- Harold Hudson – keyboards, trumpet
- Darrell Jones – guitars
- Ollie E. Brown – drums
- Eddie "Bongo" Brown – percussion
- James Anthony Carmichael – horn and string arrangements
Production
edit- Commodores – producers, arrangements
- James Anthony Carmichael – producer, arrangements
- Calvin Harris – engineer, mixing
- Jane Clark – engineer, mixing
- Chris Bellman – mastering
- Suzee Ikeda – production manager
Charts
editAlbum
edit| 1980 | Billboard US R&B | 3 |
| Billboard US Pop | 7 | |
| Sweden | 26[11] | |
| Holland | 44[12] | |
| New Zealand | 45[13] | |
| Australia | 94[14] |
Singles
edit| Year | Single | Chart positions[15] | ||
|---|---|---|---|---|
| US | US R&B |
US Dance | ||
| 1980 | "Old-Fashion Love" | 20 | 8 | — |
| "Heroes" | 54 | 27 | — | |
| "Jesus Is Love" | - | 34 | — | |
References
edit- ^ Commodores: Heroes. Motown Records. 1980.
- ^ "Commodores: Heroes". RIAA. Retrieved 2023-08-06.
- ^ Lytle, Craig. "Heroes - Commodores". allmusic.com. AllMusic.
- ^ a b Hillier, Bev (July 23, 1980). "Commodores: Heroes". archive.org. Vol. 2, no. 14. Smash Hits. p. 31.
- ^ a b Christgau, Robert. "Commodores: Heroes". robertchristgau.com. Village Voice.
- ^ Garland, Phyl (November 1980). "Commodores: Heroes" (PDF). americanradiohistory.com. Vol. 45, no. 5. Smash Hits. p. 110.
- ^ "Commodores". grammy.com. The Recording Academy.
- ^ "Hits of the Week" (PDF). Record World. September 13, 1980. p. 1. Retrieved 2023-02-07.
- ^ "Hits of the Week" (PDF). Record World. June 21, 1980. p. 1. Retrieved 2023-02-20.
- ^ "Hits of the Week" (PDF). Record World. December 13, 1980. p. 1. Retrieved 2023-02-22.
- ^ "Commodores: Heroes". swedishcharts.com. Sverigetopplistan.
- ^ "Commodores: Heroes". dutchcharts.nl. Dutch Charts.
- ^ "Commodores: Heroes". charts.nz. Official New Zealand Music Chart.
- ^ Kent, David (1993). Australian Chart Book 1970–1992 (illustrated ed.). St Ives, N.S.W.: Australian Chart Book. p. 72. ISBN 0-646-11917-6.
- ^ "The Commodores US singles chart history". allmusic.com. Retrieved 2013-11-07.