On his own and as part of the Commodores, by 1992 Lionel Richie amassed more than enough singles for a greatest-hits collection.
Unfortunately, this is one of those compilations that, good intentions aside, falls so flat there's not much point in buying it.
By trying to cover his solo material, while touching base with his Commodores fans, and adding some new cuts, no part of his career is well represented.
For the record, Back to Front lacks "Oh No," "Lady You Bring Me Up," "Ballerina Girl," "You Are," "My Love," "Stuck on You," "Love Will Conquer All," "Se La," and "Dancing on the Ceiling," all Top 40 hits.
If Motown had concentrated solely on solo Richie, with another collection of Commodores hits, this could have been a solid, career-topping CD.
As it is, it's strong, but hearing such gems as "Still," "Truly," "Say You, Say Me," and "Running With the Night" makes you long to hear the cuts that aren't here.
Of the three new songs, "Do It to Me" and "My Destiny" are classic, smooth Richie, but "Love, Oh Love" is very schmaltzy.
If you're a casual Lionel Richie fan, this might suffice, but for anyone who truly enjoys pop music, this collection is not worth your money.
| Title/Composers | Performer | Listen | Time | Size | Size | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Do It to MeLionel Richie | Lionel Richie | Play | 06:04 | 13 MB | 39 MB |
| 2 | My DestinyLionel Richie | Lionel Richie | Play | 04:49 | 11 MB | 33 MB |
| 3 | Love, Oh LoveLionel Richie | Lionel Richie | Play | 05:48 | 13 MB | 36 MB |
| 4 | EasyLionel Richie | Lionel Richie, Commodores | Play | 04:17 | 9 MB | 25 MB |
| 5 | StillLionel Richie | Lionel Richie, Commodores | Play | 03:46 | 8 MB | 21 MB |
| 6 | Endless LoveLionel Richie | Lionel Richie, Diana Ross | Play | 04:28 | 10 MB | 21 MB |
| 7 | Running with the NightLionel Richie, Cynthia Weil | Lionel Richie | Play | 04:09 | 9 MB | 28 MB |
| 8 | Sail OnLionel Richie | Lionel Richie, Commodores | Play | 04:00 | 9 MB | 23 MB |
| 9 | HelloLionel Richie | Lionel Richie | Play | 04:09 | 9 MB | 23 MB |
| 10 | TrulyLionel Richie | Lionel Richie | Play | 03:21 | 7 MB | 17 MB |
| 11 | Penny LoverBrenda Harvey Richie, Lionel Richie | Lionel Richie | Play | 03:46 | 8 MB | 23 MB |
| 12 | Say You, Say MeLionel Richie | Lionel Richie | Play | 04:02 | 9 MB | 25 MB |
| 13 | Three Times a LadyLionel Richie | Lionel Richie, Commodores | Play | 03:37 | 8 MB | 19 MB |
| 14 | All Night Long | Lionel Richie | Play | 04:19 | 9 MB | 28 MB |
| 15 | Stuck On You | Lionel Richie | Play | 03:10 | 7 MB | 17 MB |
| 16 | Dancing In The Ceiling | Lionel Richie | Play | 04:22 | 10 MB | 30 MB |
| 68 mins | 156 MB | |||||
| 68 mins | 414 MB | |||||
| Artist | Job | |
|---|---|---|
| 1 | Paul Buckmaster | Orchestra |
| 2 | James Anthony Carmichael | Arranger, Producer |
| 3 | Lenny Castro | Percussion |
| 4 | Jane Clark | Engineer |
| 5 | Commodores | Arranger, Performer, Primary Artist, Producer |
| 6 | Guy Costa | Mixing |
| 7 | Reginald Dozier | Engineer |
| 8 | Jim Gilstrap | Vocals (Background) |
| 9 | Bernie Grundman | Mastering |
| 10 | Calvin Harris | Engineer, Mixing |
| 11 | Jim Keltner | Drums |
| 12 | Marva King | Vocals (Background) |
| 13 | Daren Klein | Engineer, Mixing |
| 14 | Darlene Koldenhoven | Vocals (Background) |
| 15 | Michael Landau | Guitar |
| 16 | Stewart Levine | Arranger, Producer |
| 17 | Quincy McCrary | Vocals (Background) |
| 18 | Gene Page | Vocals |
| 19 | Brenda Harvey Richie | Composer |
| 20 | Lionel Richie | Arranger, Composer, Keyboards, Primary Artist, Producer, Vocals, Vocals (Background) |
| 21 | Diana Ross | Performer, Primary Artist |
| 22 | Marc Russo | Saxophone |
| 23 | Alice Sanderson | Vocals (Background) |
| 24 | Carmen Twillie | Vocals (Background) |
| 25 | "Ready" Freddie Washington | Bass |
| 26 | Cynthia Weil | Composer |
| 27 | David Williams | Guitar |
| Quality | Format | Encoding | Description |
|---|---|---|---|
| Standard | MP3 | 320kps 44.1kHz | MP3 is an audio coding format which uses a form of lossy data compression. The highest bitrate of this format is 320kbps (kbit/s). MP3 Digital audio takes less amount of space (up to 90% reduction in size) and the quality is not as good as the original one. |
| CD Quality | FLAC | 16bit 44.1kHz | FLAC is an audio coding format which uses lossless compression. Digital audio in FLAC format has a smaller size and retains the same quality of the original Compact Disc (CD). |