Louder Than Words was the official comeback, the long-awaited return to recording from Lionel Richie, one of the most successful pop stars of the '80s.
Perhaps it was inevitable that returning to recording would be difficult -- after all, it had been ten years since he had released an album of original material -- but Louder Than Words turned out to be a bigger disappointment than anyone expected, failing to deliver either musically or commercially.
Its failure helped clear the decks for Time, Richie's true musical comeback.
Time doesn't quite match the heights of Lionel Richie or Can't Slow Down, but it successfully updates his familiar concoction of sweet, seductive ballads and light funk for the late '90s.
Whenever he incorporates light hip-hop rhythms here, it sounds less forced, and the dance numbers are often infectious.
Similarly, the ballads have strong (albeit sappy) hooks that make them memorable.
Don't take Richie's belated version of "Lady," the hit he gave Kenny Rogers, as a bad sign -- Time is the most satisfying effort he has released in quite some time.
| Title/Composers | Performer | Listen | Time | Size | Size | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Zoomin'James Anthony Carmichael, Lionel Richie, Lloyd Tolbert | Lionel Richie | Play | 04:23 | 10 MB | 29 MB |
| 2 | I Hear Your VoiceDavid Foster, Lionel Richie, Diane Warren | Lionel Richie | Play | 04:00 | 9 MB | 23 MB |
| 3 | TouchLionel Richie, Lloyd Tolbert | Lionel Richie | Play | 05:07 | 11 MB | 36 MB |
| 4 | ForeverLionel Richie | Lionel Richie | Play | 06:13 | 14 MB | 42 MB |
| 5 | EverytimeLionel Richie | Lionel Richie | Play | 04:15 | 9 MB | 30 MB |
| 6 | TimeLionel Richie | Lionel Richie | Play | 06:10 | 14 MB | 45 MB |
| 7 | To the RhythmLionel Richie | Lionel Richie | Play | 05:14 | 11 MB | 37 MB |
| 8 | StayLionel Richie, Lloyd Tolbert | Lionel Richie | Play | 04:09 | 9 MB | 29 MB |
| 9 | Closest Thing to HeavenDiane Warren | Lionel Richie | Play | 04:00 | 9 MB | 25 MB |
| 10 | SomedayAndre Betts, Dinky Bingham, Lionel Richie | Lionel Richie | Play | 04:22 | 10 MB | 28 MB |
| 11 | LadyLionel Richie | Lionel Richie | Play | 04:26 | 10 MB | 28 MB |
| 12 | The Way I Feel | Lionel Richie | Play | 03:06 | 7 MB | 21 MB |
| 55 mins | 127 MB | |||||
| 55 mins | 377 MB | |||||
| Artist | Job | |
|---|---|---|
| 1 | Keith Andes | Composer |
| 2 | Tom Bender | Assistant Engineer |
| 3 | Andre Betts | Composer |
| 4 | Dinky Bingham | Composer |
| 5 | Michael Boddicker | Synthesizer |
| 6 | Jeff Burns | Assistant Engineer |
| 7 | Larry Byrom | Guitar |
| 8 | James Anthony Carmichael | Composer, Conductor, Keyboards, Mixing, Producer |
| 9 | Sue Ann Carwell | Vocals (Background) |
| 10 | Joe Chemay | Bass |
| 11 | Jonathan Clark | Guitar |
| 12 | Nathan East | Bass, Guest Artist |
| 13 | Felipe Elgueta | Engineer, Programming, Synthesizer, Synthesizer Programming |
| 14 | Tony Flores | Assistant Engineer |
| 15 | David Foster | Arranger, Composer, Guest Artist, Keyboards, Mixing, Piano, Producer |
| 16 | Mick Guzauski | Mixing |
| 17 | John Hobbs | Keyboards |
| 18 | Munyungo Jackson | Percussion |
| 19 | Mike Janas | Assistant Engineer |
| 20 | Ricky Jones | Vocals (Background) |
| 21 | Marva King | Vocals (Background) |
| 22 | Ricky King | Vocals (Background) |
| 23 | Paul Leim | Drums |
| 24 | Peter Lindbergh | Photography |
| 25 | Vladimir Meller | Mastering |
| 26 | Vlado Meller | Mastering |
| 27 | Dean Parks | Guitar |
| 28 | Jeff Pescetto | Vocals (Background) |
| 29 | John Reid | Management |
| 30 | Dave Reitzas | Engineer |
| 31 | Lionel Richie | Composer, Keyboards, Primary Artist, Producer, Vocals |
| 32 | John "J.R." Robinson | Drums |
| 33 | Guy Roche | Drum Programming, Drums, Percussion Programming |
| 34 | William Ross | Mixing, String Arrangements |
| 35 | Keith Rouster | Bass |
| 36 | Al Sanderson | Assistant Engineer |
| 37 | Ivy Skoff | Production Coordination |
| 38 | Michael Thompson | Guitar |
| 39 | Michael Hart Thompson | Guitar |
| 40 | Lloyd Tolbert | Composer, Conductor, Digital Editing, Drum Programming, Keyboards, Mixing, String Arrangements |
| 41 | Diane Warren | Composer |
| 42 | Phyllis Yvonne Williams | Vocals (Background) |
| 43 | Sherre Woodward | Vocals (Background) |
| 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). |