Genre
Funk, soul, and R&B. The album demonstrates the Commodores' defining strength: their ability to move with equal assurance between uncut funk - "Brick House," "Squeeze the Fruit", "Funky Situation" - and the tender romantic balladry that Lionel Richie was refining toward his eventual pop dominance, most memorably in "Easy" and "Zoom".
Release
Released on March 15, 1977, by Motown Records. It was the group's fifth studio album. The original vinyl release included a large fold-out poster of the band, visible in a scene of the 1977 film Saturday Night Fever. In the UK, the album was released under the title Zoom, after one of its tracks. The album is dedicated to Kathy Faye, the wife of bassist Ronald LaPread, who died of terminal tumours during its recording.
Production
Produced by the band alongside their regular collaborator James Anthony Carmichael. -"Brick House" was co-written by the entire group; "Easy" was written by Richie alone. The lyrics of "Brick House" were written by Shirley Hanna-King, wife of William King, while the band slept. Recorded, mixed, and mastered at Motown Recording Studios, Hollywood, California.
Reception
The album became the Commodores' first top-5 pop album, peaking at number 3 on the Billboard 200 and spending eight weeks at number one on the R&B Albums chart. "Brick House" reached number 5 on the Hot 100 and number 4 on the R&B chart. "Easy" reached number 4 on the Hot 100 and number 1 on the R&B chart.
Commodores
The Commodores are an American R&B, funk, and soul group formed in 1968 at Tuskegee University, Alabama, by Lionel Richie (vocals, keyboards), Thomas McClary (guitar), Milan Williams (keyboards), William King (trumpet), Ronald LaPread (bass), and Walter Orange (drums, vocals). They signed to Motown Records in 1972 and built their reputation as one of the label's premier live acts, opening for the Jackson 5. Their run of albums between 1974 and 1981 produced a string of US top-ten singles, including "Three Times a Lady" and "Still" - both number-one pop hits written by Richie. Richie departed for a solo career in 1982; the remaining members won a Grammy Award for Best R&B Performance by a Duo or Group for "Nightshift" (1985). The group has sold over 70 million records worldwide and was inducted into the Vocal Group Hall of Fame in 2003.
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