The Commodores made one final stab at regaining R&B glory when Lionel Richie and producer/arranger James Anthony Carmichael both left in the mid-'80s. J.D. Nicholas became their lead singer, and Dennis Lambert assumed production duties. They rebounded temporarily, when "Nightshift" leaped out of an otherwise ordinary album to become a Grammy-winning R&B and pop smash. It stayed atop the R&B charts for a month, and peaked at #3 on the pop chart. Unfortunately, it was also the end for Thomas McClary, who left the group once the album had run its course. It was their next-to-last hit, and basically the end for the band, although they continued for a couple more years.

Though they began as a hard-driving funk outfit, Lionel Ritchie's Commodores soon became Premier League purveyors of super soulful ballads. Songs like 'Easy' and 'Three Times A Lady' were instant hits and remain classics. Those songs lead off this brand new collection which also includes lots of lesser known ballads and rare romantic gems. Together with the hits, they prove that the Commodores love catalogue is second to none.

Lionel Richie's Back to Front isn't just a definitive greatest hits collection, it's a reminder of Richie's supreme strengths as an R&B singer-songwriter. From the gentle sweep of "Do It to Me" to the earnest lovelorn crooning of "Hello," Richie's ballads are timeless. Even the borderline sappy "Endless Love" shines despite cosinger Diana Ross's histrionics. Also featured is "Still" and "Say You, Say Me," and while the faster songs–the Caribbean-inspired rhythms of "All Night Long" and the '80s synthpop of "Running with the Night"–are weaker, they hardly detract from this otherwise sterling survey.

The revamped 1995 edition of Anthology includes all of the group's hit singles, as well as significant album tracks and singles that didn't chart, making it the definitive portrait of the popular, groundbreaking urban contemporary group.