In the Pocket

Commodores | Format: Audio CD

Product Details

• Audio CD (June 19, 2001)
• Number of Discs: 1
• Label: Mca Special Products
• ASIN: B000008EHL
• Also Available in: Audio CD  |  Audio Cassette  |  Vinyl  |  MP3 Download
• Average Customer Review: 4.2 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (6 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #192,431 in Music (See Top 100 in Music)

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

1 of 1 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars Pocket Change, October 30, 2001

By 

Thomas Magnum (NJ, USA) - See all my reviews
(VINE VOICE)    (HALL OF FAME REVIEWER)    (TOP 1000 REVIEWER)   

This review is from: In the Pocket (Audio CD)

1981's In The Pocket was the last album that Lionel Richie recorded with The Commodores. It was a nice send off as the band assembled a strong eight song set that includes one of their all-time best songs, the beautiful "Oh No". Other strong tracks include the bouncy "Lady (You Bring Me Up)", "Lucy" and the moving "Saturday Night".

4.0 out of 5 stars the last album Lionel richie did with the Commodores, October 19, 2011

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A customer "mistermaxxx" (usa) - See all my reviews
(HALL OF FAME REVIEWER)    (VINE VOICE)   

This review is from: In the Pocket (Audio CD)

i use to have this on 8 track and it had some cuts on it. lady you bring me up is still a banger. I groove to that cut to this day. it had a early 80's Kool and the gang feel to it and yet it felt like the Commodores. it works very well and has aged very well. "oh No and Lucy are trademark Hybrid COUNTRY,R&B/Pop Genius from Lionel Richie. he is truly from the Ray Charles School of Music making where you can't put any one category behind his work. now Saturday Night is a cool overlooked cut that is cool.

"why you wanna try Me" is on point a good roller Skating ring Jam remember that back in the day?

4.0 out of 5 stars More hits than misses, August 17, 2004

By 

The Fancy One "blackprincess" (Westchester County, NY) - See all my reviews

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This review is from: In the Pocket (Audio CD)

IN THE POCKET was Lionel Richie's last album with the Commodores. By the time he exited the band in late 1982, they had gone from being hard-core R&B funksters to masters of the pop power ballad, due to the overwhelming influence of Richie. This album is miles away from previous offerings like CAUGHT IN THE ACT, MOVIN' ON, HOT ON THE TRACKS and the group's self-titled LP that contained smoldering funk and deep, infectious grooves, so don't expect to find much of that here. However, this album does has some highlights worth hearing.

The writing may have been on the wall, as far as Richie's future with his Alabama homies when this album was recorded. Usually his voice dominated the leads on earlier Commodores' LPs, but this time around, the lead vocals are evenly distributed between him and drummer Walter "Clyde" Orange...almost as if he were deliberately being low-key. Also, the only songs Richie leads on are "Lady (You Bring Me Up)" and the ones he wrote, whereas the other Commodores who contributed material to this album seemed to be writing for Clyde at this point. A lot of the songs sound like they could have easily fit onto other R&B acts' albums, like the 1980s version of Kool and the Gang, the Brothers Johnson, Michael Jackson, ConFunkShun and Rufus and Chaka Khan, with thumping bass lines and similar vocal arrangements.

This CD opens with "Lady (You Bring Me Up)"...the Pop Top 20/R&B Top 10 hit single from 1981, an enjoyable and upbeat William King composition that sounds like a Kool and the Gang tune. Next is the underplayed (and sadly overlooked) R&B hit "Saturday Night" - a nice, mellow and rare ballad turn for Clyde, who usually had the lockdown on singing lead on the band's funkiest numbers. On this song, he more than rises to the occasion with some passionate vocals. Next is another Clyde-led tune, "Keep On Taking Me Higher" - a party thumper reminiscent of Michael Jackson's "Get On The Floor" from OFF THE WALL - decent. "Oh No", a Richie tune that was the other pop hit from this album, oozes country/western and it would not have been out of place on his debut solo album. The song isn't bad, in fact it's one of Richie's better ballads - but there's not much R&B to find in it.

"Why You Wanna Try Me", a pop/R&B Brothers Johnson-like dance tune is a great performance by Richie. It was released as a single but was only a minor hit...don't see why, the song is pretty good. Love the ending: "Stop right there - hold on - why you wanna try me?" The next two songs feature Clyde on lead and were both penned by him: "This Love" is an okay R&B ballad, and the cool, playful funk of "Been Loving You" is one of the best tunes on the CD. It seemed to be a reminder that even as far pop as they had gone, they could still funk out and lay it down when the opportunity arose. The CD closes out with "Lucy", a Richie pop ballad that has blatant country overtones. Not really one of my favs, but like "Oh No", it sounds very much like the early ballad material Richie would record as a soloist. The fact that I didn't particularly care for this tune did not keep me from purchasing this album a second time, just to own it on CD.

Overall, IN THE POCKET has more strengths than weaknesses. If you're comparing it to any Commodores LP recorded before 1978, well, of course it will come up short. But if you really enjoy this band's music, then it's a sure bet that you'll want to jump on this. (Rating: 3 1/2 stars)