Before
the Commodores
started having major
adult contemporary
hits like
"Three Times a Lady,"
"Easy,"
and
"Still,"
they were happy to be a full-time
funk
/
soul
band. The Southerners became increasingly
pop
-minded in the late '70s, but when their debut album,
Machine Gun
, came out in 1974, their music was unapologetically gritty. This was, without question, a very promising debut --
Lionel Richie
and his allies really hit the ground running on sweaty
items like
"Young Girls Are My Weakness,"
"The Bump,"
"Gonna Blow Your Mind,"
and the single
"I Feel Sanctified."
These songs aren't
funk-pop
or sophisticated
-- they're hardcore
. What you won't find on
are a lot of sentimental love
ballads
. In the late '70s,
became as famous for their
as they were for their
dance
material, but believe it or not, there are no
to be found on this consistently funky, mostly up-tempo debut. As much as this LP has going for it,
isn't
' best or most essential album.
is rewarding, but their subsequent albums
Caught in the Act
(1975),
Movin' On
(1975), and
Hot on the Tracks
(1976) are even stronger. ~ Alex Henderson