Commodores – Movin' On - Used LP

vinyl: VG+

jacket: VG- (not actual item in photo)

50 years ago...whoa.  (Listening to this is like listening to music from the 1920s in the 70s...that flips me out...I'm an old man.)

In 1975, the men from Alabama were in full-fledged funk mode.  rockin' out!  "Sweet Love" hints where they were headed (while still featuring a muscular bass and showing more of a gospel feel than many of the hits to come), but that hit is not really representative of this album.  The focus is the funk.  Solid set.  -- winch

Movin' On Review by Alex Henderson

R&B purists have often argued that the Commodores did their most essential work before 1977. It was in 1977 that they crossed over to the pop/adult contemporary audience in a major way with "Easy," and subsequent hits like 1978's "Three Times a Lady" and 1979's "Still" (both of which reached number one on Billboard's pop singles charts) certainly weren't the work of R&B snobs. Of course, Lionel Richie never claimed to be an R&B purist, although it is safe to say that the Commodores were still a hardcore funk/soul band when their third album, Movin' On, came out in 1975. From an R&B standpoint (as opposed to a pop or adult contemporary standpoint), this is one of their most essential releases. Those who love hard, gutsy 1970s funk can't go wrong with horn-powered gems like "Mary, Mary," "(Can I) Get a Witness," "Gimme My Mule," and "Hold On"; however, the song that Movin' On is best remembered for is the laid-back, gospel-drenched hit "Sweet Love." Written by Richie, "Sweet Love" is one of those secular soul tunes that isn't really gospel but borders on it; when Richie belts out the lyrics, "You got to keep on searching/harder/day by day," you feel like you're in the front row during an AME church service. And even though Movin' On is an LP that R&B purists rave about (rightly so), you can't say that it was ignored by pop audiences -- "Sweet Love" was a number two R&B hit, but it also reached number five on Billboard's pop singles chart.