Heroes
Studio album by
The Commodores
ReleasedJune 1980
GenreSoul, R&B, gospel
Length43:26
LabelMotown
ProducerJames Anthony Carmichael, The Commodores
The Commodores chronology
Midnight Magic
(1979)		 Heroes
(1980)		 In the Pocket
(1981)

Heroes is the eighth studio album by the Commodores, released in June 1980 by Motown Records. It has been certified platinum in the US by the RIAA.[1][2]

Critical reception

Professional ratings
Review scores
SourceRating
AllMusic[3]
Robert ChristgauB[4]
Smash Hits9/10[5]

With a 9 out of 10 rating, Bev Hillier of Smash Hits called Heroes "a highly polished, versatile album."[5] Phyl Garland of Stereo Review praised the album, writing: "On it they explore a broad range of subjects and show a willingness to tackle material that is not so obviously tailored to ride the charts. Furthermore, they have gone beyond the simplistic boy -loves -girl and dance -dance -dance lyrics that are the formula staples of contemporary soul music. The album offers plenty of the kind of soul funk we have come to expect of the Commodores, performed with stunning precision, but there are also some interesting variations."[6] Robert Christgau of The Village Voice gave a B, describing Heroes as "an improvement. For one thing, most of the brotherhood anthems--which avoid the gender-specific, actually, with lots of "people," "folks," and "y'all"--have a somewhat more rousing beat than "Three Times a Lady." And on the fond "Old-Fashion Love" and the cold-hearted "Sorry to Say," the brothers remind Lionel that this is still supposed to be a funk band."[4]

Accolades

Heroes was nominated for a Grammy award in the category of Best R&B Performance by a Duo or Group with Vocals.[7]

Songs

Record World said of the title track that "Lionel Ritchie sings with loving sincerity."[8] Record World said of "Old-Fashion Love" that "Multi-octave vocal carousing and a funky percussion backdrop provide the setting on this plea for some premium love."[9] Record World called the single "Jesus Is Love" an "inspirational ballad."[10]

Track listing

  1. "Got to Be Together" (Lionel Richie, Thomas McClary) – 5:44
  2. "Celebrate" (Harold Hudson, Larry Davis, Thomas McClary) – 5:03
  3. "Old-Fashion Love" (Milan Williams) – 4:56
  4. "Heroes" (Darrell Jones, Lionel Richie) – 5:24
  5. "All The Way Down" (David Cochrane, Walter Orange) – 3:35
  6. "Sorry to Say" (Darrell Jones, Ronald LaPread) – 4:01
  7. "Wake Up Children" (Lionel Richie, Thomas McClary) – 4:33
  8. "Mighty Spirit" (Harold Hudson, William King) – 4:06
  9. "Jesus is Love" (Lionel Richie) – 6:04

Personnel

Commodores

Additional personnel

  • David Cochrane – keyboards, guitars, saxophones
  • Harold Hudson – keyboards, trumpet
  • Darrell Jones – guitars
  • Ollie E. Brown – drums
  • Eddie "Bongo " Brown – percussion
  • James Anthony Carmichael – horn and string arrangements

Production

  • Commodores – producers, arrangements
  • James Anthony Carmichael – producer, arrangements
  • Calvin Harris – engineer, mixing
  • Jane Clark – engineer, mixing
  • Chris Bellman – mastering
  • Suzee Ikeda – production manager

Charts

Album

1980 Billboard US R&B 3
Billboard US Pop 7
Sweden 26[11]
Holland 44[12]
New Zealand 45[13]
Australia 94[14]

Singles

Year Single Chart positions[15]
US US
R&B		 US
Dance
1980 "Old-Fashion Love" 20 8 —
"Heroes" 54 27 —
"Jesus Is Love" - 34 —

References

  1. ↑ Commodores: Heroes. Motown Records. 1980.
  2. ↑ "Commodores: Heroes". RIAA. Retrieved 2023-08-06.
  3. ↑ Lytle, Craig. "Heroes - Commodores". allmusic.com. AllMusic.
  4. 1 2 Christgau, Robert. "Commodores: Heroes". robertchristgau.com. Village Voice.
  5. 1 2 Hillier, Bev (July 23, 1980). "Commodores: Heroes". archive.org. Vol. 2, no. 14. Smash Hits. p. 31.
  6. ↑ Garland, Phyl (November 1980). "Commodores: Heroes" (PDF). americanradiohistory.com. Vol. 45, no. 5. Smash Hits. p. 110.
  7. ↑ "Commodores". grammy.com. The Recording Academy.
  8. ↑ "Hits of the Week" (PDF). Record World. September 13, 1980. p. 1. Retrieved 2023-02-07.
  9. ↑ "Hits of the Week" (PDF). Record World. June 21, 1980. p. 1. Retrieved 2023-02-20.
  10. ↑ "Hits of the Week" (PDF). Record World. December 13, 1980. p. 1. Retrieved 2023-02-22.
  11. ↑ "Commodores: Heroes". swedishcharts.com. Sverigetopplistan.
  12. ↑ "Commodores: Heroes". dutchcharts.nl. Dutch Charts.
  13. ↑ "Commodores: Heroes". charts.nz. Official New Zealand Music Chart.
  14. ↑ Kent, David (1993). Australian Chart Book 1970–1992 (illustrated ed.). St Ives, N.S.W.: Australian Chart Book. p. 72. ISBN 0-646-11917-6.
  15. ↑ "The Commodores US singles chart history". allmusic.com. Retrieved 2013-11-07.
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