The Commodores - Brick House (CD)

All Music Guide

The Commodores had a schizophrenic split between hard funk and soulful ballads. This eleven song collection of hits and album tracks sounds like the work of two different bands. The soulful ballads are represented by standout tracks like "This is Your Life," "Three Times a Lady," "Painted Picture" and the lovely acoustic "Sail On". The funk side of the group is exemplified by the mighty, mighty "Brick House" which is the funkiest track here (and most anywhere). Also pretty funky are the slick and slinky "Sorry to Say," "Thumpin' Music" and "Machine Gun," an instrumental with some wonderfully cheesy synth playing. Despite the presence of so many fine tracks and the low price, the disc is really not a worthwhile purchase. There are too many absent classic tracks missing. Why would you want to spend money on a Commodores collection without "Easy," "Lady (You Bring Me Up)" and "Slippery When Wet". You should just pony up the few extra dollars and find a collection like 1997's Ultimate Coll...ection that has all their Motown hits. Brick House is a retitled reissue of the 1993 collection titled Motown Legends: Three Times a Lady] - Tim Sendra, All Music Guide Read more Less