''Caught in the Act'' is the second studio album by The Commodores, released in 1975 (see

1975 in music This is a list of notable events in music that took place in the year 1975. __TOC__ Specific locations * 1975 in British music * 1975 in Norwegian music Specific genres * 1975 in country music * 1975 in heavy metal music *1975 in jazz Event ...

). ''Caught in the Act'' included the #1 R&B hit "Slippery When Wet", penned by Thomas McClary, the sextet's lead guitarist. (The Commodores 1974 song "I Feel Sanctified" has been called a "prototype" of Wild Cherry's 1976 hit " Play That Funky Music") ''Caught In The Act'' was the second Commodores album to be certified gold. It rose to #7 on the Billboard R&B/Soul Albums chart and #26 on the Billboard Top 100 Albums listing during the summer of 1975. It received generally positive reviews. The album displayed clear influences from fellow funk contemporaries Sly and the Family Stone, Earth, Wind & Fire and the

Ohio Players Ohio Players is an American funk band, most popular in the 1970s. They are best known for their songs "Fire (Ohio Players song), Fire" and "Love Rollercoaster", and for their erotic album covers that featured nude or nearly nude women. Many of t ...

, but yet the former opening act for the Jackson 5 was on its way to developing a sound that became all their own. They were a tight, self-contained unit that composed all their own material, unlike what was presented on their debut album, which included songs by outside writers. Lead vocals were handled by drummer/percussionist Walter "Clyde" Orange and pianist/saxophonist

Lionel Richie Lionel Brockman Richie Jr. (born June 20, 1949) is an American singer, songwriter, record producer, and television personality. He rose to fame in the 1970s as a songwriter and the co-lead singer of funk band the Commodores; writing and recordi ...

.

The third track on ''Caught In The Act'', "The Bump", composed by group keyboardist Milan Williams, is an edited version of the fourth track in their preceding hit album, ''

Machine Gun A machine gun is a fully automatic, rifled autoloading firearm designed for sustained direct fire with rifle cartridges. Other automatic firearms such as automatic shotguns and automatic rifles (including assault rifles and battle rifles) a ...

''. "I'm Ready", also a Williams composition, is a punchy instrumental dance number with a prominent

clavinet The Clavinet is an electrically amplified clavichord invented by Ernst Zacharias and manufactured by the Hohner company of Trossingen, West Germany, from 1964 to 1982. The instrument produces sounds by a rubber pad striking a point on a tension ...

line, in the same vein as their earlier hit, "Machine Gun". Other solid funk tracks include "Wide Open", "Better Never Than Forever" and "Look What You've Done to Me". "Let's Do It Right" by Lionel Richie echoes the smoother side of Sly and the Family Stone's work. While ''Caught In The Act'' is overwhelmingly upbeat, it doesn't neglect the slower material: "This Is Your Life" and "You Don't Know That I Know" are first rate funk ballads; the former, written by Richie, was released in an edited version as a single that same year and peaked at #13 on the Billboard R&B charts.

Track listing

Motown Motown Records is an American record label owned by the Universal Music Group. It was founded by Berry Gordy Jr. as Tamla Records on June 7, 1958, and incorporated as Motown Record Corporation on April 14, 1960. Its name, a portmanteau of ''moto ...

– M6-820S1

Personnel

Commodores *

– vocals, saxophones, keyboards * Milan Williams – keyboards * Thomas McClary – vocals, guitars * Ronald LaPread – bass * Walter Orange – vocals, drums, percussion *

William King William King may refer to: Arts *Willie King (1943–2009), American blues guitarist and singer *William King (author) (born 1959), British science fiction author and game designer, also known as Bill King *William King (artist) (1925–2015), Ame ...

– trumpet

Production

* Produced and arranged by James Anthony Carmichael and The Commodores. * Horns arranged by James Anthony Carmichael * Recorded and Mixed by Cal Harris * Album Coordinator and Management – Benjamin Ashburn * Art Direction – Katarina Pettersson * Photography – Jim Britt

Charts

Singles

References

External links

Commodores-Caught In The Act at Discogs
{{Authority control 1975 albums Commodores albums Albums produced by James Anthony Carmichael Albums produced by Lionel Richie Motown albums