''Midnight Magic'' is the seventh studio album by the musical group the

Commodores Commodores are an American funk and soul band, which were at their peak in the late 1970s through the mid 1980s. The members of the group met as mostly freshmen at Tuskegee Institute (now Tuskegee University) in 1968, and signed with Motown in ...

, released in 1979. The album was certified

Gold Gold is a chemical element with the symbol Au (from la, aurum) and atomic number 79. This makes it one of the higher atomic number elements that occur naturally. It is a bright, slightly orange-yellow, dense, soft, malleable, and ductile met ...

in the UK by the BPI.

Critical reception

The

New York Times ''The New York Times'' (''the Times'', ''NYT'', or the Gray Lady) is a daily newspaper based in New York City with a worldwide readership reported in 2020 to comprise a declining 840,000 paid print subscribers, and a growing 6 million paid d ...

stated "the Commodores, too, have their disco‐dance numbers. But this group's principal appeal would seem to be its ability to come up with classy “makeout” music. The new ''Midnight Magic'', which is moving up the album charts quickly, will disappoint no one in search of just that. And as usual, the Commodores’ ability to span a wide stylistic range and to avoid some of the more tired cliches of black vocal instrumental groups is extremely refreshing. ''

Smash Hits ''Smash Hits'' was a British music magazine aimed at young adults, originally published by EMAP. It ran from 1978 to 2006, and, after initially appearing monthly, was issued fortnightly during most of that time. The name survived as a brand fo ...

'' called it, "solid professional funk, but still faceless and only moderately entertaining - mainly because of a distinct threadbareness in the melody department." ''Midnight Magic'' was

Grammy The Grammy Awards (stylized as GRAMMY), or simply known as the Grammys, are awards presented by the Recording Academy of the United States to recognize "outstanding" achievements in the music industry. They are regarded by many as the most pre ...

nominated in the category of Best R&B Performance by a Duo, Group or Chorus.

Singles

A song called "

Still A still is an apparatus used to distill liquid mixtures by heating to selectively boil and then cooling to condense the vapor. A still uses the same concepts as a basic distillation apparatus, but on a much larger scale. Stills have been used ...

" became the band's second U.S. #1 single. Another single was the #4 hit "Sail On". ''

Record World ''Record World'' magazine was one of the three main music industry trade magazines in the United States, along with '' Billboard'' and '' Cashbox''. It was founded in 1946 under the name ''Music Vendor'', but in 1964 it was changed to ''Record Wo ...

'' said of the single "Wonderland" that "the vocals will mesmerize all tastes." "Wonderland" reached #25.

Track listing

Personnel

Commodores

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 ...

– vocals, acoustic piano, keyboards, saxophones *

Milan Williams Milan B. Williams (March 28, 1948 – July 9, 2006) was an American keyboardist and a founding member of The Commodores. Biography Williams was born in Okolona, Mississippi, and began playing the piano after being inspired by his older brother Ea ...

– keyboards * Thomas McClary – vocals, guitars * Ronald LaPread – bass * Walter Orange – vocals, drums * William King – trumpet

Additional musicians

* Harold Hudson – horn and string arrangements (1, 3, 6) *

James Anthony Carmichael James Anthony Carmichael (born September 14, 1941) is an American Grammy-winning musician, arranger, and record producer. At first he started off in Los Angeles as an arranger and producer for Motown acts like The Temptations and the Jackson 5. C ...

– horn and string arrangements (2, 4, 5, 7, 8, 9) The Mean Machine * David Cochrane * Harold Hudson * Darrell Jones * Winston Sims

Production

* Commodores – producers, arrangements * James Anthony Carmichael – producer, arrangements *

Calvin Harris Adam Richard Wiles (born 17 January 1984), known professionally as Calvin Harris, is a Scottish DJ, record producer, singer, and songwriter who has released six studio albums. His debut studio album, ''I Created Disco'', was released in June ...

– engineer, mixing * Jane Clark – engineer, mixing *

Bernie Grundman Bernie Grundman is an American audio engineer. He is most known for his mastering work and his studio, Bernie Grundman Mastering, which he opened in 1984 in Hollywood. The studio, which includes engineers Chris Bellman, Patricia Sullivan, and Mi ...

– mastering * John Cabalka – art direction * Ginny Livingston – design * Gene Gurley – photography *

Suzee Ikeda Suzee Ikeda is an American singing, singer who was the first Asian-American solo artist at Motown Records, Motown. However, she is best known for her work "behind the scenes" at Motown with such acts as Michael Jackson and The Temptations. Bi ...

– product manager * Benjamin Ashburn – management

Charts

Weekly charts

Year-end charts

Singles

Sales and certifications

References

Commodores albums 1979 albums Albums produced by James Anthony Carmichael Albums produced by Lionel Richie Motown albums Albums recorded at A&M Studios {{1970s-album-stub