Here's the former Commodore and 80's sensation that brought us "Dancing On The Ceiling," "Hello," and the hit from the movie "White Nights," "Say You, Say Me." He's back and ready to make us dance and fall in love all over again. The songs on this album, Richie's first in two years, were inspired by his wife and son, his family in LA and Alabama, and his travels around the world. In the interim between his last album and this one, he's spent time writing, and had a role in the hit movie "The Preacher's Wife." Now we get the opportunity to hear the songs those two years have inspired.

The first, "Zoomin'," concerns itself with gang violence. It's so sad, and is but one voice in a chorus of artists trying to get it to stop. Richie makes it sound appealing to "zoom" away from that sort of life. The tone of the music is slow but peppy and even danceable. "I Hear Your Voice" is a sweet love song, telling the tale of a man missing his love just when he thought he'd gotten over her.

His first single is the title song, "Time." I saw him perform it on Leno before I got the tape and fell in love with it. It is one heck of a long song though! It's slow with a little tiny bit of funk. Not exactly Lionel's traditional
style, which is what makes it great. Some change over the years should be expected and this is a nice switch. But if you want something really different, listen to "To The Rhythm," a slow rap song with guest vocalists. Again in this song, time is the theme. The more things change, the more they stay the same, seems to be the idea behind the song. It's a very hopeful song that tries to empower our youth into taking charge of their lives and make a stand to really change the world into a wonderful place. As with the other songs on the album that deal with this issue, it's a much more complex problem than he makes it seem, but it's still a nice idea.

"The Closest Thing To Heaven" is probably his wife. This is a sugary sweet love song, and as those types of songs go, it's one of the best. Through all the descriptions why she's the best and what it does to him to be next to her, it almost makes me want to know her too. Beautiful music, beautiful singing by Richie and his backup band, and certainly one of the most likely songs I've heard lately to become a slow-dance hit.

The last song is his old hit "Lady." Why he chose this one to close with I'm not sure, but it certainly goes along with the love story side of the album. I've always liked the song, so it was nice to be able to take a listen again. This CD is good, but not as good as the older Lionel Richie songs. It's also not so different, with a few exceptions. I don't think there's any way not to compare the hits with the songs on this album and there's no way these songs can compete with the hits. It's good, solid music, and nice to listen to, but if you're looking for something very different or better than what you've heard before, I'm afraid this isn't quite it.