United (Commodores album)

United
Studio album by Commodores
Released	October 7, 1986
Recorded	1986
Studio	Motown Recording Studios (Los Angeles, California) Conway Studios and Soundcastle (Hollywood, California)
Genre	Funk soul R&B
Length	38:22
Label	Polydor
Producer	Dennis Lambert
Commodores chronology
The Very Best Of (1985) United (1986) Rock Solid (1988)

Professional ratings

Review scores
Source	Rating
Allmusic	[1]
Philadelphia Inquirer	[2]

United is the twelfth studio album by the Commodores, released on October 7, 1986, on Polydor Records. ^[3]

Overview

The album reached number 17 on the Billboard Top R&B Albums chart. "Goin' to the Bank" climbed to number two on Billboard Hot R&B Singles chart. "Take It from Me" peaked at No. 38 on the US Billboard R&B singles chart. Another single, "United in Love", peaked at No. 22 on the US Billboard Adult Contemporary chart. ^{[4] [5] [6] [7]}

Covers

The Commodores covered Peabo Bryson's "Let's Apologize" from his 1985 studio album Take No Prisoners . ^[8]

Critical reception

Ken Tucker of the Philadelphia Inquirer claimed most of "the time, the album succumbs to the usual flaw of veteran vocal groups - sophisticated technique applied to mediocre material." ^[2] Alex Henderson of Allmusic also found "An abundance of studio musicians and outside songwriters are employed on this high-tech, pop-minded urban contemporary outing, and not surprisingly, the Commodores no longer sound distinctive...United has its moments, but it pales in comparison to 1970s classics like Movin' On, Caught in the Act, and Hot on the Tracks." ^[1] Lennox Samuels of the Dallas Morning News noted "the group, now fronted by William "Clyde' Orange and J.B. Nicholas, needs good material in order to make a good record. The Commodores don't have that here. A variety of songwriters provide mostly B-grade songs, with the inevitable results." ^[9]

Track listing

No.	Title	Writer(s)	Length
1.	"Goin' to the Bank"	Andy Goldmark, Dennis Lambert, Franne Golde	4:19
2.	"Take It from Me"	Andy Goldmark, Dennis Lambert, Franne Golde	4:00
3.	"United in Love"	Pam Reswick, Steve Werfel	4:27
4.	"Can't Dance All Night"	Jimmy Scott, Richard Feldman	3:58
5.	"You're the Only Woman I Need"	Mick Leeson, Peter Vale	4:43
6.	"Land of the Dreamer"	Dennis Lambert, J.D. Nicholas, Sheldon Reynolds	4:27
7.	"Talk to Me"	Harold Hudson, Shirley King, William King	4:44
8.	"I Wanna Rock You"	Karen "K-Dean" Cover, Milan Williams	5:24
9.	"Let's Apologize"	Billy Steinberg, Gary Usher, Tom Kelly	3:50
10.	"Serious Love"	Van Ross Redding, Harold Hudson, Walter Orange	4:02

Personnel

Commodores

• Walter Orange – drums, lead vocals (1, 2, 4, 5, 9, 10), backing vocals (4), arrangements (10)
• J.D. Nicholas – rap (1), lead vocals (2, 3, 4, 6–9), backing vocals (3, 4, 6)
• William King – keyboards, arrangements (7), BGV arrangements (7)
• Milan Williams – keyboards, arrangements (8), BGV arrangements (8)

Additional musicians

• Claude Gaudette – keyboards (1–4, 6), electronic programming (1–4, 6), arrangements (2, 3, 4, 6)
• Casey Young – special effects (1), keyboards (5, 9, 10), electronic programming (5, 9, 10)
• Greg Mathieson – keyboards (5, 10), arrangements (5, 9, 10)
• John Barnes – synthesizers (7, 8)
• Michael Boddicker – synthesizers (7, 8)
• Harold Hudson – synthesizers (7, 8), arrangements (7), BGV arrangements (7), backing vocals (7, 8)
• Sheldon Reynolds – guitars (1, 2, 6, 7, 8, 10), arrangements (2, 6), guitar synthesizer (6), backing vocals (6, 7, 8)
• Paul Jackson Jr. – guitars (3, 5, 9, 10)
• Dann Huff – guitars (4)
• Michael Thompson – guitars (9)
• Paulinho da Costa – percussion (5, 7, 8, 10)
• Isaac Morris – arrangements (6), drum overdubs (7)
• Gary Herbig – saxophone solo (10)
• James Anthony Carmichael – arrangements (7, 8)
• Siedah Garrett – backing vocals (1, 2, 3, 6), rap (1)
• Dennis Lambert – backing vocals (1, 2), BGV arrangements (1, 2, 3)
• Phil Perry – backing vocals (1, 2)
• Darryl Phinnessee – backing vocals (1, 2)
• Julia Tillman Waters – backing vocals (3, 9, 10)
• Maxine Willard Waters – backing vocals (3, 9, 10)
• Bill Champlin – backing vocals (5, 9, 10)
• Jason Scheff – backing vocals (9, 10)

Production

• Dennis Lambert – producer (1–4, 6)
• Jeremy Smith – producer (1, 2, 6), recording (1, 2, 3, 6), mixing (1–4, 6)
• Greg Mathieson – producer (5, 9, 10)
• James Anthony Carmichael – producer (7, 8)
• Lloyd Tolbert – assistant producer (7, 8)
• Milan Williams – producer (8)
• Paul Ericksen – assistant engineer (1, 2, 6), mixing (3, 4), recording (4)
• Mick Guzauski – recording (5, 9, 10), mixing (5, 9, 10)
• Bino Espinoza – assistant engineer (5, 10)
• Don Murray – assistant engineer (5, 10)
• Calvin Harris – recording (7, 8), mixing (7, 8)
• Fred Law – additional recording (7, 8)
• Karen Siegel – assistant engineer (7, 8)
• Stephen Marcussen – mastering at Precision Lacquer (Los Angeles, California).
• Bill Levy – art direction
• John Kosh – package design
• Chris Callis – photography

Charts

Album

Charts
Year	US Pop	US R&B	SWI	NL	SWE	GER
1986	101	17	28 [10]	44 [11]	50	62 [12]

References

1. Henderson, Alex. "Commodores: United". allmusic.com. Allmusic.
2. Tucker, Ken (November 16, 1986). "PLAIN-SPOKEN ROCK-AND-ROLL" . Retrieved March 24, 2025– via newsbank.com.
3. Commodores: United. Polydor Records. October 1986.
4. "Commodores: United". Billboard. Archived from the original on May 24, 2018.
5. "Commodores: Goin' To The Bank (Hot R&B Songs)". Billboard. Archived from the original on May 26, 2018.
6. "Commodores: United in Love (Adult Contemporary)". Billboard. Archived from the original on May 24, 2018.
7. "Commodores: Take It From Me (Hot R&B Songs)". Billboard. Archived from the original on May 24, 2018.
8. "Let's Apologize by Peabo Bryson". secondhandsongs.com.
9. Samuels, Lennox (November 23, 1986). "IDOL'S NEW ALBUM "WHIPLASH SMILE" IS FILLED WITH GRAND ROCK". Dallas Morning News – via newsbank.com.
10. Commodores - United, Hitparade , retrieved November 15, 2024
11. "Commodores - United". dutchcharts.nl. Retrieved November 15, 2024.
12. "Commodores - United". www.offiziellecharts.de. Retrieved November 15, 2024.