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Caught in the Act (Commodores album)

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Caught in the Act
Studio album by
The Commodores
ReleasedFebruary 1975
Recorded1974
StudioMotown Recording Studios, Hollywood, California
GenreFunk, soul, R&B
Length38:07
LabelMotown
ProducerCommodores, James Anthony Carmichael
The Commodores chronology
Machine Gun
(1974) 		Caught in the Act
(1975) 		Movin' On
(1975)
Singles from Caught in the Act
  1. "Slippery When Wet"
    Released: April 2, 1975
  2. "This Is Your Life"
    Released: 1975
Professional ratings
Review scores
SourceRating
AllMusic [1]
Christgau's Record GuideB[2]

Caught in the Act is the second studio album by The Commodores, released in 1975 (see 1975 in music). Caught in the Act included the #1 R&B hit "Slippery When Wet", penned by Thomas McClary, the sextet's lead guitarist.

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, 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.

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

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Motown – M6-820S1[3]

Side one
No.TitleWriter(s)Length
1."Wide Open"Walter Orange3:31
2."Slippery When Wet"Thomas McClary3:20
3."The Bump"Milan Williams2:52
4."I'm Ready"Milan Williams3:23
5."This Is Your Life"Lionel Richie5:53
Side two
No.TitleWriter(s)Length
1."Let's Do It Right"Lionel Richie3:45
2."Better Never Than Forever"Milan Williams3:48
3."Look What You've Done to Me"Ronald LaPread4:00
4."You Don't Know That I Know"Lionel Richie, Thomas McClary, Milan Williams6:35
5."Wide Open (Reprise)"Walter Orange1:00
Total length:38:07

Personnel

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Commodores

Production

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Charts

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Year Chart positions[4]
US US
R&B 		Aus[5]
1975 26 7 59

Singles

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Year Single Chart positions[6]
US US
R&B
1975 "Slippery When Wet" 19 1
"This Is Your Life" — 13

References

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  1. ^ "Caught in the Act - Commodores | Album". AllMusic. Retrieved July 25, 2024.
  2. ^ Christgau, Robert (1981). "Consumer Guide '70s: C". Christgau's Record Guide: Rock Albums of the Seventies. Ticknor & Fields. ISBN 089919026X. Retrieved February 23, 2019.
  3. ^ "Commodores – Caught In the Act". Discogs. Retrieved July 29, 2018.
  4. ^ "The Commodores US albums chart history". allmusic.com. Retrieved July 15, 2011.
  5. ^ Kent, David (1993). Australian Chart Book 1970–1992 (illustrated ed.). St Ives, N.S.W.: Australian Chart Book. p. 72. ISBN 0-646-11917-6.
  6. ^ "The Commodores US singles chart history". AllMusic. Retrieved July 15, 2011.
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