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

Commodores Commodores, often billed as The Commodores, are an American funk and Soul music, soul group. The group's most successful period was in the late 1970s and early 1980s when Lionel Richie was the co-lead singer. The members of the group met as m ...

, released in 1979. It was certified

Gold Gold is a chemical element; it has chemical symbol Au (from Latin ) and atomic number 79. In its pure form, it is a brightness, bright, slightly orange-yellow, dense, soft, malleable, and ductile metal. Chemically, gold is a transition metal ...

in the UK by the BPI. ''Midnight Magic'' was nominated for a

Grammy Award The Grammy Awards, stylized as GRAMMY, and often referred to as The Grammys, are awards presented by The Recording Academy of the United States to recognize outstanding achievements in music. They are regarded by many as the most prestigious ...

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

Critical reception

The New York Times ''The New York Times'' (''NYT'') is an American daily newspaper based in New York City. ''The New York Times'' covers domestic, national, and international news, and publishes opinion pieces, investigative reports, and reviews. As one of ...

'' stated that "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 ...

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

Bay State Banner ''The Bay State Banner'' is a weekly newspaper primarily geared toward the readership interests of the African-American community in Boston, Massachusetts. Distributed free of charge, it was founded in 1965 by Melvin B. Miller, who remained the ...

'' noted that "the vocals, it is true, are rather toneless—grouped together in the mix, the textural interest of a single throat is erased—but the rhythm section plays with verve through unusual chordings that oddly parallel the vocal register."

Singles

A song called "

Still A still is an apparatus used to distillation, distill liquid mixtures by heating to selectively Boiling, boil and then cooling to Condensation, condense the vapor. A still uses the same concepts as a basic Distillation#Laboratory_procedures, ...

" 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 three major weekly music industry trade magazines in the United States, with ''Billboard'' and '' Cashbox''. It was founded in 1946 as ''Music Vendor''. In 1964, it was changed to ''Record World'' under the ...

'' 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 the Motown group Commodores; writing and recor ...

– 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. He was born in Okolona, Mississippi, and began playing the piano after being inspired by his older brother Earl, who was a ...

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

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), ...

– 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. ...

– 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 (and sometimes under the stage name Love Regenerator), is a Scottish DJ, record producer, singer, and songwriter. His debut studio album, ''I Created Disco'' (2007 ...

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

Bernie Grundman Bernie Grundman (born 16 December 1943, Minneapolis) 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 Chr ...

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

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

– product manager

Charts

Weekly charts

Year-end charts

Singles

Sales and certifications

References

{{Authority control Commodores albums 1979 albums Albums produced by James Anthony Carmichael Albums produced by Lionel Richie Motown albums Albums recorded at A&M Studios