Gary is back with his review of the month and he is looking at Lionel Richie's latest offering 'Tuskegee'...

Tuskagee, the city where Lionel grew up in Alabama, is the title of his umpteenth solo album. It’s a countrified take on some of his best known hits, including a couple of Commodores favourites.
 
Often albums like this can be a bit of a let-down with second rate versions of songs you knew and loved, but I must admit the majority of the 14 songs covered here are as good as, and in some cases even better than the originals.
 
Chances are you won’t have heard of most of the country stars Lionel duets with, even though they’re household names Stateside.

Listening to the album makes you appreciate that many of Lionel’s ballads were country-tinged originally so lend themselves well to being remade with stars like Kenny Rogers and Shania Twain, who assists Lionel on a nicely updated version of ‘Endless Love’.
 
The two Commodores covers, Sail On with Tim McGraw and Easy with Willie Nelson  don’t work as well, perhaps because the originals could never be bettered.
 
Highlights include Pixie Lott duetting on Angel  - You Are, with help from Blake Shelton and the new version of Hello with Jennifer Nettles from the American group Sugarland.
 
There’s a lot of love for Lionel – this could be his biggest album for quite some time.

Gary's verdict: I give this album 4 out of 5