Maps of Music

Renaissance (2000)

Where the lyrics of Renaissance take you, and where it was really made.

Richie's most commercially successful album since 1986 was released under a team of new collaborators, yet critics mostly gave it mixed reviews.

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Follows Louder Than Words (1996) and Time (1998), which came after a decade-long hiatus and were produced mainly by James Anthony Carmichael
Breaks from the previous two albums by bringing in a team of new collaborators
Collaborators include Walter Afanasieff, Brian Rawling, Daryl Simmons, Mark Taylor, Rodney Jerkins and his brother Fred
Eurodance-influenced sound, with critics comparing it to Cher's Believe (1998), Enrique Iglesias' Enrique (1999) and Tina Turner's Twenty Four Seven (1999)

Born June 20, 1949, in Tuskegee, Alabama; grew up on the Tuskegee Institute campus and attended Tuskegee Institute on a tennis scholarship.
In the late 1960s he joined the Commodores as singer and saxophonist; they moved from Atlantic to Motown, first as a support act to The Jackson 5.
Commodores' early funky sound ("Machine Gun", "Brick House") gave way to romantic ballads he wrote and sang, such as "Easy", "Three Times a Lady", "Still" and "Sail On".

1974: first commercial songwriting success with "Happy People", recorded by The Temptations as a No. 1 R&B hit.
1980: wrote "Lady" for Kenny Rogers, a US No. 1; produced Rogers' album Share Your Love in 1981.
1981: "Endless Love", a duet with Diana Ross, became one of Motown's biggest hits.
1982: debut solo album Lionel Richie, with the No. 1 single "Truly", sold over 4 million copies.
1983: Can't Slow Down won Album of the Year and sold over twice as many copies; "All Night Long" was a No. 1 hit.
1985: co-wrote "We Are the World" with Michael Jackson; "Say You, Say Me" from White Nights won an Academy Award and a Golden Globe.
1986: Dancing on the Ceiling, his last widely popular album; a break from recording followed until the 1992 hits collection Back to Front.
Sold over 90 million records worldwide and won four Grammy Awards.
Judge on American Idol from its 16th season (2018 onward).
2022: inducted into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame.

Metacritic average score 48 out of 100 based on 6 reviews, indicating "mixed or average reviews"
Billboard: found it works surprisingly well on disc, albeit without breaking any new ground
Rolling Stone critic Richard Skanse: described it as unabashedly slick adult contemporary fare, while noting Richie can still write and sing a strong ballad
AllMusic editor Liana Jonas: called it another post-Commodores album that misses the mark, with uninteresting material and a voice often out of place with the music
Entertainment Weekly critic Matt Diehl: called it more a retread than a renaissance

Critics at the time compared it with Taylor-produced Eurodance-influenced albums of the late 1990s

Most successful Richie album since Dancing on the Ceiling (1986), especially in German-speaking Europe, the Netherlands and the United Kingdom
Entered the top ten of the albums charts in those markets
Certified gold or platinum in those markets
Lead single "Angel" was a top ten hit throughout Europe

The album's sound was shaped by a deliberate break from the producers of Richie's previous two albums
Lead single "Angel" drew a Grammy nomination in the Best Dance Recording category
Some editions replace the track "Don't You Ever Go Away" with "I Forgot"
Some copies carry a sticker advertising "Angel" as the hit single, with an "Angel" remix as a bonus track