false 2 0 false false Wed Jul 01 00:00:00 -0700 2009 Fri Aug 14 04:37:50 -0700 2009 Fri Aug 14 04:44:03 -0700 2009
The author doesn’t hide her admiration toward her subject — “Well, for god’s sake, it was the Lionel Richie!” she gushes in the preface, recalling her first meeting with the man — which would be fine if it didn’t distract from the narrative. However, she increasingly undermines it each time (of which there are many) she concludes otherwise direct statements with frivolous exclamation marks.

That being said, though, Davis does a decent job in rendering a thorough account of Lionel Richie’s career to date — from his formative years in the Commodores to his most successful years as a solo artist — making for an informative (albeit dry) read for popular music buffs.

In keeping with the deferential tone she maintains throughout, the author divulges little in the way of any scandalous or unauthorized information about Richie that hasn’t already been circulated in the press.

All things considered, Lionel Richie: Hello is a by-the-numbers career retrospective of the musician far more than it is a comprehensive biography of the man. Such is not a detriment in and of itself, but longtime fans will be left wanting to know more than just the basic facts.
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