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Easy (Commodores song)

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"Easy"
A-side label of 1977 US vinyl single
Single by Commodores
from the album Commodores
B-side"Can't Let You Tease Me"
ReleasedMarch 1977 (1977-03)
Genre
Length
  • 4:14 (album version)
  • 4:50 (extended version)
LabelMotown
Songwriter(s)Lionel Richie
Producer(s)
  • James Anthony Carmichael
  • Commodores[4]
Commodores singles chronology
"Fancy Dancer"
(1977) 		"Easy"
(1977) 		"Brick House"
(1977)
Official video
"Easy" on YouTube

"Easy" is a song by American band Commodores from their fifth studio album, Commodores (1977), released on the Motown label. Group member Lionel Richie wrote "Easy" with the intention of it becoming another crossover hit for the group given the success of a previous single, "Just to Be Close to You", which spent two weeks at number one on the US Billboard Hot Soul Singles chart (now known as the Hot R&B/Hip-Hop Songs chart) and peaked at number seven on the Billboard Hot 100 in 1977.[5]

Released in March 1977, "Easy" reached number one on the Billboard Hot Soul Singles chart (for a single week, on July 16) and number four on the Billboard Hot 100. The success of "Easy" paved the way for similar Richie-composed hit ballads such as "Three Times a Lady" and "Still", and also for Richie's later solo hits.

American rock band Faith No More covered the song in 1992 and released it as a single in December of that year. This version became a worldwide hit, reaching number one in Australia and becoming a top-ten hit in eight other countries. On the Billboard Hot 100, it peaked at number 58.

Content

[edit]

Written by Commodores lead singer Lionel Richie, the song is a slow ballad expressing a man's relief as a relationship ends. Rather than being depressed about the break-up, he states that he is instead "easy like Sunday morning"—something that Richie described as evocative of "small Southern towns that die at 11:30pm" on a Saturday night, such as his hometown Tuskegee, Alabama.[6] The song is written in the key of A♭ major[7] and modulates up a semitone to A major.

In the bridge section, following the opening line: "I wanna be high, so high", there is a distinctive electric guitar glide. An electric guitar solo is heard in the instrumental section of the song.

Richie re-recorded a version of the song for his 2012 studio album Tuskegee which features country singer Willie Nelson.[8]

Reception

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Cash Box called it "a bluesy ballad that verifies the Commodores' versatility and professionalism as all-around musicians."[9] Record World said that "the Commodores become the latest r&b outfit to shift gears and offer a ballad – it's one of their best melodies."[10]

Charts

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Certifications

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Region Certification Certified units/sales
Denmark (IFPI Danmark)[24] Gold 45,000‡
Italy (FIMI)[25]
sales since 2009 		Gold 25,000‡
United Kingdom (BPI)[26] Platinum 600,000‡

‡ Sales+streaming figures based on certification alone.

Faith No More version

[edit]
"Easy"
CD maxi-single variant of North American artwork
Single by Faith No More
from the album Angel Dust
A-side"Be Aggressive" (UK and Ireland)
B-side"Das Schutzenfest"
ReleasedDecember 29, 1992 (1992-12-29)
Length3:08
Label
Songwriter(s)Lionel Richie
Producer(s)
Faith No More singles chronology
"Everything's Ruined"
(1992) 		"Easy"
(1992) 		"Another Body Murdered"
(1994)
Music video
"Easy" on YouTube

American rock band Faith No More recorded a cover of "Easy" (renamed "I'm Easy" in Europe) during the studio sessions for Angel Dust,[27] following its repeated performance during live shows. It was released as the final single to the album in late 1992. Faith No More's version of "Easy" closely follows the original version, but omits the second verse of the Commodores recording and features a slightly more aggressive drum sound and guitar solo. Faith No More initially played "Easy" to replace their cover of Black Sabbath's "War Pigs" that was a fixture of their concerts during this era. Faith No More wanted to break from the typical rock band mold and also aimed to spite the heavy metal fans who attended Faith No More's concerts expecting "War Pigs". Bassist Billy Gould said the version was a straightforward cover because "we like ["Easy"] in a painful kind of way. It gives us memories of our childhood".[28][29] When asked about the cover, Lionel Richie himself replied that "I was actually quite flattered about the song. Yes, I loved it!"[30]

"Easy" was originally issued on December 29, 1992, as a double A-side single with "Be Aggressive". The double A-side peaked at number three on the UK Singles Chart, becoming the band's highest-charting UK hit, and number five on the Irish Singles Chart. "Easy" also reached number one in Australia for two weeks in May 1993 and peaked within the top five on the charts of Belgium, Finland, Iceland, Ireland and Norway. In the United States, the song was Faith No More's last single to appear on the Billboard Hot 100, peaking at number 58 in April 1993. It was later included on the European version of their album Angel Dust.

Version differences

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The song was released under three titles: "I'm Easy", "I'm Easy (Cooler Version)", and "Easy". The title varies depending upon the region of release or whether it was the single or part of the album Angel Dust. As a single, in most countries apart from the United States, Australia and Japan, releases had the title "I'm Easy". In the aforementioned countries, the title was simply "Easy" with the German special edition using "I'm Easy (Cooler Version)". There are at least two different mixes in circulation, all of which originate from the same studio recording of the song.

The first mix has a voice-over by Mike Patton during the first few seconds of the song: "Turn the lights out, baby. This one's for the ladies in the house". It also has fewer guitar overdubs, a slightly different bass line before the guitar solo, and more reverb on the entire track. The second version, sometimes listed as the "Cooler Version" as titled on the German special edition of the single, lacks this voice-over but features a background string-synth arrangement throughout the song as well as the "missing" guitar parts not found in the other mix. This latter version is the one used in the music video for the song.

The first version was included on all London Records releases of the single and Angel Dust apart from the German special edition, while the second version was included on the Slash and Slash/Liberation releases of the single, on Angel Dust and on retrospective compilations release by Slash, London Records, Rhino and Liberation.

Track listings

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Songs to Make Love To

[edit]

The Songs to Make Love To release, which was titled "Easy" on some pressings, was the American and Canadian release of the single. Its track list, which was almost identical to the German "I'm Easy" – special edition version which replaces track three with the re-recording of "As the Worm Turns" and is similar to the standard edition versions of "I'm Easy" which had the Revolution 23 Full Moon mix of "A Small Victory" as its third and last track, is as follows:[31]

  1. "Easy" – 3:10
  2. "Das Schutzenfest" – 3:00
  3. "Midnight Cowboy" (John Barry) – 4:15
  4. "Let's Lynch the Landlord" (Jello Biafra) – 2:56

"I'm Easy" / "Be Aggressive"

[edit]

The double A-side release, "I'm Easy" / "Be Aggressive", features "Easy" and "Be Aggressive" as its first two tracks in addition to two live tracks, with the exception of one fully live version which is identical to the Free Concert in the Park bonus disc and a two-track French version. The standard track list is as follows:[31]

  1. "I'm Easy" – 3:06
  2. "Be Aggressive" – 3:40
  3. "A Small Victory" (live †) – 4:49
  4. "We Care a Lot" (live †) – 4:02
  6. "Mark Bowen" (live †) – 3:15

Japanese version

[edit]

The Japanese version was released separately as a seven-track EP under the name of "Easy" with the "I'm Easy" / "Be Aggressive" cover image along with six live tracks that also featured on other versions of the single; its track list was as follows:[31]

  1. "Easy"
  2. "Easy" (live †)
  3. "Be Aggressive" (live †)
  4. "Land of Sunshine" (live ‡)
  5. "RV" (live ‡)
  6. "Kindergarten" (live †)
  7. "A Small Victory" (live †)

† Live in Munich, Germany, on November 9, 1992
‡ Live in Dekalb, Illinois, September 20, 1992

Charts

[edit]

Certifications

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Region Certification Certified units/sales
Australia (ARIA)[53] Platinum 70,000^

^ Shipments figures based on certification alone.

Release history

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Region Date Format(s) Label(s) Ref.
Europe December 29, 1992
  • 7-inch vinyl
  • CD
  • cassette
[63]
United States March 4, 1993
Japan April 16, 1993 CD
  • Slash
  • London

Sky Ferreira version

[edit]

American singer and songwriter Sky Ferreira released a rendition of the song for the soundtrack of the 2017 film Baby Driver, in which she plays Baby's mother. It was produced by Nigel Godrich. To promote the track, a music video directed by the film's director, Edgar Wright, was released on September 4, 2017.[64] On September 7, 2017, the video was uploaded to the 30th Records's official VEVO account.[65]

Other versions

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Yoo Young-jin covered the song on his 1995 album Blue Rhythm - The 2nd Album.

Boyz II Men covered the song on their 2007 album Motown: A Journey Through Hitsville USA.

Westlife covered the song on their 2006 album The Love Album (Westlife album).

Charles Givings covered the song on his 2003 album Songs for Sunset Lovers.

Barbara Mason covered the song on the compilation Another Man.

Samples

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"Easy" was sampled by the Houston-based rap group Geto Boys for the song "Six Feet Deep" from their 1993 album Till Death Do Us Part. It was also used as a sample in Cam'ron's song "Hey Ma".[citation needed]

References

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  1. ^ Breihan, Tom (December 23, 2019). "The Number Ones: Commodores' 'Three Times A Lady'". Stereogum. Retrieved July 7, 2023. 'Sweet Love,' 'Just To Be Close To You,' and 'Easy' are all recognizably soul songs.
  2. ^ "Commodores "Easy"".
  3. ^ Breithaupt, Don; Breithaupt, Jeff (July 17, 2000). "Movin' On Up: Corporate Soul". Night Moves - Pop Music in the Late 70s. St. Martin's Griffin. p. 101. ISBN 978-0-312-19821-3.
  4. ^ "Commodores – Easy (song)". australian-charts.com. Hung Medien. Retrieved February 24, 2008.
  5. ^ Whitburn, Joel (2004). Top R&B/Hip-Hop Singles: 1942-2004. Record Research. p. 130.
  6. ^ "Tough Questions for Lionel Richie", Spin
  7. ^ Lionel, Richie; Commodores (July 21, 2008). "Easy". Musicnotes.com. Retrieved May 27, 2021.
  8. ^ "Lionel Richie - Tuskegee Album Reviews, Songs & More | AllMusic". AllMusic.
  9. ^ "CashBox Singles Reviews" (PDF). Cash Box. May 21, 1977. p. 26. Retrieved December 26, 2021.
  10. ^ "Hits of the Week" (PDF). Record World. May 21, 1977. p. 1. Retrieved February 16, 2023.
  11. ^ Kent, David (1993). Australian Chart Book 1970-1992. St Ives, N.S.W.: Australian Chart Book. ISBN 0-646-11917-6.
  12. ^ "Top RPM Singles: Issue 7740." RPM. Library and Archives Canada. Retrieved January 31, 2017.
  13. ^ "Top RPM Adult Contemporary: Issue 5411." RPM. Library and Archives Canada. Retrieved August 4, 2019.
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  27. ^ Jem Aswad (June 1992). "Faith No More: Angel Dust in the wind". Issue 25. Reflex Magazine. Archived from the original on July 10, 2012. Retrieved June 15, 2008.
  28. ^ "Faith No More Takes It 'Easy' On EP; Prince & NPG open tour on florida, Billboard
  29. ^ "Artists of the Year: Faith No More", Spin
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  31. ^ a b c The PDF discography from FNM.com, retrieved on February 24, 2008
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  62. ^ "Top 100 Singles 1993". Music Week. January 15, 1994. p. 24.
  63. ^ "The fnm.com Faith No More Discography" (PDF). fnm.com. Archived from the original (PDF) on December 4, 2003. Retrieved December 28, 2023.
  64. ^ David Renshaw (September 4, 2017). "Watch Sky Ferreira's "Easy" Video". The Fader.
  65. ^ Mike Nied (September 8, 2017). "Better Than Nothing: Sky Ferreira's Cover Of "Easy" Is Now On YouTube". Idolator.
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