AMG Review of Anthology [2001]

Stephen Thomas Erlewine
All Music Guide

There were essentially two Commodores -- the funk machine of the early '70s that kicked out such classics as "Machine Gun" and "Brick House," then the Lionel Richie-led smooth soulsters that glided to the top of the charts with such cuts as "Easy" and "Three Times a Lady." Motown's 2001 double disc collection Anthology very nearly splits those two phases in half, with the funk on the first disc and the balladeering on the second, with the important flaw of "Easy" showing up as the final number of the first disc. This is a bit of a hiccup in sequencing, but if the collection is just seen as sheer music, this satisfies, since it contains all the big hits -- both pop crossovers and R&B smashes -- along with some lesser-known sides and album tracks. For some, it may be a bit much, but for the serious fan, this is the set to get.