Welcome to another new edition of our bi-weekly record-diving sampling extravaganza!
Thank you all for joining in another week of sampling goodness! Before we get into our artist and track in focus, and in case you aren’t already aware, there are some other Mission Briefs/Challenges currently taking place that you may also fancy spending some time on here:
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@sleepside is hosting Hip Hop Beat Battle #30: Outkast on Williams Street
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@B_LD is hosting Open Challenge #16 - Pure Sounds and No FX
For a while, this album and song have been a consistent runner-up for the sample track of the week, and finally, it’s moment has arrived. This week, let us journey through the iconic, largely-influential group the Commodores, and their fifth track, “Wonderland (Long Version)” from their seventh album, Midnight Magic. The album was recorded at Motown Recording Studios, Los Angeles, and A&M Studios, Los Angeles, and released in the same year, on July 27, 1979 by Motown Records (Motown – 5C 062-63064).
Here is some information about The Commodores, and the album, from Wikipedia and AllMusic:
Commodores, often billed as the Commodores, are an American funk and soul group. The group’s most successful period was in the late 1970s and early 1980s when Lionel Richie was the co-lead singer.
The members of the group met as mostly freshmen at Tuskegee Institute (now Tuskegee University) in 1968, and signed with Motown in November 1972, having first caught the public eye opening for the Jackson 5 while on tour.
The band’s biggest hit singles are ballads such as “Easy”, “Three Times a Lady”, and “Nightshift”; and funk-influenced dance songs, including “Brick House”, “Fancy Dancer”, “Lady (You Bring Me Up)”, and “Too Hot ta Trot”.
Commodores were inducted into the Alabama Music Hall of Fame and Vocal Group Hall of Fame.[1][2] The band has also won one Grammy Award out of nine nominations. The Commodores have sold over 70 million albums worldwide.[3][4]
Midnight Magic is the seventh studio album by the musical group the Commodores, released in 1979.[3] The album was certified Gold in the UK by the BPI.[4] Midnight Magic was Grammy nominated in the category of Best R&B Performance by a Duo, Group or Chorus.[5]
The New York Times stated that “the Commodores, too, have their disco‐dance numbers. But this group’s principal appeal would seem to be its ability to come up with classy ‘makeout’ music. The new Midnight Magic, which is moving up the album charts quickly, will disappoint no one in search of just that. And as usual, the Commodores’ ability to span a wide stylistic range and to avoid some of the more tired cliches of black vocal instrumental groups is extremely refreshing.”[9] Smash Hits called it, “solid professional funk, but still faceless and only moderately entertaining - mainly because of a distinct threadbareness in the melody department.”[10] The Bay State Banner noted that “the vocals, it is true, are rather toneless—grouped together in the mix, the textural interest of a single throat is erased—but the rhythm section plays with verve through unusual chordings that oddly parallel the vocal register.”
-Taken from Wikipedia.org
“When the Commodores’ seventh studio album, Midnight Magic, came out in 1979, one could safely assume that the LP would contain at least one adult contemporary ballad. And sure enough, Midnight Magic contains the ballad “Still,” which was a number one pop hit (as well as a number one R&B hit) and became a staple on adult contemporary radio. The sappy ballad (which features Lionel Richie) wasn’t without its detractors, who felt that the Commodores had become too much of a slick crossover act. But even if “Still” doesn’t excite you, the rest of the album isn’t bad. “Wonderland” (a number 21 R&B hit) is an enjoyable R&B slow jam, and fans of sophisticated funk (as opposed to hardcore funk) should appreciate “You’re Special,” “Gettin’ It,” and the disco-minded title song. “Sexy Lady” is the only thing on the LP that can honestly be described as hardcore funk; most of the up-tempo tunes favor the type of sophisticated funk that the Brothers Johnson, Rufus/Chaka Khan, and Heatwave were known for in the late ‘70s. Next to “Still,” the album’s best-known track is “Sail On,” which reached number eight on Billboard’s R&B singles chart (and number four on its pop single chart) despite the fact that it is essentially a pop-country song. Some R&B purists saw “Sail On” as a blatant example of how watered down the Commodores had become, but it’s still a charming and likable tune – one that wouldn’t have been out of place on a Dolly Parton or Glen Campbell LP. Midnight Magic isn’t one of the Commodores’ essential releases, and R&B purists are advised to stick to the band’s pre-1977 albums. Nonetheless, this is a generally decent, if uneven, record that has more strengths than weaknesses.”
- Review for AllMusic by Alex Henderson
Here are two versions of the track available on YouTube, in case anyone experiences regional playback issues:
Here is a link to a version of the track that has been converted to 16bit/44.1KHz wav, and to the STEMS, please delete it after using:
COMMODORES - WONDERLAND (LONG VERSION) - (FLAC)
COMMODORES - WONDERLAND (LONG VERSION) - (WAV)
COMMODORES - WONDERLAND (LONG VERSION) - (STEMS)
links are active for one week from today (03/302/24)
Album Photos:
images from google search
THE BRIEF
YOU have been selected by the notorious Global Sound Syndicate for a top-secret operation. Not really, please, share with your friends, family, and even the team operating the Mega Doppler 7000 HD, which is doing it’s best to accurately predict the weather forecast.
Mission:
-Sample any part(s) of the track we’ve nominated
-Spend no more than 1 week turning it into music
-Post your creations here for us all to enjoy
Deadline: Sunday, April 07, 2024
Submit your entry no later than 11:59 PM, Sunday, April 07, 2024, or be faced with a brief moment of self-loathing for not participating. Submissions entered on later dates are also welcome!
Compensation:
Hearts and compliments from the community
(not guaranteed)
You can use as much or as little of the sample track as you like, you just have to use it. No winners, no losers, just good times!
Every two weeks we will post a track from our record collections, ideally something you’ve not heard before. Jams, full tracks, noodles - share whatever you like!
I have one more idea, and it’s that perhaps the drum file I have on the track is too long because it’s an entire album that hasn’t been chopped, and I’m really hoping that the solution is to replace that file with a similar version, just smaller 
I’m also not sure if it’s because the project/file name is COM and maybe the PC thinks I’m trying to infect it with something 
I will find a solution to this…
I wow’ed so hard when you made that switch happen and that is seriously an incredible build up/ alley-oop to that point. Thanks for sharing! 
Thanks for sharing the flavors, and also for the peek behind the scenes, that’s a neat screenshot! 
This project became both the most fun to play, and most PIA project I’ve worked on in the same week haha. Anyways, hope you guys enjoy and thanks for inspiring some upbeat jams!
