After the greatest hits collection Back to front disappeared without a trace in 1992, Lionel Richie spent four years making Louder than words, his first album for Mercury Records. Although there are some slight attempts to incorporate New Jack and hip-hop influences into Richie's sound, Louder than words relies on his trademark balladeering, which remains his forte. All of the weak moments on Louder than words are ill-advised forays into rap — to put it bluntly, he can rap about as well as Snoop Doggy Dogg can sing. Although the ballads aren't as strong as his late-'70s and early-'80s standards, they are nevertheless pleasant, which makes the record a worthwhile purchase for fans.

1 Piece of love (Byrd, Jones, King) 2 Still in love (Richie) 3 I wanna take you down (Harris, Lewis, Richie) 4 Can't get over you (Richie) 5 Change (Cochran, Richie) 6 Nothing else matters (Richie) 7 Ordinary girl (Babyface, Richie) 8 Say I do (Harris, Lewis, Richie, Wright) 9 Paradise (Richie, Tolbert) 10 Don't wanna loose you (Harris, Lewis, Richie) 11 Lovers at first sight (Richie) 12 Climbing (Richie) Musicians: Babyface - Keyboards, Vocals, Drum Programming John Barnes - Synthesizer Michael Boddicker - Synthesizer George Bohannon - Trombone, French Horn Oscar Brashear - Trumpet Sekou Bunch - Bass James Anthony Carmichael - Arranger, Conductor, Keyboards, Producer David Cochrane - Synthesizer, Guitar, Arranger, Saxophone, Drum Programming Sammy Crumbley - Vocals Paulinho Da Costa - Percussion Chris 'Daddy' Dave - Drums Charlie Davis - Trumpet Jon "JD" Dickson - French Horn David Duke - French Horn Nathan East - Bass Brandon Fields - Saxophone Michael Fisher - Percussion Daniel Fornero - Trumpet David Foster - Producer Simon Franglen - Synthesizer Peter Gabriel - Vocals Claude Gaudette - Synthesizer Gary Grant - Trumpet Omar Hakim - Drums Jerry Hey - Trumpet Dan Higgins - Saxophone Tony Hightower - Vocals Kim Hutchcroft - Saxophone Phillip Ingram - Vocals Randy "The Emperor" Jackson - Bass Ron Jackson - Vocals Jimmy Jam - Producer John Jessel - Engineer Marilyn L. Johnson - French Horn Marva King - Arranger, Vocals Ricky Lawson - Drums Warren Leuning - Trumpet Terry Lewis - Producer Jeremy Lubbock - Arranger, Conductor Steve Lukather - Guitar (12) Andy Martin - Trombone Tim May - Guitar Arnold McCuller - Vocals Tommy Morgan - Harmonica Brian O'Connor - French Horn David Paich - Keyboards Robert Palmer - Guitar Dean Parks - Guitar Greg Phillinganes - Bass, Piano, Keyboards Jeff Porcaro - Drums Steve Porcaro - Synthesizer, Programming Bill Reichenbach Jr. - Trombone Alexander Richbourg - Drum Programming Lionel Richie - Piano, Arranger, Keyboards, Sax (Tenor), Vocals, Producer John "J.R." Robinson - Drums Bill Ross - Synthesizer Mike Scott - Guitar Tony Smith - Programming, Drum Programming Jason Sylvain - Vocals Jeff Taylor - Engineer, Drum Programming Toots Thielemans - Harmonica Michael Thompson - Guitar Lloyd Tolbert - Bass, Keyboards, Drum Programming Donald Waldrop - Tuba Brad Warnaar - French Horn Jimmy Wright - Keyboards Dancing on the ceiling Can't slow down

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