All Night Long

Spencer Patterson

Friday, Dec. 17, 2004 | 3:46 a.m.

WEEKEND EDITION

December 18 - 19, 2004

Who: Lionel Richie.

When: 8 p.m. Dec. 31.

Where: Aladdin Theatre for the Performing Arts.

Tickets: $42.50-$155.50.

Information: 785-5000.

A Commodores reunion might be in the works, but Lionel Richie still flies solo when he hits the Las Vegas Strip on New Year's Eve.

The 55-year-old vocalist ushers in 2005 at the Aladdin Theatre for the Performing Arts, and plans to pack his show with audience favorites to mark the occasion.

Richie has plenty to choose from, having penned 13 consecutive Billboard top-10 hits between 1981 and 1986, including chart-toppers "All Night Long (All Night)," "Hello" and "Say You, Say Me."

Richie will also draw from his years with Motown group the Commodores (1967-1982), with whom he recorded such soul classics as "Easy," "Three Times a Lady" and "Still."

He might also pluck a few numbers off his latest album, May's "Just For You," which reached No. 22 on Billboard's R&B/Hip-Hop chart.

Last week Richie took time for a phone interview from a New York City hotel room, discussing his upcoming Las Vegas concert, the Commodores' future and his suddenly famous daughter, Nicole.

Las Vegas Sun: You've done several New Year's Eve shows in Las Vegas over the years. Why do you make it a point to be on the Strip on that particular night?

Lionel Richie: There are times in your career when you've just got to be in certain places. And Vegas for New Year's is always the right place. You get a cross-section of the entire world showing up in one place, and it's just a heck of a lot of fun in that crazy town.

A lot of cities are trying desperately to capture that one evening, but Vegas has got it down.

Sun: Is your set list for New Year's Eve designed for more of a party scene than it might be on most nights?

LR: A friend of mine jokes that I should do two nights, one just the first era of Lionel Richie and the other the second era of Lionel Richie. Because really we could play two nights and not play the same songs.

But I think on New Year's we're gonna go for every major hit record I can think of. We won't do any experimenting around there.

Sun: At this stage of your career, which songs do you really look forward to singing when you get onstage?

LR: What I love most are the songs that everyone locks in on and sings along with me on.

You would think that it's a nice quiet evening ... Lionel's gonna sing some slow songs, and you'll be able to hear a pin drop. But the loudest songs in the show are "Hello" and "Three Times a Lady," because they know the lyrics better than I do.

And then "Stuck on You," forget it. It's off the Richter scale. And then for "All Night Long," they're standing on top of the tables. And for "Dancing on the Ceiling" they're gonna be dancing on the ceiling.

Sun: The new album has received some of your best reviews in years. How important is that to you?

LR: I've always made albums that I'm happy with. I've had a phrase that has stayed with me throughout my entire career, which is, "You can't do that?" and "Are you crazy?"

Now let me give you the songs. "Sail On." You can't do that? Are you crazy?

"Three Times a Lady." That's a waltz. Are you crazy? You can't do that.

"All Night Long." Are you crazy? You can't do that.

Throughout my entire career, it has never been that (my music) was accepted as soon as I walked in the door. It was terrifying.

"Say You, Say Me." You can't speed up a song in the middle. You're gonna ruin your career. It's a ballad. Keep it a ballad. Are you crazy?

And now, "Just For You" and "Outrageous" on the new album. The first thing they say to me is, "Are you crazy?" and I say, "No, I'm headed in the right direction."

I would be afraid one day when someone would walk up to me and say, "That's the perfect record." Then I've done something wrong.

Sun: Commodores reunion rumors are heating up on the Internet. Is it going to happen?

LR: I'm going to stress that it will probably happen. I've got a phone number right here on my message pad that (guitarist) Thomas McClary just called me two days ago. And I want it to happen while I can still see the audience (laughs).

But then I also have that (Paul) McCartney kind of Beatles attitude, which is sometimes the myth is a little bit stronger than the actual reality. So I want to make sure that when we do walk out onstage it won't be a letdown.

When you say the Beatles you're looking for four mop-top guys walking out onstage and killing it. When you say Commodores I want to make sure we at least look the part and aren't the letdown of the myth.

What we're doing right now is just talking about it. Truthfully, give it about another year. As all things, everything has to kind of simmer a little bit, but we want to really get it together.

Sun: Britain's Band Aid marked the 20th anniversary of "Do They Know It's Christmas?" with a remake this year. Any chance you'll do something with "We Are the World" when it turns 20 in 2005?

LR: We're talking about it right now. In fact Ken Kragen -- the guy who pulled it all together for us -- just gave me a phone call the other day.

What I want to do are the outtakes. That stuff is really wonderful, because you get to see what really happened behind the scenes.

Sun: Your fame came in stages over the years. Has it been strange to watch Nicole's quick rise to stardom?

LR: The other day she came by the house with her makeup artist and her hair person and her clothing designer. They all stopped by. And I watched them all trail in behind her and I found myself laughing. Because I did this to my mom and dad. One morning at the breakfast table, I caught my mom and dad staring at me, and I said, "OK, tell me what's wrong."

And my mom and dad said, "We're just trying to figure out, are you the guy that lived on the second floor in the blue bedroom?"

Well, there are days when I have to stare at Nicole and go, "You are the little girl that grew up in the house, right?" Because she's just come into her own. She's very clear on who she is and what she's doing. And what a tough business ... things that would have rattled my cage years ago. She's in it, out of it, on with the next. And I give her props.

She's just braving herself through unbelievable treacherous waters.

Sun: Do you watch "The Simple Life"?

I try to and not to at the same time (laughs). Of course she thinks it's hilarious, but to a father it's terrifying.

But again, I did the same thing to my folks. I'm thinking that "Brick House" is the greatest song in the world, and my grandmother didn't go to church for three weeks. Couldn't show her face.

So here we are a generation later, and of course she's gonna try to kill me. That's what kids are supposed to do. It would not be the next generation if it didn't shock you a little bit, so I'm prepared for it.

My father was exactly right. One day I'd get mine, and I am.