Lionel Richie's eighth studio album as a solo artist is led by "I Call It Love," a lightly buoyant and bittersweet single produced by Swedish hitmakers
Stargate, the same team that helped boost
Ne-Yo's
In My Own Words. It's an ideal match, one that should've been made more than once. Too much of Coming Home is merely pleasant -- particularly the adult contemporary fare, with the exception of "I Love You" -- or too conscious of remaining with the times. While the likes of "Why" and "Up All Night" involved
Richie's songwriting in some capacity, just about any twentysomething vocalist could be fronting them; the same goes for the
Jermaine Dupri-produced "What You Are." The stab at emotionally cleansing reggae of the
Bob Marley variety, "Stand Down," comes up short as well. That said, at least half the album should satisfy
Richie's longtime followers. [The 2006 U.K. edition included one bonus track.] ~ Andy Kellman