7/10 LIONEL RICHIE – TUSKEGEE (UNIVERSAL)

Placing a version of You Are with Blake Shelton up front works a treat, as, to the uninitiated, it sounds like a new track.

Moving from there into Say You, Say Me (with Rasmus Seebach) and Stuck On You (with Darius Rucker) means that flying under the radar becomes impossible – listeners will have too many associations with the original tracks to pretend that what they’re hearing is fresh and original.

Dancing On The Ceiling with Rascal Flatts is predictably energetic, and there are other match-ups where Richie’s duet partners seem to have been picked using logic.

 You want over-the-top drama? Get Shania Twain to sing on Endless Love. Need a fellow old bloke to charm the ladies on, er, Lady? Ask loveable rogue Kenny Rogers.

 And nobody’s as “easy like Sunday morning” as dagga disciple Willie Nelson (on Easy).  These are great songs that haven’t lost a bit of their charm. – BD