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Lionel Richie's 'Easy' was originally a Top 10 hit in 1977 for the Commodores... The song gave San Franciscan band Faith No More their biggest UK success to date when it reach No. 3 in January '93.At least Lionel Richie gets his whole name in the sleevenote. Interestingly they don't mention that the Commodores track had returned to the UK chart in 1988 after being featured in a TV commercial so the song was even more familiar to younger people than it might otherwise have been. The FNM version, actually credited as 'I'm Easy' in the UK (though some pressings in other countries featured the original title) was indeed their biggest hit over here, though they retained a significant following. Indeed, at time of writing they're in the Top 10 with a comeback album despite little mainstream attention. Although the band were famous/notorious for their outrageous behaviour on and offstage, they play this song fairly straight, doing just enough to make it acceptable to people who wouldn't admit to liking a Lionel Richie record though with hindsight they mainly serve to show how well-produced the original version actually was. Perhaps doing a relatively "normal" cover version was supposed to be a shock in itself, or perhaps the release was a way of getting the listed flipside 'Be Agressive' (apparently an ode to gay fellatio) into the unsuspecting public's cassette players. It still seems a bit pointless now.
Also appearing on: Now 17
Available on: This Is It: The Best of Faith No More
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