The first time I heard Smokey Robinson's voice I thought it was the voice of a woman. And a very beautiful voice it was: svelte, liquid, high, sweet but cut with just a tinge of sour, with a a subtle purr at its center. The song was "I'll Try Something New" by Smokey's group The Miracles and the ethereal arrangement was the perfect backdrop for the voice. It is now nearly fifty years since I first heard that song and Smokey has hit seventy years of age. And he has a new album out, entitled "Time Flies When You're Having Fun " . I approached it with skepticism. It is hard for any singer to maintain their instrument at the age of seventy. It is even more challenging for such a refined instrument as Smokey's voice. Miraculously, the album is very good. There may not be an all-time classic such as "Tracks Of My Tears" on it but there are a number of songs that are the equal of such solo Smokey hits as "Baby Come Close" and "Cruisin'". And that one-in-a-million voice still sounds good; only if you listen closely do you hear that it is not quite as liquid as before and sometimes an extra quaver.
He doesn't try to conform to current trends yet such is the uniqueness of his niche that this music does not sound dated. The album opens with "Time Flies", a langorous ballad that immediately sets a sensual tone. One of the lesser songs on this set is entitled "Love Bath" but that title could apply to a large percentage of Smokey's song-universe. When it comes to love, romance, subtleties of emotion, human frailties, he has been peerless. Bob Dylan famously called him America's greatest living poet, a sly way of saluting his lyricism and uncanny metaphorical flair. He is easily one of the greatest popular songwriters of the past fifty years and would rank high on any list of great songwriters of all time.
In a recent interview he notes that he continues to write songs all the time. In his essence he is a songwriter, just as much now as when Berry Gordy met him as a teenager with a notebook full of songs.
He does it because he loves it.
So it is interesting that a couple of the standout tracks are cover tunes. There's a lovely cover of
the Norah Jones hit "Don't Know Why" and there is a slinky, wholly original take on the Jackson 5 classic "I Want You Back", which Smokey effortlessly reinvents. It is a "hidden track" on the cd because, Smokey says, he had recorded before Michael Jackson died and he didn't want it to seem like it was opportunistic. One of the album highlights is a duet with Joss Stone on "You're The One For Me", which
is one of that young songbird's better efforts--possibly because Smokey's relaxed style encourages her to stop trying so hard to be "soulful" and as a result she is less wooden. Another duet with India.Arie, "You're Just My Life", is quite lovely. Aside from "Love Bath", the only other less than stellar track is a mid-tempo groover featuring Santana on guitar. It's not bad but the dynamics expose the vocal limitations that have come with age. Consumer note: The Amazon MP3 version of the album has a bonus track called "Beside You" which you only get if you buy the whole MP3 album.
In an era when so many artists release CD's that are little more than a collection of tracks or, worse, one or two good songs and a bunch of filler, Smokey delivers an album that you can enjoyably
consume by listening straight through. He's an old master who can still weave a spell even if it means
eschewing some of his more audacious vocalizing. So, if the music of Smokey Robinson means anything to you, check this out; you won't be sorry.
Comments