Smokey Robinson - Timeless Love

[randyhersom]

It's quite fashionable to dis the practice of popular singers singing standards, but I'm a fan of this new effort. It's stylisticially faithful to, say, a late fifties Sarah Vaughan date with piano trio and strings, with just a few rhythmic updates creeping in. In the end it's a great singer singing great songs.

Tracks:

You Go To My Head

I`m In The Mood For Love

Our Love Is Here To Stay

Fly Me To The Moon (In Other Words)

Night And Day

I`m Glad There Is You

More Than You Know

Speak Low

Time After Time

I Can`t Give You Anything But Love

I Like Your Face

I`ve Got You Under My Skin

Tea For Two

[Dave James]

I've always liked Smokey Robinson. He has one of the great voices. "Quiet Storm" remains one of my very favorite LP's from the '70's. Nonetheless, and keeping in mind that I have not yet heard anything from this new album, I'm distressed that yet another fading star has elected to traverse the slippery slope of standards. To a person, this growing group expresses their love and admiration for bedrock American music, rationalizing their decision to take the plunge by talking about how much these tunes meant to them when they were children, inevitably siting their parents playing of the music etc. etc... like this somehow legitimizes their efforts. I suppose if anyone can pull this off, it would be Smokey, but I guess I'm just tired of the process. Without a single doubt, these folks have seen how this has reenergized Rod Stewart's career and the kind of money he's made doing exactly what they now find appropriate to do themselves. So the real question is, in the cold light of day, are these decisions artistic or financial?

Up over and out.

[randyhersom]

Well, Smokey's first recording of two of these songs was 34 years ago with the Miracles. Even without that fact, I'd have trouble with the idea that Smokey made an indie label standards album for primarily financial reasons. There's no way I could say Smokey's immune to fads, he seems to revel in them at times. But I dare you to listen to this a couple of times and tell me it's the work of a quick buck artist.

Fading star is a rather unkind choice of words. Looking at Smokey Robinson's achievements and career, can you really use the same term used over the years with such luminaries as Donny Osmond, Tiffany and Duran Duran?

A couple of second listen observations. Tea for Two, the closer, is completely reworked. I'm faniliar with it done in a bouncy, sing-song fashion. Here both the arrangement and the singing move it in the direction of Smokey's A Quiet Storm. Also he interpolates a line of Cyndy Lauper's Time After Time into Cole Porter's song of the same name, a touch that I appreciate as a big fan of the later written song. On the whole, it swings and on I'm in the Mood for Love, it's clear that Smokey is familiar with the King Pleasure/Eddie Jefferson style in which the song was first sung. I believe Eddie was the first to apply lyrics to James Moody's solo, but King Pleasure's version I think became more widely known.

Edited July 14, 2006 by randyhersom

[randyhersom]

Up. Somewhat disappointed that Christina has generated 10 times the number of posts that Smokey has.

[Aggie87]

[randyhersom]

OK Point made.

[John L]

I haven't heard it. But Smokey Robinson singing somebody else's compositions doesn't make much sense to me. Other people singing Smokey Robinson compositions? Now that makes sense.

At least he couldn't do a worse job than Rod Stewart.

[RonF]

OK Point made.

[Noj]

Smokey's looking mighty silly these days.