Track Listing

1. Going To A Go Go - Smokey Robinson, The Miracles, Warren Moore
2. I Second That Emotion - Al Cleveland, Smokey Robinson & The Miracles, Willliam Robinson
3. Shop Around - Berry Gordy Jr., The Miracles
4. Way Over There - Berry Gordy Jr., The Miracles
5. Bad Girl - Berry Gordy Jr., The Miracles
6. Who's Lovin' You - Berry Gordy Jr., The Miracles
7. I'll Try Something New - The Miracles, William Robinson, Jr., Berry Gordy Jr., Riley C. Hampton
8. You've Really Got A Hold On Me - Smokey Robinson, The Miracles
9. Mickey's Monkey - Brian Holland, Lamont Dozier, The Miracles
10. I Like It Like That - Smokey Robinson, The Miracles
11. Ooo Baby Baby - Smokey Robinson, Smokey Robinson & The Miracles
12. Choosey Beggar - Smokey Robinson, Smokey Robinson & The Miracles
13. My Girl Has Gone - Smokey Robinson, Smokey Robinson & The Miracles
14. The Tears Of A Clown - Henry Cosby, Smokey Robinson, Smokey Robinson & The Miracles
15. Baby, Baby Don't Cry - Smokey Robinson, Smokey Robinson & The Miracles, Terry Johnson, Warren Moore
16. The Tracks Of My Tears - Smokey Robinson, Smokey Robinson & The Miracles
17. The Love I Saw In You Was Just A Mirage - Smokey Robinson, Smokey Robinson & The Miracles, Warren Moore
18. (Come 'Round Here) I'm The One You Need - Brian Holland, Lamont Dozier, Smokey Robinson & The Miracles
19. More Love - Smokey Robinson, Smokey Robinson & The Miracles
20. Special Occasion - Al Cleveland, Smokey Robinson, Smokey Robinson & The Miracles
21. If You Can Want - Smokey Robinson, Smokey Robinson & The Miracles
22. Yester Love - Smokey Robinson, Smokey Robinson & The Miracles
23. We've Come Too Far To End It Now - Johnny Bristol, Smokey Robinson & The Miracles
24. What's So Good About Good Bye - Berry Gordy Jr., The Miracles, Riley C. Hampton
25. (You Can) Depend On Me - Berry Gordy Jr., The Miracles

Product Details

• Amazon Sales Rank: #2985 in Music
• Released on: 2000-12-15
• Number of discs: 1
• Format: Original recording remastered
• Dimensions: .22 pounds
• Running time: 70 minutes

CD Description
Smokey Robinson's compositions blended pop and R&B conventions, infusing the combination with a highly literate lyricalsensibility that set his songs apart from the pack. With his group the Miracles, Detroit native Robinson got in on the ground floor of the Motown explosion, as his songs and his voice--a smooth, liquid marvel of soul--resonated not only with label head Berry Gordy, but with legions of '60s teens. Throughout the '60s, Robinson and the Miracles produced countless pop-soul hits, both effervescent ("Going to a Go-Go") and mournful ("The Tracks of my Tears"). Robinson's flexible,almost Cole Porter-ish way with a lyric made him an in-demand songwriter for many of his contemporaries, like Mary Wells, Marvin Gaye and the Marvelettes.
After splitting from the Miracles in 1972, Robinson began a solo career, exploring the more introspective, balladic side of his music. His 1975 album QUIET STORM set the bar for virtually every smooth,romantic R&B singer of the next two decades, virtually defining the style. After a fallow period, he made a comeback inthe early '80s, with commercial-but-irresistible hits like "Cruisin'" and "Being With You".

Customer Reviews

A Good Collection of their biggest hits
For us Smokey fans, the fact that the original albums are unavailable on CD is a great detriment, leaving only greatest hits collections and the 35th Anniversary Collection boxed set from 1994, now sadly out of press. This collection, albeit small (the number of hits the Miracles had is simply staggering, every single from 1967 to 1972 went top thirty) contains most of the essential songs, although one could probably wish for Got a Job to be on there, and maybe Why Do You Build Me Up to Tear Me Down.

Kevin Reeves' remastering seemes to have aimed at creating warmer sound textures for most of the songs while accentuating key parts. This works remarkably well in songs like Going to A-Go-Go where the drum section that acts as a sort of main theme to compliment Marv Taplin's guitar is accentuated to great effect, and likewise the spoken word sections in Baby, Baby, Don't Cry are much more lively than in the previous master. However, it also means that some of the detail is lost in the more crisp arrangements, with I Second That Emotion losing its distinctive horn section in a muddle of harmonies, for example.

Overall, this is an excellent introduction to those not acquainted with The Miracles.

An interesting Motown group
In Britain, Smokey and the Miracles are remembered primarily for two songs, these being Tracks of my tears (later revived by Linda Ronstadt) and Tears of a clown, but they were more successful in their homeland. Among their American hits to be found on this collection are I second that emotion (later revived by the Supremes and Temptations), Shop around (later revived by Captain and Tennille), Mickey’s monkey and You’ve really got a hold on me. All of those hits came in the early sixties, before Motown’s success spread internationally.

Smokey was a prolific songwriter, but as the sixties progressed, he gave many of his best songs to other Motown acts, so hits for his own group tended to be smaller and fewer. The last significant American hits they had together were If you can wait, which just missed the American top ten in 1968, and Tears of a clown, which was actually released on an album in 1967 but became a transatlantic number one in 1970. So their biggest hit came at a time when they were a fading attraction. It did not revive their career, which ended as a unit with 1972’s We’ve come too far to end it now.

A separate compilation in the same series is available of Smokey’s solo recordings with Motown. Being with you and other solo gems can be found on that compilation. So, this excellent collection of their best songs together includes all the essentials, something that cannot be said of all the compilations in this series.

Classic Motown
Smokey Robinson was once described by Bob Dylan as "the greatest living poet". That is certainly nothing of an understatement and Smokey Robinson was one of the most richly talented singer/songwriter/producers at Tamla Motown Records.

Smokey Robinson gave Berry Gordy the initial ammunition for forming Tamla Motown Records and was also partly responsible for bringing the great Diana Ross to his attention, who was a close friend of Smokey's and indeed Smokey ended up having a short-lived affair with Diana, even though he was married to Claudette Robinson at the time. Berry Gordy expressed an interest in one of his songs and before long, a creative bond was forged that would change the face of music between blacks and whites.

Origanal memebers of The Miracles were Smokeys then wife, Claudette, Bobby Rogers, Ronnie White and Peter Moore. Smokey's obsessive themes were always centered around love that clearly inspired his always startling and highly remarkable compostions.

Smokey Robinson and the Miracles delivered Motown it's first hit with the blues-sounding, Shop Around. It encapsulated a neat mixture of R&B/Pop which proved to be a significant cross-over hit. This proved to be a breakthrough recording for both Smokey and the Miracles and indeed Motown Records itself. This was merley the beginning.

You Really Got A Hold On Me, was another magnificent recording in their early career which was lifted in 1963 and featured simplistic yet strongly emotive lyrics. Smokey's exuberant delivery was crystal-clear and possessed a lot of range which could be thrown around into any pitch and could always ride along Motowns somewhat complex musical arrangements.

The Tracks Of My Tears was another definitive Smokey Robinson compostion which really is quite breathtaking with its sweeping, tempo-shifting musical arrangements where the fantastic range of harmonies all gell so divinely with each other.

I Second That Emotion (later covered by Diana Ross and the Supremes with The Temptations) was a mid-beat number where Smokeys cool, sensual voice oozes such genuine emotion. This became another notably big hit to their credit.

Arguably the pinnacle of his career would have to be the superb, The Tears of A Clown. The profound lyrics were masterful and Smokey delivers a rolling vocal performance. The infectious, swinging Motown phenomenon is well under way on here and delivered one of his greatest hits.

The Ultimate Collection features all of these landmark recordings that will satisfy any lover of the Motown genre and for completists, there are a host of some lesser-known obscurities which aren't all top-notch, though Smokey's performances always are and still makes for an interesting listen.