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"…Baby Let's
Cruise…Away From Here..."
This is the 4th of 6 volumes
by Hip-O Select chronicling Smokey Robinson's solo albums for Motown. It was
initially available from their US website from 28 Jan 2011 and then
commercially released 15 Feb 2011. Now it’s the UK’s turn - let’s get to the
details…
UK released 21 February 2011
(28 January 2011 in the USA) - "The Solo Albums: Volume 4 – Love Breeze
& Where There's Smoke…" by SMOKEY ROBINSON on Hip-O Select/Motown
B0015163-02 (Barcode 602527586359) offers 2LPs Remastered onto 1CD plus 1 Bonus
Track and breaks down as follows (78:15 minutes):
1. Why You Wanna See My Bad
Side
2. Love So Fine
3. Feeling You, Feeling Me
4. Madam X
5. Shoe Soul [Side 2]
6. Trying It Again
7. Daylight & Darkness
8. I'm Loving You Softley
Tracks 1 to 8 are his 6th
solo album "Love Breeze" - released February 1978 in the USA on Tamla
T7-359R1 and in May 1978 in the UK on Tamla Motown STML 12081.
9. It's A Good Night
10. I Love The Nearness Of
You
11. The Hurt's On You
12. Ever Had A Dream
13. Get Ready [Side 2]
14. Share It
15. Cruisin'
Tracks 9 to 15 are his 7th
solo album "Where There’s Smoke…" - released May 1979 in the USA on
Tamla T7-366R1 and August 1979 in the UK on Tamla Motown STML 12115. Side 1 is
called 'Smoke' (tracks 9 to 12) and Side 2 is called 'Fire' (tracks 13 to 15).
BONUS TRACK:
16. Get Ready (12-Inch
Instrumental) - June 1979 non-album B-side to the US 12" single of "Get
Ready" on Motown M 000027D1
The gatefold card-digipak has
the same generic look and feel of the Volumes 1 to 3 and 5. This edition (Vol.
4) has a 28-page colour booklet containing liner notes by PETER DOGGETT
(formerly of Record Collector magazine and author of the book "There's A
Riot Going On"). It also reproduces the American artwork front and rear
for each album (even though in truth they're impossible to read), has
photographic outtakes from the album sleeves, the lyrics to all the songs and
detailed recording and release credits. It’s very tastefully done…
Remastered by ELLEN FITTON
from the original Stereo tapes - the sound quality is superb (she did an
equally great job on Volumes 1 and 3). I've reviewed CDs remastered by Fitton
before - she's one of Universal's top engineers (others are Erick Labson, Suha
Gur, Gavin Lurssen, Gary Moore and Kevin Reeves). I've created a TAG above
(pictorial displays of artwork) for both her remasters and Hip-O Select
releases she’s been involved in that are worth noting.
Unfortunately, like Volume 3,
the really great sound quality helps you to swallow the huge amount of
saccharine pap that Motown produced in those disintegrating years – and these
1978 and 1979 offerings are guilty of the same. Both have been (and will
probably always remain) absolute dollar-bin fodder on both sides of the pond.
But – and this is the big but – there’s rediscoveries on here absolutely worth
making…
The smoochy "Feeling
You, Feeling Me" would do a night in a Theopolis P. Wilderbeast shagpad
proud - while "Madame X" is a sort of "Cruisin'" variant
that talks about 'faces in discotheques' and is excellent. "Shoe
Soul" is a terrible song about sneakers, but the lovely slink of
"Daylight & Darkness" is much better. And again the sound quality
is ace. The slap-bass, strings and hooky beat of "It’s A Good Night"
reflect the club sound of 1979 and it’s a good opener for the "Where
There’s Smoke…" album. "Share It" is an uptempo love song – the
kind of infectious Summer-feeling hit that Smokey is so good at. Then of course
there’s the huge and sexily wonderful "Cruisin'" (lyrics above) which
is represented here in its full six-minute glory. It was issued as an edit on
7” single and is wicked - I’ve had it on CD for a few years now just to have
the track – shame there wasn’t room for that unique version of it on here.
There's one bonus track, but
it’s a peach and a genuinely sought-after rarity. "Get Ready" was
originally done by RARE EARTH back in 1970 (Smokey wrote the song) – his new
version is a funked-up one. But the reason DJs love the B-side so much is
because it removes the lyrics, peppers it with a girly chorus every now and
then and concentrates instead on the funky guitar…and man what a groove it is –
fabulous stuff.
To sum up – like Volume 3 –
it’s not all genius of course and there’s cringingly awful stuff on both
albums. But there’s also the good gear - that cracking bonus track and the warm
and funky sound that make it another enjoyable purchase in this ongoing series…
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