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"…A Power Source Of Tender
Force…"
Smooth Soul ahoy! Number 2 is a series of 6 -
Volume Two chronicles Smokey Robinson's 3rd and 4th albums for Motown in 1975
and 1976 with a non-album single side thrown in as a bonus. It's not all
undiscovered solid gold for sure - but the good stuff is great and the improved
audio quality is an absolute treat. Here are the Quiet Storms and Castles Made
Of Sand…
Released November 2010 – "The
Solo Albums: Volume 2 – A Quiet Storm and Smokey’s Family Robinson" by SMOKEY
ROBINSON on Hip-O Select/Motown B0014571-02 (Barcode 602527450704) offers 2 LPs Remastered onto 1 CD Plus One Bonus Track and pans out as
follows (72:53 minutes):
1. Quiet Storm (7:48 minutes)
2. The Agony And The Ecstasy
(4:49 minutes)
3. Baby That's Backatcha (3:48 minutes)
4. Wedding Song (3:37
minutes)
5. Happy (Love Theme From
"Lady Sings The Blues") (7:07 minutes)
6. Love Letters (4:16
minutes)
7. Coincidentally (5:10
minutes)
Tracks 1 to 7 are his 3rd
solo album "A Quiet Storm" - released March 1975 in the USA on Tamla
T6-337S1 and in June 1975 in the UK on Tamla Motown STML 11288
8. When You Came (5:24
minutes)
9. Get Out Of Town (4:48
minutes)
10. Do Like I Do (4:42
minutes)
11. Open (3:50 minutes)
12. So In Love (4:42
minutes)
13. Like Nobody Can (4:12
minutes)
14. Castles Made Of Sand
(4:49 minutes)
Tracks 8 to 14 are his 4th
solo album "Smokey's Family Robinson" - released February 1976 in the
USA on Tamla T6-341S1 and April 1976 in the UK on Tamla Motown STML 12021
15. An Old Fashioned Man
(3:28 minutes)
Track 15 is a 7” single-only
release - "An Old-Fashioned Man" was released October 1976 in the USA on Tamla
T-54276F and was taken from the MGM movie "Norman, Is That You?"
The gatefold card-digipak
houses a 20-page colour booklet containing entertaining and knowledgeable liner
notes by PETER DOGGETT (formerly of Record Collector magazine and author of the
book "There's A Riot Going On"). Like the excellent Volume 1 – 2 also
reproduces the American artwork front and rear for each album, has 4 new
full-page colour photos of Smokey from the period and detailed recording and release
credits. But the big news for fans is the fabulous remasters Audio…
Remastered by KEVIN REEVES
from the original Stereo tapes - the sound quality is truly fantastic -
beautifully done (Ellen Fitton did an equally great job on Volume 1). There’s
amazing warmth now to these recordings and the bass is just so sweet. I've
reviewed CDs remastered by Reeves before - he's one of Universal's top
engineers (others are Erick Labson, Suha Gur, Gavin Lurssen, Gary Moore and
Ellen Fitton). Reeves mastered "Pass The Plate" and "Images" by The Crusaders, "What Color Is Love" by Terry Callier and "I've Got So Much To Give" by Barry
White (see my reviews for all of them).
To the album itself - having
lived with the 3:49 minute single edit of "Quiet Storm" for so many years now,
it feels odd to hear the full 7:49 minute album version – but it's just as
slinky and even at that length doesn't overstay its welcome (lyrics above).
Also – as the liner notes explain – "Quiet Storm" was the name given to a radio
program for Soul Music that year by WHUR in DC – and hundreds of radio stations
have adopted the title ever since. The album literally started a 'Smooth Soul' revolution on the airwaves that's been going on ever since – no mean
achievement.
Other highlights include two
superbly funky winners in "Baby That's Backatcha" (first single off the album
in the States) and the lesser-heard "Coincidentally" (tremendous sound on
both). "When You Came" opens the "Smokey's Family Robinson" album with a
decidedly disco beat that sounds dated now - while the only US single off the
album was a wise choice – the well-funky "Open" – a sort of hybrid AWB, Stevie
Wonder, Smokey Robinson and Labelle mishmash. It's a long forgotten gem that
deserves rediscovery. The album ends with the plaintive "Castles Made Of Sand" which features a slickly produced acoustic guitar throughout. The bonus track "An Old Fashioned Man" and the overly long "Happy" are the kind of
forgettable movie-pap that featured in so many Seventies films.
What's missing? Like Volume 1
– time restrictions have excluded tasty bonus tracks. The two LPs produced four
singles Stateside and a couple in the UK - most had edited versions of their
longer album versions while USA promos often came with a promo-only MONO mix –
all AWOL unfortunately.
But again at less than a
fiver per album this is great value for money (and often cheaper from certain
online retailers). It may not all be full-on Biblical in terms of rediscovery –
but like his first two albums "Smokey" (1973) and "Pure Smokey" (1974) on
Volume 1 – these two slices of mid seventies Soul have stood the test of time.
And now with their superb new audio quality…this is one Quiet Storm that
deserves another go around…
PS: Universal Catalogue Audio Engineers like Erick Labson, Suha Gur and Ellen Fitton and Kevin Reeves are names in the mastering/transfer credits that I find to be a sign of great
sound quality. Click the Labels in the Blogger Index to find other releases by them that I've reviewed...there are many...
