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Solo Albums Vol 4 (Love Breeze/Where There's Smoke)

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A pair of solid sets from Smokey and Motown from the end of the 70s – 1978's Love Breeze and Where There's Smoke from '79 – in a single set that serves as Volume 4 in the Smokey Robinson Solo Albums series on Hip-O select! Love Breeze finds Smokey effortlessly cutting back and forth from a funky 70s dancefloor soul mode to more delicate, classic soul steeped numbers and slow jams. He does it all very well on a set we overlooked for too many years! Titles include "Why You Wanna See My Bad Side", "Feeling You, Feeling Me", "Shoe Soul", "Daylight & Darkness", "I'm Loving You Softly" and more. Where There's Smoke is more smooth Smokey – an album that has him moving into a more hook-based style that would earn him a fair bit of hits in the 80s! The Robinson vocal approach is always sweet, warm, and mellow on the set – especially on the album's more laidback numbers, which still have a bit of that groove that made Smokey's other 70s work so great – and which helps him retain a bit more of an organic soul sound on the album. And honestly, given the studio traps that a singer his age could fall into, it's pretty amazing how well Smokey's vocals do come through in the set – with a breathy intensity that takes us back to key moments in early years, and which really avoids the schlock of later records! Titles include "The Hurt's On You", "Ever Had A Dream", "I Love The Nearness Of You", "Cruisin", "Shake It", and "Get Ready". Also includes the bonus "Get Ready (12-Inch Instrumental)".  © 1996-2013, Dusty Groove, Inc.