*It may have been a decade and a half, but Smokey Robinson still commands a crowd.
In this case, the crowd was an international one, who came out to see the legendary entertainer headline the UK’s Love Supreme Jazz Festival.
Recapping Robinson’s performance, The Telegraph’s Kate French-Morris noted the mixed generations at the show, particularly young ones getting a dose of Motown‘s finest and the hits that populated his set list. Sexual assault allegations were not enough to “dampen a crowd intent on enjoying their night and steadfast in their reverence for his songs.”
Among the tunes Robinson pulled from the vault were classics such as “I Second That Emotion” and “You Really Got A Hold On Me,” pieces from the vocalist’s days as the frontman for The Miracles as well as solo Smokey hits such as openers “Being With You” while slow dancing with a backing vocalist in a shiny blue suit after arriving 20 minutes late to kick things off.
“Age hasn’t dimmed his appetite for all things raunchy: after all, he did release an album titled ‘Gasms’ two years ago,” French-Morris noticed, referencing Robinson’s latest album.
“Performers of a certain vintage are often propped up with as many bells and whistles as possible, and indeed Robinson shared the modest stage with about 10 musicians,” she said. “But this is a man adept at defying age with limber moves and a voice that shows only some of the wear of his 85 years.”
As she listened to Robinson jokingly recall his Motown history (“We started Motown about 30 years before I was born. No, I was there from the very first day,” French-Morris took her own trip down memory lane with a summary of Robinson’s Motown years as an artist, record label head as Motown’s vice president, not to mention his stint composing hits for the label’s iconic roster that included Mary Wells, The Temptations, The Four Tops, and Marvin Gaye.
Cue up two Temptations classics (“The Way You Do The Things You Do” and “My Girl”) as well as a pair of bonus Miracles tracks to put in the mix (“Tears Of A Clown” and “Tracks Of My Tears,”)
Despite the thrill of seeing Robinson live and hearing firsthand accounts from one of the people who made Motown the game changer it was, reality set in for French-Morris who pointed out how “a live festival performance can’t live up to the magic of the records,” despite the vintage material’s staying power “more than 60 years on, particularly when bolstered by a full band,”
“It didn’t help that Robinson’s vocals were low in the mix, and occasionally plagued by feedback and sound bleed from other stages,” she mentioned. “The show’s patchy pace didn’t help either: 1975 solo song ‘Quiet Storm’ was more quiet than storm, a cover of ‘Fly Me To The Moon’ failed to lift off, and ‘Cruisin’’ lingered far too long, Robinson bringing female fans onstage and engaging the crowd in an interminable singing battle.”
Still, all things considered, the show was time well spent. The King of Motown was worth seeing and hearing. No matter how you dissect Robinson. Past or present, he remains and will forever be a legend.
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