eMusic Review 0
Smokey Robinson wasn't a Motown vice-president for nothing. Part of his genius as a songwriter was in taking commonplaces and giving them a twist ("I Second That Emotion," for instance), which isn't so far from what marketers or ad people do. Perhaps the ultimate example of this tendency, albeit in reverse, was the title of his 1975 album. A Quiet Storm, so perfectly evocative a phrase that an entire radio style was named after it: Quiet Storm is the blanket name for late night, soft-R&B shows aimed at prime couple cuddle time. It helped redefined Robinson as an artist — though he'd craft fairly elegant uptempo numbers during the disco era (for example, his own version of "Get Ready" from 1979's terrific Where There's Smoke . . .), A Quiet Storm introduced him as a velvet-lined bedroom balladeer, a more gentlemanly analogue to Marvin Gaye-style lasciviousness. Much of it is informed by jazz — the title-song opener and the finale, "Coincidentally," in particular. (Largely uptempo albums sometimes end with ballads; this ballad album ends with a slinky groove number.) "Baby That's Backatcha" was one of Smokey's biggest solo R&B hits — a sly love song in the old model, but… read more »
