The Ultimate Collection: Smokey Robinson
After more than a decade with theMiracles, Smokey Robinson set off on a solo career, chronicled here. Often focusing on seduction rather than the heartache that was his bread and butter with the group, Smokey proved so effective that he managed to have a subgenre named after one of his albums--A Quiet Storm, here represented by a triptych including the title cut, "Baby That's Backatcha," and "The Agony and the Ecstasy." Sweet, occasionally sly, and beautifully sung, this music doesn't have quite the unforgettable quality of the Miracles' best, but every moment of it is pure Smokey.--Rickey Wright