20th Century Masters: The Millennium Collection
No less an authority thanBob Dylancalled Smokey Robinson "America's greatest living poet." Robinson wrote or cowrote numerous Motown classics for other artists, and songs with complex, emotional lyrics such as "The Tears of a Clown," "The Tracks of My Tears," and "I Second That Emotion," that became major hits for his own group, the Miracles. A cursory knowledge of Robinson's work is essential for any fan of pop music, and that's about what you'll get from this set. It doesn't get too deep into the Miracles' incredible run of 29 Top 40 hits recorded between 1960 and 1975, but it does include the bare essentials, plus two from the early days of Robinson's solo career, and one--"Love Machine"--that the Miracles took to the top of the charts without him.--Daniel Durchholz