Miracles - Depend on Me: The Early Albums
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Artist: MiraclesEdition: Music CD
Audio: English (Unknown)
CD Release Date: 2009-08-04
Music Label: Hip-O Select
Free Music Notes for Depend on Me: The Early Albums
Free Music Review: How it all began
Hit: 5 Stars
Along with Curtis Mayfield and Paul Simon, Smokey Robinson is one of my favorite three songwriters of all time. When one considers the vast wealth of beautiful, original compositions Smokey is responsible for creating (both for himself and countless other Motown acts), it amazes me that he does not get the credit he deserves for being one of the most important and influential musicians to ever grace this planet.
In any event, FINALLY, we have the first five Miracles albums in CD form. Although a few of these were originally released back in 1986, this is the first time a few have ever been in print. Quite simply, in these songs you can hear the beginnings of a master craftsmen honing his art.
I live for Motown records. To be brutally honest, with many of the early Motown acts, you would typically have one single that was a great song and one less creative song as a B side. More to the point, you would have albums that were thrown together because a group had one or two hits, so the label wanted to maximize the exposure of the group/song by releasing an entire album's worth of material. Many of those songs could be labelled as "filler". But largely due to Smokey's song writing ability, these Miracles albums do not suffer from this problem. Literally almost to a song, these albums are flawless; beautiful music created by extremely talented, focused musicians.
For me personally, some of the only songs on these two discs that don't quite fit in are the songs the band tried to perform as classic cover tunes. Songs like Embraceable You, On the Street Where You Live and I've got You Under My Skin just don't breathe as much life in this setting as the original songs. It was an attempt by Motown to expand their listening audience. And in this writer's opinion, this particular band didn't need to go down that path for that to happen. Smokey, Bobby, Ron, Pete, Claudette and Marv had enough original material to keep me permanently mesmerized.
Conversely, I will forever be amazed that songs as brillant as Won't You Take Me Back, Way Over There, You'll Never Miss A Good Thing, What's So Good About Goodbye and A Love She Can Count On weren't much bigger hits than they were.
If it isn't obvious by now, I can not recommend this 2 Cd set highly enough. The songs sound better than ever, and there are some nice new quotes from Smokey and Claudette about their time with the Miracles back in the day. If anyone from Hip-O happens to be reading this, please make sure "The Early Albums" is not the only release from the most important act to ever walk through Motown's doors. (I mean, Smokey and Berry ARE Motown). All of the Miracles albums and Smokey's solo efforts deserve to be released in a format as professional and beautiful as this set.
As a final note to the great folks at Hip-O, thank you for letting us hear this vital music again. It is priceless and timeless art that everyone should hear.
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