Post by janebse on Jul 10, 2003 19:33:29 GMT -5
Views and reviews from the final night of the Essence Music Festival in the Superdome.
Monday July 07, 2003
Keith Spera
Music write
Smokin' Smokey
The ever-classy and youthful Smokey Robinson conducted a clinic on how a star of yesteryear still can remain vital. Sheathed in white, his hair done up in short ringlets, the 63-year-old Robinson, the artist who wrote and/or sang many of Motown's biggest hits during the label's glory years, reiterated how effectively he still can trigger a range of emotions. In contrast to Stevie Wonder's somewhat haphazard late-night show on Thursday, Robinson delivered a well-paced and smartly structured set Saturday, progressing naturally from peak to valley and back again, building to a big finish.
En route, Robinson sampled "Get Ready" and "My Girl" (both of which he wrote for the Temptations), "Baby Baby Don't Cry" and "Ooo Baby Baby." Before bounding through "Tears of a Clown," he regaled listeners with a long tale about writing the song with his old friend Wonder.
"He offered to drive me home to work on it," Robinson said. "There was no way I was going to go for it -- he drives much too fast."
Robinson's long gaze still elicits screams, his honey high tenor still purrs and he still can loft one of the sweetest falsettos in all of pop. His band, augmented by a string section and trio of vocalists, included former Miracles guitarist and frequent songwriting partner Marvin Tarplin. "The music is born through his fingers," Robinson said of Tarplin. "His fingers gave all these songs first life."
Against a backdrop of Tarplin's gentle finger-picking and strumming, Robinson launched a tour de force rendition of "Tracks of My Tears," a bittersweet and still devastating hit from the summer of '65. The rest of the ensemble eventually joined in, bringing the song home. It galvanized the Essence audience, which is not easily impressed, and earned a standing ovation.
Robinson returned for an encore of "Cruisin,' " another Tarplin collaboration, this one from 1979. He orchestrated a mass singing contest that pitted one half of the Superdome against the other. Generally, such contests come off as tired exercises, but Robinson's practiced hand and exuberance can win over even the most jaded observers.
The bulk of his compositions deal with love, he'd said earlier, "because love is the never-ending subject. Love is forever, I hope." So, too, is the enduring voice of Smokey Robinson.
Monday July 07, 2003
Keith Spera
Music write
Smokin' Smokey
The ever-classy and youthful Smokey Robinson conducted a clinic on how a star of yesteryear still can remain vital. Sheathed in white, his hair done up in short ringlets, the 63-year-old Robinson, the artist who wrote and/or sang many of Motown's biggest hits during the label's glory years, reiterated how effectively he still can trigger a range of emotions. In contrast to Stevie Wonder's somewhat haphazard late-night show on Thursday, Robinson delivered a well-paced and smartly structured set Saturday, progressing naturally from peak to valley and back again, building to a big finish.
En route, Robinson sampled "Get Ready" and "My Girl" (both of which he wrote for the Temptations), "Baby Baby Don't Cry" and "Ooo Baby Baby." Before bounding through "Tears of a Clown," he regaled listeners with a long tale about writing the song with his old friend Wonder.
"He offered to drive me home to work on it," Robinson said. "There was no way I was going to go for it -- he drives much too fast."
Robinson's long gaze still elicits screams, his honey high tenor still purrs and he still can loft one of the sweetest falsettos in all of pop. His band, augmented by a string section and trio of vocalists, included former Miracles guitarist and frequent songwriting partner Marvin Tarplin. "The music is born through his fingers," Robinson said of Tarplin. "His fingers gave all these songs first life."
Against a backdrop of Tarplin's gentle finger-picking and strumming, Robinson launched a tour de force rendition of "Tracks of My Tears," a bittersweet and still devastating hit from the summer of '65. The rest of the ensemble eventually joined in, bringing the song home. It galvanized the Essence audience, which is not easily impressed, and earned a standing ovation.
Robinson returned for an encore of "Cruisin,' " another Tarplin collaboration, this one from 1979. He orchestrated a mass singing contest that pitted one half of the Superdome against the other. Generally, such contests come off as tired exercises, but Robinson's practiced hand and exuberance can win over even the most jaded observers.
The bulk of his compositions deal with love, he'd said earlier, "because love is the never-ending subject. Love is forever, I hope." So, too, is the enduring voice of Smokey Robinson.
