A quiet storm album
“Love Letters,” dripping with synth from bass to the piccolo-like trebly whistle, is the album’s least-satisfying cut, a muted funk that sounds like it was assembled as much as written, despite Smokey’s apparently confessional lyric that declares his life has been a love letter – which, in terms of his writing career, was correct. No matter Michael Jackson recorded it, and the song found the perfect home on A Quiet Storm, where it had space to spread out over seven minutes.
A quiet storm album movie#
Smokey Robinson could have been accused of over-optimism when he wrote ʻHappy (Love Theme From Lady Sings The Blues),” basing it on Michel Legrand’s theme from the movie – but not until after the movie had been completed, reputedly to Berry Gordy’s chagrin as he was highly impressed with the song. “Wedding Song,” written for the 1973 nuptials of Jermaine Jackson and Hazel, the daughter of Motown boss Berry Gordy, mostly sidesteps sickly sentiment, telling of the most important day of many people’s lives with sincere optimism. Jones”-type tale of infidelity, but with a more thoughtful lyric, boasts ringing guitar parts from former Miracle Marv Tarplin and a lush, languid feel as Smokey endures what fellow adult soulsters would later simply term “Joy And Pain.” “Baby That’s Backatcha” focuses more on a funky sound, but this US Top 30 single is hardly grits and growling: threaded with a strand of flute, this is as sweet as club funk ever got mellow-mellow, right on. “The Agony And The Ecstasy,” a “Me And Mrs. Getting on for eight minutes later, you are still lost in its intimate life. The beat of the song is barely apparent – we are miles from Motown’s original trademark crashing snare here – but still, you find yourself rocking to its subtle groove. Opening with an arresting synthesized storm effect and an irresistible bassline, the title track is close-miked, and the breathy quality of his voice was never caught better on record. The mature singer-songwriter chiefly concerned with relationship issues was a successful musical trope of the first half of the 70s, and while Motown had tried to nurture such a figure before, particularly in the two Valerie Simpson albums they released, Smokey Robinson was the artist equipped for the role. The first two were not without their moments, but it seemed as if Smokey was reaching for a style that only really coalesced here. We can look forward to many more delights from him if success were going to spoil him, it would have done so long ago.A Quiet Storm was Smokey’s third solo album, released on March 26, 1975, and by far and away his best to that point. It may not represent a very promising direction, but the languid intimacy of “Quiet Storm,” the intricate instrumental arrangements on “Backatcha” and “Love Letters,” and the prominence given to Tarplin’s classy guitar throughout the album are evidence that one of black music’s brightest lights is still a dynamic creative force. Even “Happy,” a Robinson/Michel Legrand opus from Lady Sings the Blues that fairly oozes sentimentality, succeeds as believable pop because of a soulful, crying vocal and a careful, varied arrangement. His production and singing carry the album. In fact, Robinson’s much touted abilities as a poetic lyricist aren’t very important here, the sexy directness of “Storm” and “Backatcha” notwithstanding. “Wedding Song” is burdened by the sappiest words Robinson has written (“Oh what a beautiful day to take a vow on/Pray that the things we say will last from now on”), but a recurring guitar riff, performed with great sensitivity by Marv Tarplin, redeems it. On “Love Letters,” a hesitating fuzz-tone bass pattern is repeatedly undercut by an atempo flute/synthesizer unison. The album offers irrepressibly upbeat lyrics, mellow and jazz-tinged instrumental passages, bouquets of sweetness and restrained funk flavorings. Ironically Storm and the first single excerpted from it, “Baby That’s Backatcha,” took off immediately. There were no seven-minute songs on Pure Smokey, an album of brilliant singles which produced no hits.