Tear-Jerker
Pop music is an interesting phenomenon, seemingly able to serve up slices of everyday wisdom in simple yet insightful couplets, and often in words of two or less syllables. How often do we hear a track about the vagaries of love, the pain of a broken heart, the urge to get down and dirty or countless other generic themes and think, hmmm, that guy has summed up what's in my head - How the hell did he do that. One of the beautiful mysteries of music, I think, and a long-winded ornate intro to today's topic.
For it was Martin Fry of silk-suited 80s popsters ABC who uttered the immortal lines "When Smokey sings, I hear violins, When Smokey sings, I forget everything (yeah)". I could go on, but the answer to why this upbeat slice of 80s pop, literally popped into my own head, lies in a recent listening to Smokey Robinson and the Miracles' masterpiece Tracks of my Tears. I mean forget the fact that Smokey Robinson's songwriting skills were a key rock upon which Motown was built, and that his supreme production talents were matched only by his skills as a performer, and just think about the voice. That honey-dripping voice, so effortlessly smooth, yet capturing of the heartbreaking words he is giving flight to on this and other tales of love gone bad.
If you are in any doubt as to how wonderful a vocal performance this is, try to sing along with Smokey and see how his breath control alone is outstanding. This is a truly great record, undulled by familiarity. As ABC might conclude, and everything's good in the world, tonight!
For it was Martin Fry of silk-suited 80s popsters ABC who uttered the immortal lines "When Smokey sings, I hear violins, When Smokey sings, I forget everything (yeah)". I could go on, but the answer to why this upbeat slice of 80s pop, literally popped into my own head, lies in a recent listening to Smokey Robinson and the Miracles' masterpiece Tracks of my Tears. I mean forget the fact that Smokey Robinson's songwriting skills were a key rock upon which Motown was built, and that his supreme production talents were matched only by his skills as a performer, and just think about the voice. That honey-dripping voice, so effortlessly smooth, yet capturing of the heartbreaking words he is giving flight to on this and other tales of love gone bad.
If you are in any doubt as to how wonderful a vocal performance this is, try to sing along with Smokey and see how his breath control alone is outstanding. This is a truly great record, undulled by familiarity. As ABC might conclude, and everything's good in the world, tonight!
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