Smokey Robinson @ Place Des Arts

People think I’m crazy because I enjoy the solitary drive to and from Toronto.

Why on earth would ANYONE want to spend 5-6 hours isolated in a tiny automobile? For one thing, Tim Horton’s coffee tastes better when you’re in a Kingston rest-area surrounded by the Kingston regulars (Is it just me, or are they still stuck in the '90s?) I could be crazy… but using my sleeve to open doors in their truck stops is NOT the reason why I enjoy the drive.

Nor is it the scenery, or the cushier Ontario roads.
It’s all about the music in my car.

On the way up, I like to have a combination of favorite meditative road trip albums, and all the music I’ve stockpiled (and neglected to listen to) over the last 3 months. On the way BACK is a different matter. I get to listen to all the music I picked up in Hogtown, and this time around, I would’ve needed to drive past Moncton to listen to all my newest acquisitions. Picked up some old Joel Plaskett stuff, Dan Bern, The Super Friendz, a great Tim Hardin compilation… the new Black Keys record, but the CD I enjoyed the most was the burnt copy of Mayer Hawthorne’s Strange Arrangement I received from a friend right before leaving the G20 madness that was about to swallow Toronto whole.

I love Motown, oldschool R&B, deep soul… you name it. That’s why I’m rather apprehensive in listening to newer soul musicians (especially white boys with Buddy Holly frames)… but I was blown away by the honest hook-filled songwriting and the authentic production values on the album. Too many R&B musicians get swept away in the over-indulgence of manufacturing and modifying, thus stripping the music of its genuine essence and turning it into computer generated, music for the masses (with that irritating Cher-like voice box vocal resonance.)

Singers like Hawthorne are few and far between, and the remind me of how much of an impact the Motown family had on today’s musicians, regardless of their culture or upbringing.

And so, two days after hearing that album, I witnessed the real thing: Smokey Robinson in the flesh at Place des Arts for the Montreal Jazz Fest. The closest I’ve come to seeing him perform was on a recent rerun of Elvis Costello: Spectacle, and now I’m standing a few meters away from a living legend who’s credentials are far too abundant to list here.

At 70, Smokey’s body of work is still growing. His new album is called Time Flies When You’re Having Fun, and although his voice isn’t what it used to be, it’s admirable to see a luminary of the genre continue to make music well into his golden years (see Solomon Burke, Al Green). Although the setlist was rather diluted with several new songs and sing-a-longs, I felt unbelievably fortunate to be seeing one of my musical idols. I was a tad disappointed in the exclusion of several classics ("Mickey’s Monkey", "Shop Around"?) however, Robinson made up for it with some entertaining storyteller chatter, Motown history lessons and a handful of gems including “I Second That Emotion” and a slow-burning rendering of “The Tracks Of My Tears”, one of my top 10 favourite songs of all time.

There was one new song entitled “Love Bath” that stood out during the performance, and I think most attendees would agree with me that it was uncomfortable, and rather comical to see Smokey stop abruptly, and sensually point to random women in the audience. Also, the mere thought of taking a Love Bath with the song “Love Bath” playing in the background sends an awkward chill up my spine, as if Smokey was there watching me through the peephole.

That being said, it might take a while before Smokey hangs e’m up, and passes that R&B torch on to an up and coming artist. Let’s hope someone like Hawthorne, Diane Birch, or the great Sharon Jones runs with it instead of John Legend, Ne-Yo or a bogus Boyz II Men reunion.

(Yes, Boyz were on Motown records… no need to point that out. OH, and if NKOTB can come back, Boyz just might too. You heard it here first.)

I'll make love to you.

Michael Bresciani
The Lonesome Stranger