Smokey Robinson & the Miracles - The 35th Anniversary Collection

A True Miracle...

Simply Stated... Smokey Robinson and the Miracles give you all there is to give and more! Kudos the Smokey's former wife Claudette who sings on a couple of songs and that brave soul Billy Griffin (Do it Baby, Love Machine)who followed Smokey! I'm truly a Miracles fan and I loved the musical journey! My favorites are Ooh Baby Baby, Special Occasion, Fork in the Road, and The Track of my Tears!
As usual, we all will have a couple b-side hits that don't make the "cut" such as: Much Better Off and Give Her Up" which you can find on the Special Occasion album, but overall just a must! As my niece, Mia would say, you will experience "Tears of Clown" if you don't spend a little extra and put this in your archives of Musicology! ps Play often!OOOOOOOOOH Baby Baby! April 20, 2008

Not What I Thought...

First let me start by saying I purchased this Boxed Set years ago because I have been a fan of Smokey and the Miracles from back in the day.. I purchased it again because sometimes when company came over a friend expressed interest in purchasing this item. Several times they mentioned it to me so I decided to purchase it for them as a gift.

Personally I thought a lot of the songs were put on the disc to take up space, and other songs were left off that should have been included.

I was surprised to hear so many songs in mono when I know there are stereo versions. What was that about?

Overall, I was disappointed with the Boxed Set. I just wanted all of them in one place because all the ones that I like I already had.

For a person who really doesn't know Smokey and Miracles music, this is an OK place to start. I just think the group could have been presented better. April 6, 2008

the MIRACLES....NOT IN THE ROCK HALL OF FAME ? ... OUTRAGEOUS !!!

Let's see here...the Supremes are in...the Temptations are in...the Four Tops..the Jackson Five ...even Martha and the Vandellas are in , but the MIRACLES...MOTOWN'S FIRST GROUP... THE GROUP WHO'S HITS BUILT THE LABEL... THE GROUP THAT LAUNCHED A RECORDING EMPIRE...THE GROUP WHO'S SONGS HAVE BEEN RECORDED BY ARTIST AFTER ARTIST FROM THE BEATLES ,TO THE STONES ,TO ARETHA FRANKLIN,TO EDDIE MONEY, TO LINDA RONSTADT,TO KIM CARNES,TO JOHNNY RIVERS, THE CAPTAIN AND TENNILLE AND A HOST OF OTHERS... THE SINGLE MOST IMPORTANT GROUP IN THE COMPANY'S HISTORY...THE ONE THAT HAD THE LABEL'S FIRST MILLION-SELLER...THE GROUP WITH OVER 50 CHART HITS...DOESN'T MERIT INDUCTION INTO THE ROCK AND ROLL HALL OF FAME ? While at the SAME TIME , groups with NOWHERE NEAR the number of hits...NOWHERE NEAR AS INFLUENTIAL... AND NOWHERE NEAR AS GOOD continue to be inducted year after year ??!!... WHAT'S WRONG WITH THIS PICTURE ?? WHAT'S WRONG ? I'LL TELL YOU WHAT'S WRONG... THE CAPTION RIGHT NEXT TO THIS PICTURE !! IT SAYS "THE 35 TH ANNIVERSARY COLLECTION"...BY SMOKEY ROBINSON !!! NOT BY THE MIRACLES... NOT EVEN BY SMOKEY ROBINSON AND THE MIRACLES... BUT BY JUST "SMOKEY ROBINSON " AND THEREIN LIES THE PROBLEM !!! Throughout the history of this legendary group, the MIRACLES have NEVER ...but NEVER received their rightful due AS A GROUP...it has always been only about SMOKEY !!! but,as any insider will tell you ...AND AS SMOKEY HIMSELF WILL TELL YOU... the MIRACLES HAVE NEVER BEEN JUST A ONE MAN SHOW !! they were ALL talented songwriters, singers , and producers ...ALL OF THEM have had a share in writing their many hits...(if you don't believe it,just read the writing credits on the labels},not to mention the hits of almost EVERY OTHER EARLY ARTIST ON THE MOTOWN LABEL... MARY WELLS, THE TEMPTATIONS, MARVIN GAYE ... YOU NAME IT !! BUT NOT ALL OF THEM SHARE THE CREDIT ... TO THIS DAY, DISC JOCKEYS ALL OVER THIS COUNTRY , AFTER PLAYING OLD MIRACLES RECORDS ...WILL ANNOUNCE " THAT WAS BY SMOKEY ROBINSON ! " LIKE THE MIRACLES DIDN'T... OR NEVER EXISTED....DO THEY DO THIS TO THE SUPREMES..? NO !! they still call them the SUPREMES ! RARELY DO DEE JAYS SAY "DIANA ROSS AND THE SUPREMES" even though MOTOWN ACTUALLY CHANGED THE GROUP'S NAME MANY YEARS AGO!! AND NEVER, BUT EVER ...DO THEY JUST SAY "DIANA ROSS". the MIRACLES' album "GOING TO A GO GO, WHEN RELEASED IN 1965, OUT CHARTED AND OUT SOLD CONTEMPORARY RELEASES BY THE TEMPTATIONS AND THE SUPREMES... EVENTUALLY REACHNG THE TOP 10 ON THE BILLBOARD POP ALBUM CHART.QUITE AN ACCOMPLISHMENT!! AND YES...IT WAS A GROUP ACCOMPLISHMENT !! BESIDES,LOOK AT THE TOPS, TEMPS AND SUPREMES...in the 1960's.. HOW MANY OF THEIR OWN HITS (OR ANYONE ELSES) did THEY WRITE?..BUT THEY'RE IN THE ROCK AND ROLL HALL OF FAME AND THE MIRACLES ARE NOT ?? And for those who argue that SMOKEY was the group's only talented songwriter, I say " what about "LOVE MACHINE" ?(WRITTEN BY MIRACLES PETE MOORE AND BILLY GRIFFIN {SMOKEY'S REPLACEMENT} , a MULTI-MILLION SELLING NUMBER 1 POP SMASH...THE BIGGEST HIT THE GROUP EVER HAD..WHERE was SMOKEY when THAT one was written ? (not even in the group any more ).There's no question that SMOKEY is one of the greatest songwriters of ALL TIME!! But to only credit him and completely ignore the rest of the MIRACLES is definitely UNFAIR .THERE HAVE BEEN SEVERAL INSTANCES WHERE SOLO STARS HAVE BEEN INDUCTED INTO THE ROCK HALL OF FAME ... WHILE THE GROUPS THEY WERE ASSOCIATED WITH WERE ALSO INDUCTED ...MICHAEL JACKSON WAS INDUCTED AS A SOLO STAR...BUT HIS GROUP, HIS BROTHERS , THE JACKSON FIVE, WERE INDUCTED TOO !! CURTIS MAYFIELD WAS INDUCTED AS A SOLO...BUT HIS GROUP, THE IMPRESSIONS, (INCLUDING ORIGINAL LEAD SINGER JERRY BUTLER ) WERE ALSO INDUCTED ...EACH INDIVDUAL BEATLE - AS WELL AS THE GROUP ITSELF..ARE IN THE HALL... SO , ROCK AND ROLL HALL OF FAME .... DO THE RIGHT THING . YOU'VE INDUCTED SMOKEY AS A SOLO... NOW PLEASE... INDUCT BOBBY ROGERS, WARREN "PETE" MOORE , THE LATE RONNIE WHITE ...CLAUDETTE ROGERS ROBINSON... MARV TARPLIN....BILLY GRIFFIN... AND WILLIAM "SMOKEY" ROBINSON ... AS A GROUP..INTO THE ROCK AND ROLL HALL OF FAME ...IT'S LONG PAST TIME...AND THEY CERTAINLY DO DESERVE IT !! IT'S TIME THE MIRACLES ...THE GROUP...RECIEVE THE CREDIT THEY DESERVE !!


July 29, 2006

A very nice box set

There's a lot to be happy about on this box set but sadly there are a few negatives. There are some weak songs and it is my understanding that a few songs were left off that might have been better choices. The live songs are very weak. Since I am only a casual fan I'm not familiar with the songs that were left off. But they would have been nice to have instead of the weaker choices.

Fortunately, the positives outweigh the negatives and this is still a good purchase (as long as you are aware of the negatives listed above). The first disc does a great job of showing Smokey and the Miracles as they went from unknowns trying to prove themselves to accomplished performers. It also shows Smokey's growth as a writer of monster hits.

The 4th disc is incredible as it shows Smokey's solo career. You cannot beat any set that includes 'Crusin' and 'Being with you'.

It's still a good purchase. June 14, 2006

oldies collector

BEWARE!!! More than half of the songs in this boxed set are in mono-and many of these songs are available in stereo. I cannot for the life of me figure out why anyone would think that collectors would be happy with mono versions when stereo versions are available. Also, even though this is a boxed set it does not include all charted hits which is unforgiveable since so many of the titles included did not even chart!! The sound quality is fine but that is not the only factor to consider when rating a recording. I am very glad that I bought this set used because it is certainly not worth the new price. January 16, 2006

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