Customer Reviews

Ultimate Collection

5 star:		(19)
4 star:		(3)
3 star:		(0)
2 star:		(0)
1 star:		(0)

 

 

I dont care what others say about The Supremes,Temptations, or other Motown groups,the MIRACLES were the greatest group to ever come out of Motown.PERIOD!! Why ? for one thing,they were the FIRST MOTOWN GROUP.It was their success that paved the way for all the others. Had they not been successful, there would have been NO MOTOWN,and none of those other groups would have even found fame ,or at least not to the extent which they did.They also had Motown's first million-selling record "Shop Around".THE MIRACLES put MOTOWN on the map. During the company's critical early years- 1959-1964- they were BY FAR Motowns TOP GROUP,(despite what certain reviewers have written},with top 10 pop hits in '1961,'62,AND' 63, the STAR ATTRACTION of the legendary MOTORTOWN REVUES,and the ONLY group that was bringing any serious money into the company!!Yet, while all the other Motown groups have been inducted ,AS GROUPS, into the ROCK AND ROLL HALL OF FAME, The MIRACLES have been ignored.They chose to induct only Smokey.What a shame and insult to MOTOWN'S legendary First Group. The TEMPTATIONS ? great singers and dancers to be sure,but what most Temptations fans won't tell you is that 9 of their first 12 hits were actually written by The MIRACLES !! not just Smokey,THE WHOLE GROUP !! Don't believe it ? just look at the writing credits on the Tempts GREATEST HITS album !(How many MIRACLES songs did the TEMPTATIONS WRITE ? think about it}. THE SUPREMES ? They wouldn't have even GOTTEN on Motown if not for Smokey !! Stevie Wonder? He was discovered by Miracles member RONNIE WHITE !! THE MARVELETTES,MARVIN GAYE,THE CONTOURS, & MARY WELLS ? Yep, they wrote their stuff too.The MIRACLES were responsible,either directly or indirectly, for the success of just about EVERY EARLY ARTIST ON THE MOTOWN LABEL!! In fact ,of the five leading Motown groups ( Supremes, Temptations,4 tops,Miracles,J-5 }The MIRACLES were the ONLY ones that wrote their own material. Hopefully one day ,the ROCK AND ROLL HALL OF FAME will induct them ALL-SMOKEY, BOBBY,RONNIE, PETE, MARV & CLAUDETTE ,not just SMOKEY , as they did.Want to know why they deserve it? Just listen to this CD.Then, read the writing credits.It will prove that SMOKEY wasn't the ONLY serious talent in this group.THERE WILL NEVER BE ANOTHER GROUP LIKE THE MIRACLES...EVER !

Checked out all of the other available offerings on amazon.com and found that this is still the best available collection from one of the pioneer groups at Motown. And the price is right too. Although Smokey Robinson and the Miracles were never on Motown's "A" team in terms of chart success, they were nonetheless a reliable money maker for the label for over a decade. Lead singer Smokey Robinson, who wrote all but three of the selections on this disc, has long been regarded as one of America's greatest tunesmiths. From the first big smash "Shop Around" released in 1960 until their the final #1 hit "Tears of A Clown" in 1970, the Miracles were on the charts almost continuously. You'll find nearly all of their hits on this 25 track disc. Among my personal favorites are 1967's "More Love" and "Baby, Baby Don't Cry" from 1969. It is really quite amazing that the Miracles did not achieve even more chart success then they did. Thanks to the masterful pen of Smokey Robinson, the group had a seemingly endless supply of material to work with. Alas, Smokey left the Miracles and went solo in 1972. The Miracles went on to have a couple of more big hits over the next few years. And Smokey enjoyed some chart success on his own as well. In looking over some of the other reviews here on amazon.com the verdict is virtually unanimous. This is a five star selection!!!

Certainly, a fitting compilation of the group's best songs! These aren't all in chronological order like some of the other "Ultimate Collections" are. That shouldn't detract from your enjoyment, though. That matters the least. I don't thank Motown missed anything when this was being put together. For someone young, I know Smokey and the Miracles well, and there are some songs I never heard of. Those were remarkable, too. It felt like the disc was never going to end. 25 songs is a perfect line-up. This is certainly one of the best Motown "Ultimate Collections." Second my emotion, for it's worth your while!

Smokey Robinson is best friends with my grandpa, Ronald Welser.
I got to hear this pre-release due to this fact.
It is awesome.
Buy it NOW if you like Smokey.

In Britain, Smokey and the Miracles are remembered primarily for two songs, these being Tracks of my tears (later revived by Linda Ronstadt) and Tears of a clown, but they were more successful in their homeland. Among their American hits to be found on this collection are I second that emotion (later revived by the Supremes and Temptations), Shop around (later revived by Captain and Tennille), Mickey's monkey and You've really got a hold on me. All of those hits came in the early sixties, before Motown's success spread internationally.

Smokey was a prolific songwriter, but as the sixties progressed, he gave many of his best songs to other Motown acts, so hits for his own group tended to be smaller and fewer. The last significant American hits they had together were If you can wait, which just missed the American top ten in 1968, and Tears of a clown, which was actually released on an album in 1967 but became a transatlantic number one in 1970. So their biggest hit came at a time when they were a fading attraction. It did not revive their career, which ended as a unit with 1972's We've come too far to end it now.

A separate compilation in the same series is available of Smokey's solo recordings with Motown. Being with you and other solo gems can be found on that compilation. So, this excellent collection of their best songs together includes all the essentials, something that cannot be said of all the compilations in this series.

Smokey Robinson is among the great song writers of our time. Providing dozens of hit songs for the "Young America Family", Mr. Robinson reserved a few gems for himself and his Miracles. "Shop Around" and "Tears Of A Clown" made Motown History. When someone put Smokey's "Ooh, Baby Baby" or "More Love" on the record player, the party was going to get serious! This CD has much of Smokey's best.

As a "kid of the 70s", remembering many tunes when they were "brand new", I notice a few "golden goodies" not included in this collection. There is no way that one disc can hold Smokey Robinson & the Miracles' body of work. Not included are "What's so Good About Goodbye" (which has some of his best lyric writing, in my opinion), "Doggone Right", "Here I Go Again" and several others.

I think the best Smokey Robinson collection is found in the release of the 2CD Smokey Robinson Anthology released by Motown. It is only slightly more expensive, but covers MUCH more ground.

If you're in the market "shopping around" for a great Motown CD, whether you are just starting a collection or expanding the one you already accumulated, look no further, you found it!*****

With all due respect to the Temptations and the Four Tops, Smokey Robinson and the Miracles were the most exciting group on the Motwon label. You can have your Beatles and Rolling Stones, but when it came to soul with a light touch of pop, you can't beat this fabulous group that had such brilliant classics like "Tears of a Clown," "More Love," "Shop Around," and "I Second That Emotion." Robinson is one of the greatest vocalists ever, and you can feel the unfiltered emotion when he sings through such breakup songs like "The Love I Saw in You Was Just a Mirage" or "The Tracks of My Tears." But my track of choice is the rare love song, "You Can Depend On Me," which, I understand, appeared as a b-side. This collection is a great survey of the group's contribution to the Motown label and belongs in the collection of any lover of soul.

In 1986,MOTOWN had allready well compiled SMOKEY AND THE MIRACLES with a 2 cd ANTHOLOGY of 45 songs.In 1998,they simply eliminated a few songs to make a single cd of highlights.This excellent selection shows why ROBINSON was among the best composer of the sixties with his label mates H-D-H.But SMOKEY did more than write for his group,he also wrote songs for MARY WELLS,THE TEMPTATIONS etc.BERRY GORDY once called his friend the most unselfish person i know.He will always be remembered as one of the guys who helped to establish the original MOTOWN sound of DETROIT.I'll TRY SOMETHING NEW,OOO BABY BABY and THE TRACKS OF MY TEARS my personal favorites ,were recorded by other artists later.MICKEY'S MONKEY and GOING TO A-GO GO(covered by THE STONES on one of their live albums)were the novelty songs.God bless you SMOKEY ROBINSON.

Smokey Robinson was called by Bob Dylan "America's Greatest Living Poet". Indeed he was correct! Smokey did something to a song no one could ever do, just listen to "Ooo Baby, Baby". "The Tears of a Clown" is just a great song as well as the rest of these on this CD. If you "Shop Around" you'll find this is a great CD.

This CD covers the career of Smokey Robinson and his Miracles very well. Even though I owned the Miracles' anthology several years ago, I noticed that a lot of songs I enjoyed from that anthology were omitted from this ULTIMATE COLLECTION. But that's okay. If you want the biggest and most popular hit songs that the group made from the beginning to the end, you'll find them here. From "Bad Girl" (one of my all time favorites) to "We've Come Too Far To End It Now", there's not a bad cut in the bunch. I've always loved Smokey's contradictory technique of writing love songs ("Just a minute ago, your love was here...all of a sudden it seemed to disappear...sweetness was only heartaches' camouflage, the love I saw in you was just a mirage") and clever little puns wrapped up into memorable tunes ("I'm a choosey beggar").

Smokey was one of the most amazing songwriters of the 20th century, and his best work was with his group, the Miracles. And we can't forget about Smokey's pristine falsetto voice sailing over the music, with the tight harmonies of Bobby Rogers, Ronnie White, Warren "Pete" Moore and Claudette Rogers Robinson holding it down in the background. Take a listen to the angst of songs like "Who's Lovin' You", "(Come 'Round Here) I'm The One You Need", "My Girl Has Gone", "Ooh Baby Baby" and "The Tracks of My Tears". Hear about the joys of being in love with "I'll Try Something New", "More Love" and "I Second That Emotion", and the comforting sounds of "Baby Baby, Don't Cry" and "You Can Depend On Me". Hear some motherly advice via "Shop Around", and just dance and have a good time with fun songs like "Going To A Go Go" and "Mickey's Monkey". Get this CD and you'll realize just why Bob Dylan once dubbed Smokey as "the greatest living poet"! With the exception of the fact that most of these songs are in monophonic sound when stereo recordings are available (which was a slight disappointment), this is a truly "Ultimate" collection!