After spending nearly twenty years fronting The Miracles, in 1972, Smokey Robinson made the tough decision to leave the group to concentrate on his family and explore a solo career. Leaving the artistic place you have called home for so long is a big decision for an artist, and no one truly knew what Robinson’s solo career would bring. Releasing his debut album Smokey in 1973, it peaked at number seventy on the Billboard Albums chart and stayed there for nineteen weeks. Not too bad for the talented singer/songwriter/producer, the album showed a new maturity in his sound that only continued to grow with the 1974 follow-up Pure Smokey.
Initially released on March 15, 1974, Pure Smokey found Smokey Robinson venturing into new territory with a sound that mixed Soul and Funk but also touched on some extremely serious topics. For example, “It’s Her Turn to Live” (which peaked at Number twenty-nine on the R&B Charts) was a song written by Robinson in honor of his elder sister, who raised him in the wake of his mother’s passing. Then there is “The Love Between Me and My Kids,” which touches on the challenges facing a family in the midst of parents separating.
Quite thought-provoking, you can also turn to “Virgin Man,” raising the question of whether a man is as much a man if they are not as experienced, but also “She’s Only A Baby Herself,” reflecting on a teenage daughter getting pregnant and being faced with the heartache of how to approach the situation. However, there is no overlooking the more romantic, catchy “I Am I Am,” which hit Number twelve on the R&B Charts, or the very unique metaphors for the true meaning of love with “A Tattoo” and the simply ear-pleasing smoothness of “Just Passing Through.”
Overall, the album marked a change in Smokey Robinson’s style still while retaining a signature style. Interestingly enough, many of the tracks on Pure Smokey (much like 1973’s Smokey) feature co-writing by Robinson’s Miracles bandmate, Marv Tarplin. Tarplin, a fantastic guitarist, had left The Miracles in 1973 to join up with Robinson for collaborations for his solo career, and he remained working with him for many years to come. Beyond this, few may know that famed Arranger Gene Page worked on Pure Smokey, while Guitarist Wah Wah Watson of the Funk Brothers and the award-winning Jeffrey Osborne handled drums in the studio.
Each factor that makes Pure Smokey a very enjoyable listen may not have been as successful as Robinson’s debut album, but it would be a springboard to the extremely successful 1975 album A Quiet Storm. That is why it is exciting to see that Elemental Music is reissuing Pure Smokey on vinyl in early 2025. A continuation of their 2024 campaign, which saw the label reissue a ton of classic Motown Records, in the world of Smokey Robinson alone, they put out Smokey on in June as a cool blue color vinyl, as well as Smokey Robinson & The Miracles’ 1967 album Make It Happen in the original mono format on vinyl in August.
This leads us to January 17, 2025, when Pure Smokey emerges as a limited edition 140-gram virgin vinyl edition through Elemental Music, and let us just say it sounds as silky as ever. Also featuring the original cover and back cover artwork, it is a must-have for those who recall the album or who are urged to self-educate on the evolution of Smokey Robinson. Put together with care, just like each other, Elemental Music vinyl reissue of Motown Records favorites, Cryptic Rock recommends picking up the new limited edition pressing of Pure Smokey, giving it 4.5 out of 5 stars.
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