Love Breeze Explained

Love Breeze
Type:	Album
Artist:	Smokey Robinson
Border:	yes
Released:	1978
Label:	Motown
Producer:	Smokey Robinson, Jerry Butler, Homer Talbert III, Mike & Brenda Sutton
Prev Title:	Big Time
Prev Year:	1977
Next Title:	Smokin'
Next Year:	1978

Love Breeze is an album by the American musician Smokey Robinson, released in 1978. It was arranged by Sonny Burke. It peaked at No. 75 on the Billboard 200.^[1]

Critical reception

The Bay State Banner determined that "Smokey is content to master today's wah-wah-ing and orchestral perfumery, as his production stretches the music so thin it nearly breaks: soloists' one-notes stand as alone as Smokey's voice."^[2] In 2011, The New Yorker wrote: "The record has uncomfortable duds, like 'Shoe Soul', which takes a pedestrian pun to absurd lengths, but also songs like 'Daylight and Darkness', which poses a number of increasingly pointed questions about a lover's mood swings. The music is smooth, easy listening unless you're really listening."^[3]

Track listing

Side one

1. "Why You Wanna See My Bad Side" (Smokey Robinson, Janie Bradford) - (3:45)
2. "Love So Fine" (Smokey Robinson) - (4:34)
3. "Feeling You, Feeling Me" (Homer Talbert, Jerry Butler) - (3:52)
4. "Madam X" (words: Smokey Robinson; music: Marv Tarplin) - (6:28)

Side two

1. "Shoe Soul" (words: Smokey Robinson; music: Mike Sutton, Brenda Sutton) - (4:41)
2. "Trying It Again" (Smokey Robinson, Richard Williams) - (4:53)
3. "Daylight and Darkness" (Smokey Robinson, Rose Ella Jones) - (4:00)
4. "I'm Loving You Softly" (Kennis Jones) - (4:29)

Personnel

• Smokey Robinson – lead and backing vocals
• John Barnes – keyboards
• James Bradford – bass piano
• Reginald "Sonny" Burke – keyboards, arrangements (1, 2, 4-8)
• Ronnie McNeir – Fender Rhodes
• Sylvester Rivers – keyboards
• Fred Ross – organ
• Michael Sutton – keyboards, clavinet
• Marlo Henderson – guitars
• Rick Littlefield – guitars
• Marvin Tarplin – guitars
• Wah-Wah Watson – guitars
• David T. Walker – guitars
• Scott Edwards – bass guitar
• James Jamerson – bass guitar
• Chuck Rainey – bass guitar
• David Shields – bass guitar
• Wayne Tweed – bass guitar
• James Gadson – drums
• Ed Greene – drums
• Scotty Harris – drums
• Paulinho da Costa – percussion
• James Sledge – congas, backing vocals
• Bob Zimmitti – percussion, vibraphone
• Fred Smith – flutes, reeds, solos
• Michael Jacobsen – cello
• Bob "Boogie" Bowles – arrangements (3)
• Kim Richmond – horn arrangements (5)
• Arthur G. Wright – rhythm and string arrangements (5)
• Melba Bradford – backing vocals
• Cheryl Cooper – backing vocals
• Ivory Davis – backing vocals
• Patricia Henley – backing vocals
• Jesse Richardson – backing vocals
• Claudette Robinson – backing vocals
• Brenda Sutton – backing vocals

Production

• Producers – Smokey Robinson (Tracks 1, 2, 4, 6, 7 & 8); Jerry Butler and Homer Talbert (Track 3); Mike and Brenda Sutton (Track 5)
• Engineers – Don Boehret, Michael Lizzio, Barney Perkins, Bob Robitaille, Michael Schuman, Art Stewart and Art White.
• Assistant Engineer – James Warmack
• Recorded at Motown Recording Studios (Hollywood, CA); ABC Recording Studios (Los Angeles, CA); Kendun Recorders (Burbank, CA).
• Mixed by Russ Terrana
• Mastered by Jack Andrews
• Mixed and Mastered at Motown Recording Studios (Hollywood, CA).
• Art Direction and Design – Wriston Jones
• Illustration – Brian Zick

Notes and References

1. Web site: Smokey Robinson . Billboard . 26 February 2024.
2. News: Freedberg . Mike . Smokey Robinson Love Breeze . Bay State Banner . 22 . 9 Mar 1978 . 17.
3. Greenman . Ben . Miracle Man . The New Yorker . Feb 14, 2011 . 87 . 1 . 26.