Special Occasion

This 1968 LP by Smokey Robinson & The Miracles is a gleaming example of the subtle maturation of the Motown sound. True to form, Smokey delivered three Top 40 hits, “Yester Love,” “If You Can Want” and “Special Occasion.” They are lined up at the beginning of Special Occasion like three cherries atop a sundae, and even if none achieved legendary status, all three demonstrate the loosening of the Motown groove. As the '60s waned, the house band got funkier and more relaxed, even as Smokey’s songwriting remained as sharp and sweet as ever before. “Everybody Needs Love” and “You Only Build Me Up to Tear Me Down” show that he could still create Motown goodies in the classic mold, but more interesting are “Much Better Off” and a cover of the Beatles’ “Yesterday,” lush, baroque songs that anticipate the Philly sound that would come to dominate R&B in the years to follow. Stranded in the middle of the album, “Just Losing You” and “Give Her Up” are easy to miss; yet of all these songs, this pair best captures Smokey’s fragile, openhearted essence.