Essar (album)

Essar
Studio album by Smokey Robinson
Released	1984
Recorded	1984
Genre	R&B, soul
Length	41:44
Label	Motown
Producer	Smokey Robinson and Reginald "Sonny" Burke
Smokey Robinson chronology
Touch the Sky (1983)Touch the Sky1983 Essar (1984) Smoke Signals (1986)Smoke Signals1986

Professional ratings
Review scores
Source	Rating
Allmusic	link

Essar is a 1984 album by American singer Smokey Robinson. For the most part it was produced and arranged by Robinson with Reginald "Sonny" Burke. The album was released on the Motown sub-label Tamla.

Reception

The album only peaked at #141 on Billboard pop charts, and at #35 on R&B charts. "And I Don't Love You" peaked at #106 Billboard and #33 R&B charts, and "I Can't Find" at #109 Billboard and #41 R&B charts.

Although the 12" B-Side of "And I Don't Love You" Larry Levan's Instrumental (Dub) became a Horse Meat Disco classic in the late 2000s.^[1]

William Ruhlmann gave 2 out of 5 stars on AllMusic, addressing it as "the low point" in Robinson's career and holding Sonny Burke's dominating synthesiser play responsible.^[2] Where Robert Christgau rated it as B+, acknowledging that there are "fillers", but concluding with "one thing you can say about Smokey's filler that you can't say about anybody else's--Smokey's singing it".^[3]

Track listing

Side A

1. "And I Don't Love You" (William "Smokey" Robinson) – 5:20
2. "Train Of Thought" (William "Smokey" Robinson) – 4:55
3. "I Can't Find" (William "Smokey" Robinson) – 6:15
4. "Why Are You Running From My Love" (Scott V. Smith, Stephen Tavani) – 4:20

Side B

1. "Gone Forever (Theme from the motion picture Cry of the City" (Mark Davis) – 3:10
2. "Close Encounters Of The First Kind" (William "Smokey" Robinson) – 4:35
3. "Little Girl Little Girl" (William "Smokey" Robinson) – 5:12
4. "Girl I'm Standing There" (William "Smokey" Robinson) – 4:25
5. "Driving Thru Life In The Fast Lane" (Milton Brown, Snuff Garrett, Steve Dorff) – 3:32

Personnel

• Vocals – William "Smokey" Robinson
• Backing Vocals – Ivory Davis, Patricia Henley Talbert, Smokey Robinson
• Guitars – Charles Fearing, Wah Wah Watson, David T. Walker
• Bass – "Ready" Freddie Washington
• Drums, Keyboards – Reginald "Sonny" Burke
• Producers – William "Smokey" Robinson, Jr. and Reginald "Sonny" Burke
• Arranged by Reginald "Sonny" Burke
• Assistant Mixing Engineers – William "Smokey" Robinson, Jr. and Reginald "Sonny" Burke
• Recording Engineer – Mitchel Delevie
• Mixing & Editing Engineer – Barney Perkins at Kendun Recorders, Burbank, California
• Editing Assistant – Phillip Walters
• Second Engineers – Fred Law, Jeff DeMorris
• Mastered By – Bernie Grundman at Bernie Grundman Mastering, Hollywood, California
• Contractor – George Annis
• Copyist – Andres Victorin, Music Suite
• Cover Concept – William "Smokey" Robinson
• Photography By – Aaron Rapoport
• Art Direction – Johnny Lee

Additional credits:

"And I Don't Love You"

• Yamaha DX7 Programming – Clark Spangler
• Assistant Editor – Bob Robitaille

"I Can't Find"

• Cello – Michael "Jake" Jacobsen
• Concertmaster – Harry Bluestone

"Why Are You Running From My Love" – Recorded at Mama Jo's, North Hollywood, with:

• Backing Vocals – Howard McCrary, Howard Smith, Ivory Davis
• Guitar – James Harrah
• Keyboards – Michael Ruff
• Synthesizer Programming – Rhett Lawrence
• LinnDrum Programming – Davis Lynn Coulter, Scott V. Smith
• Engineers – Chris Banninger, Frank Wolf, Win Kutz
• Second Engineers – Steve Ford, Todd Van Etten
• Producers - Scott V. Smith, Stephen Tavani

"Gone Forever" – Recorded at Golden Sound Studios, Inc., Hollywood with:

• Backing Vocals – Allan Rich, Carmen Grillio, Mindy Sterling
• Bass – Lequeint "Duke" Jobe
• Keyboards, Synthesizer – Mark Davis
• Oboe – William Green
• Vocal Engineer – Mitchel Delevie
• Rhythm Engineer – Karen Siegel
• Assistant Engineer– Michael Dotson
• Producer – Mark Davis and William "Smokey" Robinson

"Girl I'm Standing There"

• Cello – Michael "Jake" Jacobsen
• Concertmaster – Harry Bluestone
• Rhythm Engineer – Mitchel Delevie, Paul Ring

"Driving Thru Life In The Fast Lane"

• Backing Vocals – Julia Tillman Waters, Maxine Willard Waters, Oren Waters, Smokey Robinson
• Bass – Joseph Chemay
• Drums – John E. Robinson
• Guitars – Dann Huff, Paul M. Jackson, Jr.
• Keyboards – John Hobbs
• Percussion – Paulinho da Costa
• Trombones – Dick Hyde, Richard Noel
• Trumpets – Gary Grant, Warren Luening, Jerry Hey
• Horns Arrangements – Larry Herbstritt
• Rhythm Arrangements – Steve Dorff
• Session Coordinator – Dave Pell
• Engineer – Ed Barton, Gary Singleman, Marv Clamme
• Producer – Randy Dunlap, Steve Dorff

Essar to Emgee

The cover backside contains a handwritten message: "A note to Emgee: We're really gonna miss you, Essar" – obviously from Smokey Robinson (S.R.) to his colleague Marvin Gaye (M.G.) who was murdered on April 1, 1984.^[4]

References

External links

• Essar on Discogs