What Love Has...Joined Together

by Andrew Hamilton A stunning concept album by Smokey Robinson & the Miracles that should have fared better. Notables wrote the six songs, all love ballads: Stevie Wonder, Marvin Gaye, Berry Gordy, Frank Wilson, Bacharach & David, Lennon & McCartney, and Smokey himself. Every selection is a wedding song, and Smokey caresses the lyrics like they were newborns. The heavenly harmonies of the Miracles -- Ronald White, Bobby Rogers, Pete Moore, and Claudette Robinson -- touch the soul. When they sing Brenda Holloway's "You Made Me So Very Happy," you don't just hear the words; for five minutes and four seconds you experience what lovers feel. The harmonies on "What Love Has..." are overwhelming, almost overkill. Smokey drenches more soul onto Marvin Gaye's "If This World Was Mine" then the master himself. The lush arrangements by Smokey and Jerry Long will make you dizzy. Motown didn't release any singles from What Love Has... A good photo of Claudette Robinson in a pensive pose graces the back cover.