Personnel: Terrence Bolden (guitar, drum programming); David T. Walker, Dean DeLeo, Tariqh Akoni, Phil Upchurch, Ray Parker, Jr., David E. Williams (guitar); Gary Gold (piano, keyboards, drums, drum programming); David Garfield (piano, keyboards); Ricky Lawson (drums); Luis Conte (percussion); Karrie Benoit-Morales, Darryl Phinessy, Darryl Phinnessee, Dorian Holley, Karrie Benoit, Serena Henry, Damon Bourne (background vocals).
Audio Mixers: Gary Gold; Smokey Robinson.
Recording information: Centerstaging Studio #1, Burbank; Cevallos Brothers Studios; John Kilgore Sound & Recording; Tarpan Studios; The Clubhouse Studios; The Village Recorder.
Arrangers: David Garfield; Smokey Robinson.
The time that has flown is Smokey's 50 years in the business, but it could just as well refer to the number of years since Robinson has released a smooth soul album: almost 20 full years! Smokey, of course, has stayed active during the interim, both on-stage and on record, but TIME FLIES WHEN YOU'RE HAVING FUN marks a return to the coolly simmering quiet storm that was his stock in trade during the '70s and '80s. Apart from production techniques, not much has changed in Smokey's music during the time off, either: this is still smooth, unhurried soul that vacillates between elegance and supper-club classiness. Of course, since these are two sides of the same coin, they fit together seamlessly, with the only question being whether the immaculately polished music veers toward the corny, but whenever it does, Smokey's impeccably tailored vocals steer it back to toward the sweetly romantic. After all these years, Smokey still makes it all seem easy--so easy that it's puzzling why he hasn't made a record like this in so long, because as this comforting, velvety album proves, nobody does it better than he.
Professional Reviews
Rolling Stone (p.84) - 3 stars out of 5 -- "He returns here with the smooth 'quiet storm' vibe he invented on his 1975 album of the same name..."
Billboard - "[A] mellow vintage-soul disc that finds the Motown maestro in remarkably fine voice as he flexes his signature falsetto over supplies, unhurried live-band arrangements..."
Q (Magazine) (p.125) - 3 stars out of 5 -- "Robinson's falsetto remains one of pop's founding pillars....He's in a playful mood, delivering self-penned R&B and sage-like covers..."
