Motown legend Smokey Robinson is set to return with his first album of all new material in over decade, and he’s left absolutely nothing to the imagination with the title: Gasms.
The silk-voiced singer-songwriter teased the LP with a new single, “If We Don’t Have Each Other,” which finds Robinson delivering devoted lines over sultry guitar and snappy production.
“I chose this song as the first single of my new album because it’s different musically and has a slide dance feeling to it… which is different from what I’ve ever done before,” Robinson said of the new tune in a statement. “It also has a current rhythm of today that I love, and I hope everyone else does too.”
Gasms — which is set to arrive April 28 — is Robinson’s first album of all new material since 2009’s Time Flies When You’re Having Fun. And though it took him a while to reach Gasms, he’s stayed busy with other projects, like his 2014 collaborative album, Smokey and Friends, which found him reimagining some of his biggest hits with the likes of Elton John, John Legend, Mary J. Blige, James Taylor, and more. In 2017, he released the holiday record, Christmas Everyday.
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More recently, Robinson partnered with Rita Wilson for a rendition of “Where Is the Love?” — the Roberta Flack and Donny Hathaway one, not the Black Eyed Peas one — for her 2022 duets album. In 2019, he partnered with Anderson .Paak to co-write and sing on “Make It Better” off his album, Ventura.
News of Gasms arrives as Robinson and Motown founder Berry Gordy get ready to be honored as the 2023 MusiCares Persons of the Year. The duo will be feted with an all-star tribute concert next Friday, Feb. 3, two nights before the Grammys. The show will feature performances from John Legend, the Isley Brothers, Michael McDonald, Brandi Carlile, Dionne Warwick, Sheryl Crow, Chloe x Halle, and more.
