About.com Rating

Smokey Robinson's still got it. Although he's almost 70 years old and has spent more than 50 years in the spotlight as a singer and songwriter, Smokey's still got skills. And although his latest album, Time Flies When You're Having Fun (released in the U.S. on Aug. 25, 2009), isn't a perfect album, there's still more than enough quality material to make his devoted fans happy. Other than one cover song, Time Flies is filled with all-new material, and although Smokey plays it too safe sometimes (resulting in a few boring songs) other tracks are as steamy and sexy as anything he recorded back in his '70s heyday.

Hot, Sensual

Although there aren't any bad songs on the album, the really, really good songs on Time Flies aren't the radio-friendly tracks that are packed up front. After the first four songs, the album really begins to hit its stride, starting with "One Time," an up-tempo track about a man who's trying to sweet talk a woman to give him some lovin': "If what I see is what I get, I'd like to touch it all," he sings. And on the next song, the sensual "Please Don't Take Your Love," Smokey sings in three different languages - Spanish, French and English - to try convincing his love not to leave him: "Por favor, S'il vous plai, please please please, don't take your love away." Another hot song is the bass guitar-driven "Love Bath," wherein Smokey sexily sings about spending some quality time in the tub with a bathing partner.

The thought of a senior citizen getting his groove on may sound weird, but to Smokey's credit, he sounds as natural now singing about love and romance as he did back when he was a member of the Miracles in the Sixties and Seventies.

Even after all these years, he's managed to retain the essence of what made him great: his tender, romantic voice. The album's big drawback, as mentioned above, is that the album is front-loaded with generic songs meant for radio airplay.

Classy, Dignified

Smokey's cover of Norah Jones' mega-hit "Don't Know Why" gets credit for being vastly different from the original, but Smokey's version is as bland as solid beige wallpaper. Also, the usually powerful Joss Stone sounds disappointingly plain on the duet "You're the One for Me." Apparently, either she consciously toned down her usual style in order to better mesh with Smokey's soft vocals, or her vocals were mixed down afterward. On the other hand, India.Arie shines on another duet, "You're Just My Life," but it's too bad that the ballad's tucked away at the end of the album. In fact, if the album as a whole had it's entire tracklist reversed, it would probably be a better listen. As is, the most compelling material on Time Flies is the last few songs, while the forgettable material is front and center.

Overall though, the album is a nice, solid addition to Smokey's discography. Unlike many aging singers, Smokey manages to not embarrass himself by recording material meant for a much younger singer, and he thankfully doesn't embarrass himself by trying to sound or act much younger than he is in order to try attracting a younger demographic. This album is a classy, dignified, respectful collection of songs that is pretty likely to please most of Smokey's longtime fans.