Smokey Robinson is that rare pop singer whose rhapsodic lyricism hasn't diminished with approaching middle age. Indeed, time has added a metaphysical depth to his art. The postadolescent Romeo who created "The Tracks of My Tears" and "Ooh, Baby Baby" exudes the same sweetness today he did fifteen years ago…. Smokey Robinson's faith in the redemptive power of erotic love continues unabated. In Robinson's musical world, sexual happiness isn't the product of spiritual equilibrium but its source….

[Again] and again on Being with You, Smokey Robinson performs unassuming aesthetic miracles. In contrast to last year's Warm Thoughts (which, with A Quiet Storm is the pinnacle of Robinson's solo career), the tunes … on the new album are smaller-scaled. There aren't any grand ballads to compare with "What's in Your Life for Me," no lavish production numbers like "Melody Man." Instead, the heart of Being with You consists of simple...