Food for the Spirit (album)

Food for the Spirit
A photo of Robinson's face
Studio album by
Smokey Robinson
Released2004 (2004)
StudioCreative Source Studios (Woodland Hills, California)
GenreGospel music[1]
Length44:21
LanguageEnglish
LabelLiquid 8
ProducerMichael Stokes
Smokey Robinson chronology
Intimate
(1999) 		Food for the Spirit
(2004) 		My World (The Definitive Collection)
(2005)

Food for the Spirit is a Gospel music album by American vocalist Smokey Robinson, released in 2004. A departure from Robinson's typical soul music work, the album received mixed reception and Robinson returned to soul after this release.

Reception

Editors at AllMusic Guide scored this release 2.5 out of five stars, with critic Thom Jurek calling it "a slick, very contemporary soul-gospel recording" and that Robinson has a "still gorgeous voice", but the performance competes with the production.[1] Writing in Rolling Stone, Bud Scoppa gave this release three out of five stars, praising Robinson's vocals, but decrying "heavy-handed social commentary".[2]

Track listing

All songs written by Smokey Robinson

  1. "Jesus Told Me to Love You" – 5:55
  2. "Let Your Light Shine On Me" – 4:41
  3. "The Road to Damascus" – 5:34
  4. "Standing On Jesus" – 3:19
  5. "He Can Fix Anything" – 3:50
  6. "I Have Prayed On It" – 5:48
  7. "Gang Bangin'" – 5:02
  8. "I Praise & Worship You Father" – 4:29
  9. "We Are the Warriors" – 5:43

Personnel

  • Smokey Robinson – vocals
  • Michael Stokes – keyboards, acoustic piano, programming, arrangements, horn and string arrangements
  • D'Andre Franklin – keyboards, acoustic piano, programming, horn and string arrangements
  • Clint Stokes III – keyboards, acoustic piano, programming
  • Kelvin Thomas – keyboards
  • Sydney Stokes – guitars
  • Rick Whitfield – guitars
  • Andrew Gouche – bass guitar
  • Alexandra Brown – backing vocals
  • Carmen Carter – backing vocals
  • Louis Price – backing vocals
  • Jacquelyn L. Similey – backing vocals
  • Oren Waters – backing vocals

Production

  • Michael Stokes – producer, engineer, mixing
  • D'Andre Franklin – associate producer, assistant engineer, mix assistant
  • Clint Stokes III – associate producer
  • Khaliq Glover – assistant engineer, mix assistant
  • Bernie Grundman – mastering at Bernie Grundman Mastering (Hollywood, California)
  • Sherman Keith Hill – art supervision
  • Deja Daije and SKH – artwork, design
  • Christina M. Lopez and SKH – art direction

Chart performance

Food for the Spirit reached 44 on Billboard's Top R&B/Hip-Hop Albums.[3]

See also

References

  1. ^ a b Jurek, Thom. "Smokey Robinson – Food for the Spirit". AllMusic Guide. Retrieved April 25, 2023.
  2. ^ Scoppa, Bud (May 5, 2004). "Food for the Spirit". Rolling Stone. Retrieved April 25, 2023.
  3. ^ "Smokey Robinson - Awards". AllMusic. Archived from the original on January 25, 2013. Retrieved February 12, 2022.