Make It Happen by Smokey Robinson & The Miracles

Make It Happen, Smokey Robinson & the Miracles' 1967 album for Motown, is a ballad record at heart, and a gorgeous one. "More Love" and "The Love I Saw in You Was Just a Mirage" were the hits, Smokey's feathery voice floating over arrangements so sweet they ache. Brian Holland gets the producer credit, and the writing is a family affair: Pete Moore and Marv Tarplin each co-wrote with Robinson, every Miracle but Claudette pitched in on the up-tempo rocker "Dancing's Alright", Holland-Dozier-Holland handed over the good-time "It's a Good Feeling", and there's a take on Little Anthony & the Imperials' "I'm on the Outside (Looking In)".

The sleeper was "The Tears of a Clown", a bouncy, circus-bright number Stevie Wonder co-wrote with his producer Hank Cosby. Put out as a single later on, it topped the Billboard Hot 100 and the UK chart, and the LP was reissued under its name. Allmusic later called it the most underrated Miracles album of the decade.

Written with AI assistance from RockLists chart data, MusicBrainz and Wikipedia.