When Stevie Wonder applied his tremendous songwriting talents to the unsettled social morass that was the early '70s, he produced one of his greatest, most important works, a rich panoply of songs addressing drugs, spirituality, political ethics, the unnecessary perils of urban life, and what looked to be the failure of the '60s dream -- all set within a collection of charts as funky and catchy as any he'd written before. Two of the highlights, "Living for the City" and "Too High," make an especially deep impression thanks to Stevie's narrative talents; on the first, an eight-minute mini-epic, he brings a hard-scrabble Mississippi black youth to the city and illustrates, via a brilliant dramatic interlude, what lies in wait for innocents. (He also uses his variety of voice impersonations to stunning effect.) "Too High" is just as stunning, a cautionary tale about drugs driven by a dizzying chorus of scat vocals and a springing bassline. "Higher Ground," a funky follow-up to the previous album's big hit ("Superstition"), and "Jesus Children of America" both introduced Wonder's interest in Eastern religion. It's a tribute to his genius that he could broach topics like reincarnation and transcendental meditation in a pop context with minimal interference to the rest of the album. Wonder also made no secret of the fact that "He's Misstra Know-It-All" was directed at Tricky Dick, aka Richard Milhouse Nixon, then making headlines (and destroying America's faith in the highest office) with the biggest political scandal of the century. Putting all these differing themes and topics into perspective was the front cover, a striking piece by Efram Wolff portraying Stevie Wonder as the blind visionary, an artist seeing far better than those around him what was going on in the early '70s, and using his astonishing musical gifts to make this commentary one of the most effective and entertaining ever heard.
...Man, Stevie was hella funky back when "*Talking Book*":http://www.thestore24.com/Music/Album.aspx?p_id=P+++139462&a_id=R++++22214&PersonID=P%20%20%20139462&prodid=MOT157354.2 dropped......"*Innervisions*":http://www.thestore24.com/Music/Album.aspx?p_id=P+++139462&a_id=R++++22215&PersonID=P%20%20%20139462&prodid=MOT157355.2 too, for that matter...peep "Higher Ground":...both LPs are *solid co...
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I took a train from Portland OR. to Seattle WA., straight through the Oregon Cascades one snowy day in late February and this was the only album I had to listen to, which wasn't so bad at all.(UPS is supposed to be delivering my new Photoshop today and I'll be damned if I miss it, it's so beautiful outside that it's killing me to be inside.)
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...Man, Stevie was hella funky back when "*Talking Book*":http://www.thestore24.com/Music/Album.aspx?p_id=P+++139462&a_id=R++++22214&PersonID=P%20%20%20139462&prodid=MOT157354.2 dropped......"*Innervisions*":http://www.thestore24.com/Music/Album.aspx?p_id=P+++139462&a_id=R++++22215&PersonID=P%20%20%20139462&prodid=MOT157355.2 too, for that matter...peep "Higher Ground":...both LPs are *solid co...
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Another in a series ... Listen to the crazy hi-hat on this by Stevie Wonder (above). Could just be a cymbal. Not sure. Up there with Living on the Frontline (below: always worth another listen) for cymbolic excellence.
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Not bad, Stevie.SINGLE VERSION (4:01): FULL LENGTH (7:23):
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Went to DJ Spinna and Bobitto's Wonderful (A Dance Party Tribute to Stevie Wonder) party last night! This party has been running for about 10 years and I think I went to the very first one back then and hadn't been to one since until last year when I went and left early after becoming sick from something I ate earlier that day. Anyway, I'm 38; which isn't that old by today's standards but I alw...
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I've gotta admit, not being a Christian, I was a bit hesitant to listen to "Jesus Children of America" when I got Innervisions years and years ago, for fear it would be some sort of proselytizing forgettable tune, one for the Unlistenable pile (where Styx, my fave group in 8th grade, currently resides). Looking back, I see two mistakes with that assumption: one, I never knew Stevie Wonder to pr...
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| Title | Lyrics | Buy |
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| 1 Too High |
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| 2 Visions |
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| 3 Living for the City |
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| 4 Golden Lady |
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| 5 Higher Ground |
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| 6 Jesus Children of America |
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| 7 All in Love Is Fair |
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| 8 Don't You Worry 'Bout a Thing |
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| 9 He's Misstra Know It All |
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 "Innervisions")
