What you see here is Mr. Wonder's first album cover (on the left), and his most recent (on the right). I'm sure many readers (assuming this blog has what would constitute as "many" readers) are a little baffled at this selection. Stevie Wonder? The blind guy? The 12-year old multi-instrument, musical virtuoso? The guy whose songs have been covered by the likes of the Red Hot Chili Peppers and Stevie Ray Vaughan? The one that Ellen DeGeneres loves (and really, who doesn't love everything that Ellen does)? The guy who's real name is Stevland Hardaway Morris/Judkins? Yeah, I bet you didn't know that, did you? The guy who wrote "I Just Called To Say I Love You"? Yes, that guy. So what's your beef with him, man? How can you hate on a blind guy? Well, I'll tell you. It's my blog anyway.
Here's the story behind my history with Stevie Wonder:
As a child of the 80s, Stevie Wonder seemed omnipresent. But, he never really captured my interest. I knew of him, but hardly really knew anything about him or the music he made. For me, he was the guy who wrote sappy love songs like "You are the Sunshine of my Life"--and, as one who loved Guns 'n Roses (1987) and NWA (1988)... he was far removed from my interest. At some point, I heard "Superstition" and was shocked to learn that he had performed it, but assumed it was a one-off kind of deal. This was the love-ballad guy, that kind of thing must have been a fluke.
Anyway, somewhere along the way I heard that Stevie wasn't really blind and that he was faking it. At first I thought that was ridiculous, but then somehow the idea gained traction in my mind. How weird was it that there were two blind, African-American, piano-playing soul singers? And, since Ray came first... I liked him better. His music seemed edgier and more raw and exciting. And Stevie's was overproduced and boring. So, obviously the "blind thing" was a sham. As I grew older it kind of became a joke and blew-up into this conspiracy theory thing. Occasionally I'd see something (like the link for Ellen above) where he lifts his glasses to look at something and it would be filed away as evidence. Of course, he could just be a comedic genius...
Time went on, I learned more about Mr. Wonder, heard more of his songs, and grew to accept that he was a talented musician that made music I didn't care for. What made him jump to the top of my short list of bands I "hated," was when I saw him listed as #10 on the "Top 100 Greatest Artists of All Time" and "Superstition" listed as one of the "Top 100 Greatest Rock Songs of All Time" (ahead of "I Want to Hold Your Hand," "Brown Sugar," "Purple Haze," "You Really Got Me," and a slew of others). Then I started notcing him, and his songs, cropping up on all kinds of other lists about rock music and "greatest artists"... and it angered me. Really? "You are the Sunshine of my Life" rocks more than any song by the Stones, Beatles, Kinks, and so on? Yes, I realize these lists are stupid and completely subjective. But what was making people think that this guy was so good? He belongs on the Top 100, but not in the 10, or even top 20. And should any of songs be considered "rock"? What the hell.
The ire continued to build. After several, often somewhat heated, discussions about Stevie Wonder, I came to the conclusion he didn't have any great "albums". Great "songs," sure, but an album? Even my friends that I've asked, when push came to shove, admitted that even on their favorite albums they only really liked a handful of his songs. The one that was mentioned time and time again as a possibility was Songs in the Key of Life. Alright then, I will listen to Songs in the Key of Life and everything else he did. I listened to all his "studio" releases (up to 2005, I don't know that he has any newer ones), and a few live albums that were recommended to me. Thirty albums in all, and 300+ songs.
Here's what I have to say about them:
1962 The Jazz Soul of Little Stevie
Okay... wow. This is actually pretty groovy. Granted, Stevie Wonder didn't write many of the songs (2 of the 10), but then again he was 12 years old. It's 100% instrumental, but it has a swing to it. It's good dancing music. It's also good for the background when you're doing something else. It sounds like it could be used for any of the Austin Powers movies. The song "Fingertips" is a good example of the kind of song on this album. Incidentally, over time, this song would become his first "hit". Perhaps most impressive: he can play, or does play, all, or nearly all, of the instruments on the album. But, the album wasn't a big seller, and I'm guessing many of his current fans don't remember it. It's not like they go to his concerts shouting "Play 'Soul Bongo', track 3 from The Jazz Soul of Little Stevie!"
1962 Tribute to Uncle Ray
In case you didn't notice that Stevie Wonder shared some traits in common with Ray Charles (that they both play piano, what did you think I meant?), this album attempts to cast Stevie Wonder as a 12-year old Ray Charles. The songs on the album either _are_ Ray Charles songs, or sound just like them. There's another original from Stevie, but really it sounds like a lot like a young boy impersonating Mr. Charles. With one very noticeable difference--young Stevie's voice sounds like a little girl, which gives a different spin to these Charles, or Charles'esque, classics (and, honestly, not a very positive spin). Here's your example: "Hallelujah, I Love Her So." If I were Simon Cowell, I'd say, "nice karaoke, but you need to make it your own." (And that goes for the whole album.)
1963 With a Song in My Heart
Of the early records, this one is the worst. Whereas the other early albums might have attempted to force him into a known commodity, this is the worst offense. It's a collection of a ballad standards ("When You Wish Upon a Star," "Smile," "Make Someone Happy," "Put on a Happy Face," "On the Sunny Side of the Street," etc). I won't waste your time with links, because unlike the earlier albums there's nothing that Stevie does with these songs that make them unique. If anything, he slows them down to a nearly painful crawl. Lame.
1963 The 12 Year Old Genius
This is a live album and it revisits some of his "earlier" work. Here you get to see Stevie shine. You can hear the giddiness in his voice and really get a sense of his personality. The studio versions were too cold and produced, but here you can hear him let loose. The standout from this album is his first hit, "Finger Tips". Compare the "studio version" (yes, I linked to this earlier) to the "live version."
1964 Stevie at the Beach
Oddly enough, this album is hard to find. Thank goodness for the power of YouTube, otherwise I would have lost out on this "classic". I'm thinking there's a good reason this is hard to find, and that many fans even forget about its existence. Anyway, this album looks like another attempt at the record company to try to market him. "What's hot right now? Beach songs? Let's do that." While some of the songs still have the prepubescent voice from the earlier records, there are a couple of tracks here that showcase the change of his voice. For instance, "Castles in the Sand" displays a richer tone that some of his later songs will take on. "Ebb Tide" does a good job of showing off his harmonica skills, and my favorite song on the album, "Hey Harmonica Man," is just kind of a groovy, funky song. That said, according to Wonder-lore, Stevie wasn't a big fan of this album, this might be supported by the lack of any original numbers penned by his hand. In either case, I can see why he might want to distance himself from it. Nothing on it feels "original" or distinctly Stevie Wonder.
1966 Up-Tight
Even though this album doesn't feature my favorite Stevie Wonder song, this is my favorite album. It really captures everything that is pretty awesome about Motown music. It has the standout classic "Uptight (Everything's Alright)," which is my second favorite Wonder track. But, unlike any album before this one... this album actually has a cohesive album-feel. There's really only one misstep, and that's the final snoozer track "With a Child's Heart"; it's a shame he didn't end the album with a bang. Well, I guess his cover of Dylan's "Blowin' in the Wind" leaves something to be desired... but at least it puts an original twist on the track--and is far superior to his take on "Mr. Tambourine Man."
1966 Down to Earth
Four originals and eight covers. Here we see Stevie as he's probably best remembered. He's upbeat, he's fun, his take on these covers are snappy and actually offer something new, and his originals are pretty solid as well. It's like his "handlers" finally decided to give up on steering him into being Ray Charles, or a crooner, or something else that he wasn't, and let him go. One of my favorite originals on this album is "Be Cool, Be Calm (And Keep Yourself Together)". This is Motown, baby. The song "Thank You Love" foreshadows his later uptempo love songs, and is pretty snappy. The covers of "Mr. Tambourine Man" and "Bang Bang" are kind of "meh," but by far superior to anything on With a Song in My Heart.
1967 I Was Made to Love Her
This one follows the format of the previous two. It's solid. It's a great collection of Motown hits. There are a number of covers ("Respect," "My Girl," "A Fool for You," and the James Brown classic "Please, Please, Please") and a couple originals. The covers are decent, but pretty predictable. However, with songs like the title track, that was a Wonder-original... why isn't this guy cranking out albums of original songs? It has energy, and, unlike the covers, feels fresh and new. Biggest disappointment: the song "I Pity the Fool." (I was hoping for a rousing number packed with Mr. T samples. Sadly, we'd have to wait until 1982 to hear Mr. T's famous lines in Rocky III.)
1967 Someday at Christmas
Obligatory Christmas album.
Producer1: hey, you know who's hot right now?
Producer2: who?
Producer1: Stevie Wonder.
Producer2: sweet, let's demand a Christmas album.
Producer1: I'm dreaming of a green $$$, Christmas...
My reaction? Zzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzz.
(Two mildly redeeming tracks: "Someday at Christmas," and "What Christmas Means to Me".)
1968 Eivets Rednow
Eivets Rednow? Wha, wha, what? Spell it backwards. Wait for it, wait for it. Okay. Got it? Good. Basically, Stevie wanted to kick out an instrumental album. (But wait, Stevie! You're rocking the Motown sound, you're kick out soul classics! What do you mean?!) So, this was the compromise. No singing, Stevie on drums, harmonica, and clavinet. It's kind of like Stevie's first couple albums. They're jazzy, and decent. Nothing earthshattering, or amazing, or anything like that. Plus, now he's older... so he doesn't even have the "hey, I'm only 12!"-schick to buy some sympathy votes. I appreciate him wanting to do his own thing, but I'm not sure this offers much that we haven't seen already.
1968 For Once in My Life
The title track is pretty hot, so is the second track "Shoo-be-doo-be-doo-da-day" (despite it's stupid title), the funky bass that starts out "You Met Your Match" makes everything else about the song just an added bonus, and "I Wanna Make Her Love Me" is similarly invigorating and fun. The rest of the album is hit or miss (and, mostly snoozer-miss). But, hey, the kid is 18. He's finding his stride. He's finally backing off of the covers (mostly) and doing some original work.
1969 My Cherie Amour
For me, this is too R&B and not enough Motown. It's like he said, "I need to put out an album for the ladies..." and here you go. It's a record for the ladies. There are a lot of love songs, and it's all kind of one-note. Now, that does mean that it has a nice cohesive sound to it, it just doesn't happen to be a sound that I enjoy.
The lowest low: his cover of the Doors' "Light My Fire"--eek.
The highest high: "Somebody Knows, Somebody Cares."
The "meh" moment: "Yester-Me, Yester-You, Yesterday."
1970 Signed, Sealed & Delivered
Like a number of the albums of this period, and shortly after… it feels jumbled. Like it really needed someone to help nail down the order of these songs. It doesn’t so much feel like an album, as it does a collection of songs.
It's hard to argue that "Signed, Sealed, Delivered I'm Yours" isn't a great song. It's catchy, it's fun. I love it. It's a feel good song that has heart and soul and a funky groove. I'm yours.
I had high hopes for his cover of the Beatles' "We Can Work It Out," because the first minute is pretty interesting, but sadly it quickly becomes boring.
There are also some really neat gospel moments with a choir. I like the soulfulness of the sound: "I Can't Let My Heaven Walk Away" and "Joy (Takes Over Me)" are both pretty good (particularly the latter).
Wow. Where did this come from? It's really different, and with a good reason. Stevie is now a legal adult and Motown is losing control over the content of his records. So, they had to take whatever Stevie gave them... and he gave them this. The first album completely written by him and his first wife (Syreeta Wright). There are a lot of good songs here. Most I'd never heard of.
"Look Around" is amazing… it’s almost emo-y and bizarrely the least Stevie-sounding thing I’ve heard. But… it’s good. I'd listen to it again.
"Do Yourself a Favor." WOW. Alright, now this is what I'm talking about. This is the precursor to my favorite Stevie Wonder song (see if you can guess what it is based on this song).
"If you Really Loved Me" and "I Wanna Talk to You" are good songs, too. Particularly the latter… which has a lyric “feed me beans every night”--classy. What is it about guys and beans? The Doors' cover of Willie Dixon's “Backdoor Man” has all kinds of food references: “You men eat your dinner, eat your pork and beans, I eat more chicken than any man ever seen, yeah, yeah.” Of course, I'm not sure he's really talking about food there...
The rest are alright.
Creative control really does wonders. There are a few solid tracks, but for the most part they sound like outtakes from Where I'm Coming From. And, some of the songs are just downright goofy ("Sweet Little Girl").
Here are the ones worth listening to:
"Love Having You Around"… great way to start an album.
Here are the ones worth listening to:
"Love Having You Around"… great way to start an album.
"Keep on Running"… this is some fun funk. It almost sounds Curtis Mayfieldish, and I love Curtis Mayfield.
This album is bizarre. The first track is "You Are the Sunshine of My Life" and the second is "Maybe Your Baby." How can these two songs be on the same album, much less back-to-back? It’s so jarring. I can almost imagine the shocked look on the face of the teenager who bought Talking Book because he or she heard "Sunshine" on the radio, when the needle skipped ahead to track 2. Holy biscuits. Now, this song. This is what I’m talking about. It’s a funk epic. I immediately listened to it 3 times, at near full volume. Where does this come from? And, btw, Stevie, do more of it.
There are three types of songs on this album:
1) songs like "Sunshine," and "You & I." Slow. Melodic. Sappy.
2) funked out scorchers (like "Maybe Your Baby" and "Superstition"), and then
3) an attempt to marry the funk with the sap.
Type 1 doesn’t really interest me, but these songs continue to resonate. Type 3 is almost always unsuccessful. But, Type 2… wow. Superstition was my favorite Stevie song (and one of my favorite songs, period) going into this project. I would have given Talking Book a pass simply for having that song on it. But, with tracks like "Maybe Your Baby" AND "Superstition"? Alright then. However, the other songs really detract from its potential greatness. It’s a schizophrenic album. It’s like Stevie can’t figure out if he’s been burned by love, or if he’s in love, or if he’s burning love. But, I will say… I think something bad happened around the recording of this album. There’s a lot of darkness here that wasn’t present in the earlier records. And I like that. The happy sloshy, kissy kissy songs are boring and predictable. But, then again, they’re probably only that way now because they’re such a staple in the American songbook.
1973 Innervisions
The high points here are "Higher Ground" and "Living for the City." It also features "Don't You Worry 'Bout a Thing." Now, don't get me wrong, it's a good song. But, for me, it sounds like a Steely Dan song. In fact, this whole album has a kind of synthy, jazzy, Steely Dan'y, kind of quality to it. Since I love Steely Dan so much, you know how much I love Stevie's "new sound". That said, even if it was a Steely Dan song... I'd like it. It's groovy and kind of fun. I just hope he doesn't stick to this format for long. (Also, is it just me, or does "Don't You Worry 'Bout a Thing" sound an awful like the basis for Justin Timberlake's song "Senorita"?)
Anyway, thumbs down.
1973 Live at The Rainbow // 1973 Live in Brighton July 4th // 1975 Live in NYC
What's Stevie like live? Well, rather than writing individual reviews of the live albums that were recommended to me, here are my collective thoughts:
His band is tight. It's obvious they have good chemistry together. He likes to play around with some of the better known, funkier songs. Usually these are the ones where he improvises the most. "Superstition" is either made longer or shorter, depending on the mood. Often the drums and bass are more pronounced--which I enjoy. "Higher Ground" also gets various treatments, including this shortened version that was probably the inspiration for the Chili Pepper's take on it.
The ballads are generally left alone--though his live versions of "You are the Sunshine of My Life" are rarely under 10 minutes long.
Otherwise, there are bass solos and drum solos and all kinds of jazzy improvisation on instrumental numbers.
1974 Fulfillingness' First Finale
This is an odd collection of mostly ballads. It kind of sounds like he phoned it in, and his voice actually sounds flat. Other than "You Haven't Done Nothing", there isn't anything that sounds sonically different or interesting.
1976 Songs in the Key of Life
This was the album all the fans told me I had to listen to. It was ground-breaking, it was original, it was amazing, it was fresh, it remained fresh, it was awesome. It's hard to pull off double albums, but it doesn't stop bands from trying.
What I like:
A number of the songs ("Village Ghetto Land," "Sir Duke," "I Wish," "All Day Sucker," "Ebony Eyes," and "Pastime Paradise") are funky and fun. They feel organic, and like he was genuinely have a blast when he was recording them. They have a "fresh" sound to them. They feel different from his other work, and yet not so different that they don't feel like Stevie. I love the inclusion of the horns, and the orchestral elements. And, in case you didn't listen to it, or recognize it, "Pastime Paradise" is sampled-heavily in/re-imagined as Coolio's "Gangsta's Paradise."
What I don't like:
A number of the songs are too preachy, and too synthy. A number of them sound like they could be Steely Dan songs (granted, better songs than Steely Dan, but still, Steely Dan-sounding songs). There are also songs that tend to have a Barry Manilow "Copacabana" feel to them (yes, I know that song isn't released until 1978). And, in my mind, this isn't good.
It's a shame he didn't release two albums, one could have been innovative and the other could have been... lame. But, this is my complaint with just about every double-album attempt. (Exceptions being Miles Davis' Bitches Brew and Pink Floyd's The Wall, and maybe one or two more.) Come on people, someone has to tell them: only half of these songs are worthwhile.
1979 Journey Through the Secret Life of Plants (soundtrack)
Most of the songs are instrumentals, and some of the ones with vocals are not done by Stevie. His strongest instrument is his voice, and it is lacking here. There's a fun story about how this soundtrack was done with some bizarre collaboration... but the product is pretty bland. The film was pretty groundbreaking due to the use of time-lapse photography that allowed audiences to see plants move, develop, and live. At times, the songs remind me of Wendy Carlos' Sonic Seasonings (which I love), but as it predates Journey by 7 years... this territory has kind of already been covered.
I haven't seen the film, so I can't say how well the music melds with the images, but as an album, there are really only two songs that are interesting: "Kesse Ye Lolo De Ye" and "A Seed's a Star/Tree Medley."
1980 Hotter than July
A perfect Disco album. If you like Disco. Which I don't. "Do Like You" is the best you get here.
1983 The Woman in Red (soundtrack)
Second soundtrack... and second flop. It sounds like a bad soundtrack to a worse 80s movie, and guess what? It is! It does feature "I Just Called to Say I Love You," but that hardly forgives him for writing/recording/including the song "Don't Drive Drunk"--which is pretty laughable.
1985 In Square Circle
Overall: ballady and boring. It features "Part Time Lover" (which sounds like a Steely Dan song), and the horrible "Fun Day". There are two songs that are mildly interesting: "Spiritual Walkers" and "Never In Your Sun," but they really can't redeem this one.
1987 Characters
This one earns three Grammy nominations in (R&B categories), but he doesn't win any of them. There's a duet with Michael Jackson on here. And the whole thing embodies the absolute worst of the 80s, craptastic, synth-sound. Now, I love 80s music. There is some great stuff that comes from that decade, but this album is everything I dislike about the era. Really, I mean, it's just boring. So much so, that I'm not even going to link to any of the songs. What was winning the R&B awards that year? Anita Baker, Gladys Knight & The Pips, and Chick Corea.
Here's a taste of what else won in different categories: U2 (for "Desire"), Robert Palmer (for "Simply Irresistible"), Tina Turner (for Tina Live in Europe), DJ Jazzy Jeff & the Fresh Prince (for "Parents Just Don't Understand"), and, the real winner that year, Bobby McFerrin's "Don't Worry, Be Happy" (record and song of the year).
1991 Jungle Fever (soundtrack)
Man, he should really stop doing these soundtracks. This one can be described as Stevie Wonder attempts to be relevant by sounding like Bobby Brown, Bel Biv Devoe, and anyone else that was releasing "hot albums" 1-3 years prior to the release of this soundtrack. "Queen in the Black" is a pretty solid example of the "best" of this collection.
1995 Conversation Peace
Here we have Stevie Wonder with his best attempt to be "hard". The beat is cranked up, but he can't quite keep step with the rap of the time. What we have here is no longer innovative, or even really inventive. It seems like an attempt to cash in.
2005 A Time To Love
This is the most recent, and last album. Who knows if he plans on releasing anything after it. And, it's alright. It's far better than anything he's done in the previous two decades--so that's something. Of course, he does have En Vogue, Prince, Paul McCartney, and India.Arie helping him out. But, "If Your Love Cannot Be Moved" (my favorite on the album), "Please Don't Hurt My Baby," and "Positivity" are all solid without any help. "So What the Fuss" is the big seller, with En Vogue and Prince and it feels, big surprise, like a Prince song. But, that's alright because Mr. Symbol owes Mr. Wonder a big debt of gratitude.
Conclusions/final thoughts:
After listening to over 300 songs by the guy, I can definitely say he has talent. My initial reaction of "hate" was a bit harsh. Ultimately, I think it boils down to him making music that I don't find exciting. It isn't necessarily genre, because I like soul, R&B, Motown, and funk... I guess I just don't enjoy Stevie Wonder's take on those genres. Er, I guess I should say I don't enjoy his take on them all the time. I still think he lacks a great "album," but find it hard to argue that he isn't a great musician or song-writer. I'd list him in the Top 50 for sure, maybe even Top 30, but Top 20 seems like pushing it.
Finally, I think he lacks the pizzazz and innovation of other greater musicians. Like Steely Dan, he's good, but he's not great. With few exceptions (mentioned above), he lacks the excitement, rawness, vibrancy, and uniqueness that I look for in a stand-out artist. And yet he's won 25 Grammy Awards and a Lifetime Achievement Award. With more than 27 albums to his name, he's got staying power, that's for sure.
1973 Innervisions
The high points here are "Higher Ground" and "Living for the City." It also features "Don't You Worry 'Bout a Thing." Now, don't get me wrong, it's a good song. But, for me, it sounds like a Steely Dan song. In fact, this whole album has a kind of synthy, jazzy, Steely Dan'y, kind of quality to it. Since I love Steely Dan so much, you know how much I love Stevie's "new sound". That said, even if it was a Steely Dan song... I'd like it. It's groovy and kind of fun. I just hope he doesn't stick to this format for long. (Also, is it just me, or does "Don't You Worry 'Bout a Thing" sound an awful like the basis for Justin Timberlake's song "Senorita"?)
Anyway, thumbs down.
1973 Live at The Rainbow // 1973 Live in Brighton July 4th // 1975 Live in NYC
What's Stevie like live? Well, rather than writing individual reviews of the live albums that were recommended to me, here are my collective thoughts:
His band is tight. It's obvious they have good chemistry together. He likes to play around with some of the better known, funkier songs. Usually these are the ones where he improvises the most. "Superstition" is either made longer or shorter, depending on the mood. Often the drums and bass are more pronounced--which I enjoy. "Higher Ground" also gets various treatments, including this shortened version that was probably the inspiration for the Chili Pepper's take on it.
The ballads are generally left alone--though his live versions of "You are the Sunshine of My Life" are rarely under 10 minutes long.
Otherwise, there are bass solos and drum solos and all kinds of jazzy improvisation on instrumental numbers.
1974 Fulfillingness' First Finale
This is an odd collection of mostly ballads. It kind of sounds like he phoned it in, and his voice actually sounds flat. Other than "You Haven't Done Nothing", there isn't anything that sounds sonically different or interesting.
1976 Songs in the Key of Life
This was the album all the fans told me I had to listen to. It was ground-breaking, it was original, it was amazing, it was fresh, it remained fresh, it was awesome. It's hard to pull off double albums, but it doesn't stop bands from trying.
What I like:
A number of the songs ("Village Ghetto Land," "Sir Duke," "I Wish," "All Day Sucker," "Ebony Eyes," and "Pastime Paradise") are funky and fun. They feel organic, and like he was genuinely have a blast when he was recording them. They have a "fresh" sound to them. They feel different from his other work, and yet not so different that they don't feel like Stevie. I love the inclusion of the horns, and the orchestral elements. And, in case you didn't listen to it, or recognize it, "Pastime Paradise" is sampled-heavily in/re-imagined as Coolio's "Gangsta's Paradise."
What I don't like:
A number of the songs are too preachy, and too synthy. A number of them sound like they could be Steely Dan songs (granted, better songs than Steely Dan, but still, Steely Dan-sounding songs). There are also songs that tend to have a Barry Manilow "Copacabana" feel to them (yes, I know that song isn't released until 1978). And, in my mind, this isn't good.
It's a shame he didn't release two albums, one could have been innovative and the other could have been... lame. But, this is my complaint with just about every double-album attempt. (Exceptions being Miles Davis' Bitches Brew and Pink Floyd's The Wall, and maybe one or two more.) Come on people, someone has to tell them: only half of these songs are worthwhile.
1979 Journey Through the Secret Life of Plants (soundtrack)
Most of the songs are instrumentals, and some of the ones with vocals are not done by Stevie. His strongest instrument is his voice, and it is lacking here. There's a fun story about how this soundtrack was done with some bizarre collaboration... but the product is pretty bland. The film was pretty groundbreaking due to the use of time-lapse photography that allowed audiences to see plants move, develop, and live. At times, the songs remind me of Wendy Carlos' Sonic Seasonings (which I love), but as it predates Journey by 7 years... this territory has kind of already been covered.
I haven't seen the film, so I can't say how well the music melds with the images, but as an album, there are really only two songs that are interesting: "Kesse Ye Lolo De Ye" and "A Seed's a Star/Tree Medley."
1980 Hotter than July
A perfect Disco album. If you like Disco. Which I don't. "Do Like You" is the best you get here.
1983 The Woman in Red (soundtrack)
Second soundtrack... and second flop. It sounds like a bad soundtrack to a worse 80s movie, and guess what? It is! It does feature "I Just Called to Say I Love You," but that hardly forgives him for writing/recording/including the song "Don't Drive Drunk"--which is pretty laughable.
1985 In Square Circle
Overall: ballady and boring. It features "Part Time Lover" (which sounds like a Steely Dan song), and the horrible "Fun Day". There are two songs that are mildly interesting: "Spiritual Walkers" and "Never In Your Sun," but they really can't redeem this one.
1987 Characters
This one earns three Grammy nominations in (R&B categories), but he doesn't win any of them. There's a duet with Michael Jackson on here. And the whole thing embodies the absolute worst of the 80s, craptastic, synth-sound. Now, I love 80s music. There is some great stuff that comes from that decade, but this album is everything I dislike about the era. Really, I mean, it's just boring. So much so, that I'm not even going to link to any of the songs. What was winning the R&B awards that year? Anita Baker, Gladys Knight & The Pips, and Chick Corea.
Here's a taste of what else won in different categories: U2 (for "Desire"), Robert Palmer (for "Simply Irresistible"), Tina Turner (for Tina Live in Europe), DJ Jazzy Jeff & the Fresh Prince (for "Parents Just Don't Understand"), and, the real winner that year, Bobby McFerrin's "Don't Worry, Be Happy" (record and song of the year).
1991 Jungle Fever (soundtrack)
Man, he should really stop doing these soundtracks. This one can be described as Stevie Wonder attempts to be relevant by sounding like Bobby Brown, Bel Biv Devoe, and anyone else that was releasing "hot albums" 1-3 years prior to the release of this soundtrack. "Queen in the Black" is a pretty solid example of the "best" of this collection.
1995 Conversation Peace
Here we have Stevie Wonder with his best attempt to be "hard". The beat is cranked up, but he can't quite keep step with the rap of the time. What we have here is no longer innovative, or even really inventive. It seems like an attempt to cash in.
2005 A Time To Love
This is the most recent, and last album. Who knows if he plans on releasing anything after it. And, it's alright. It's far better than anything he's done in the previous two decades--so that's something. Of course, he does have En Vogue, Prince, Paul McCartney, and India.Arie helping him out. But, "If Your Love Cannot Be Moved" (my favorite on the album), "Please Don't Hurt My Baby," and "Positivity" are all solid without any help. "So What the Fuss" is the big seller, with En Vogue and Prince and it feels, big surprise, like a Prince song. But, that's alright because Mr. Symbol owes Mr. Wonder a big debt of gratitude.
Conclusions/final thoughts:
After listening to over 300 songs by the guy, I can definitely say he has talent. My initial reaction of "hate" was a bit harsh. Ultimately, I think it boils down to him making music that I don't find exciting. It isn't necessarily genre, because I like soul, R&B, Motown, and funk... I guess I just don't enjoy Stevie Wonder's take on those genres. Er, I guess I should say I don't enjoy his take on them all the time. I still think he lacks a great "album," but find it hard to argue that he isn't a great musician or song-writer. I'd list him in the Top 50 for sure, maybe even Top 30, but Top 20 seems like pushing it.
Finally, I think he lacks the pizzazz and innovation of other greater musicians. Like Steely Dan, he's good, but he's not great. With few exceptions (mentioned above), he lacks the excitement, rawness, vibrancy, and uniqueness that I look for in a stand-out artist. And yet he's won 25 Grammy Awards and a Lifetime Achievement Award. With more than 27 albums to his name, he's got staying power, that's for sure.
