Stevie Wonder

When Stevie Wonder swings through town on an eagerly anticipated 10-city U.S. tour, there will be high expectations for him to perform his classic, radio-recognizable songs. Some in attendance will certainly holler for the 1969 chart-topper “Signed, Sealed, Delivered (I’m Yours).” Encore calls for “My Cherie Amour” could surely purse the lips of the casual fan. Maybe some will plead for the syrupy “I Just Called to Say I Love You,” if they haven’t already downloaded the ’80s pop hit as a ringtone from Wonder’s website (steviewonder.net). Basically, folks want the tunes that carry the iconic image of the harmonica-wielding, head-swaying, multiplatinum blind man.

But it’s the lesser-played tunes that we hope to hear, compositions sculpted by Wonder during his most impactful period, between 1971 and 1976—songs like “Living for the City,” “It Ain’t No Use,” “Happier Than the Morning Sun,” “He’s Misstra Know-It-All,” and “Knocks Me Off My Feet,” songs that may be unfamiliar to those who didn’t grow up in the ’70s, but which still stand as some of the best music ever created.

When Motown’s wildly successful “Hitsville, USA” fell apart in the late ’60s, cogs in the infectious yet regimented pop machine such as Wonder began seeking new creative outlets. For labelmates and non-Motowners alike, the years 1970 to 1976 are a never-ending wet dream for soul music heads, and Wonder’s records during this era are no exception.


WHERE I’M COMING FROM (1971): Exclusively available as a hissy, low-bit-resolution Japanese import, this record served as Wonder’s first foray into recording a complete narrative rather than the fragmented, hit-driven singles approach to album-making popular in the Detroit studios. Some tunes on the LP—Wonder’s first entirely self-produced effort, featuring many songs co-written with longtime collaborator Syreeta Wright—sound painfully outdated and corny. Others, like the funk-soaked “Do Yourself a Favor” and “Never Dreamed You’d Leave in Summer,” a prologue to 1972’s eight-minute epic “Superwoman,” hint at Wonder’s forthcoming five-year run as soul ambassador.

MUSIC OF MY MIND AND TALKING BOOK (1972): Motown main man Berry Gordy Jr. packed up his Detroit-based sound machine and moved west to L.A. (Wonder would renegotiate a new contract with Motown, wrestling away complete artistic control and increased royalties in the process.) These two albums are refined examples of Wonder’s resplendent sonic goodness, with the perfect mix of head-nodding pop and cuddle-up-with-your-partner love dusties. The basically one-man-band effort Music of My Mind is a synth-driven experiment into the pop/soul ethos that includes “Superwomen (Where Were You When I Needed You),” a two-movement, diary-like entry transcribed from the depths of Wonderland, as well as the uplifting lullaby “Happier Than the Morning Sun.” The more pensive and focused Talking Book—with the stripped-down, kindhearted ballad “You and I,” the adorable “Looking for Another Pure Love” (showcasing Jeff Beck’s silvery guitar tones) and “Superstition,” which marinated the funkafied clavinet sound into the ears of the mainstream—is considered Wonder’s breakthrough effort.

INNERVISIONS (1973): This album marked Wonder’s journey into contemporary, socially conscious spirituals for African-Americans, from drug addiction (“Too High”) and deity praising (“Higher Ground”) to racial profiling in urban decayed metropolises (“Living for the City”) and “Tricky Dick” Nixon’s crooked presidential policies (“He’s Misstra Know-It-All”).
FULFILLINGNESS’ FIRST FINALE (1974): Notable for its all-star team of background vocalists—the angelic, multi-octaved Minnie Riperton, who, with Wonder’s aid, was just beginning to take flight on a solo career; Deniece Williams of “Silly” fame; the Jackson Five; and The Persuasions—Fulfillingness showcases two of Wonder’s best chill-inducing slow jams, “Creepin’” and “It Ain’t No Use.”

SONGS IN THE KEY OF LIFE (1976): All of Wonder’s monumental records culminated in this, his magnum opus. From bookend to bookend, the seminal double LP resonates with energy, even when the disc stops spinning or the record grooves give way to the vinyl gutter. Wonder enlisted lots of help (Riperton, George Benson, Bobbi Humphrey, Hare Krishnas, the Al Fann Theatrical Ensemble) and created soul music’s creative zenith. There’s the dedication song “Sir Duke,” an ode to jazz master Duke Ellington; the quintessential love song “Knocks Me Off My Feet”; the protest anthem “Black Man,” with a take-your-ass-back-to-school history lesson; the race relations dissertation “Pastime Paradise” (the tune famously sampled by Coolio in the ’90s); the smash pop hit “Isn’t She Lovely”; and the breakup song “Ordinary Pain,” featuring Shirley Brewer’s villainous diatribe that pays no mind to Wonder’s heartbroken confession.
Even if the 57-year-old doesn’t perform any of these tunes from his “classic period,” we’ll certainly leave the concert satisfied. (How could we not? It’s Stevie freaking Wonder, live and in person.) We’ll just be “Happier Than the Morning Sun” if he does.

Source from: http://www.nashvillescene.com/Stories/Arts/Music/2007/11/29/The_Wonder_Years/