The Good: Decent lyrics, Sounds good, Diverse musical sound
The Bad: Short!
The Basics: A perfect album, Stevie Wonder's Innervisions is smart, well-written, musically diverse and as relevant today as it was thirty-five years ago!
There are truly few musical artists who could be called inarguable geniuses. As much as someone like Elvis Presley, for example, changed rock and roll music, he was essentially a performer who sang what was put before him - he wrote very little of his own music and/or lyrics. The most vital, creative and essential musical minds create, they do not simply perform. With that criteria, it is hard to listen to the works of Stevie Wonder and not consider him a musical genius. And Innervisions might be his single best, most consistently impressive album.
Those who follow my many reviews might know that it takes a lot for me to rate an album with a ten out of ten (in my rating system, a perfect album) and some of my favorite musical artists have never hit that height, despite my preference for them. Stevie Wonder's Innervisions is a perfect album, not simply from a lack of flaws, but because of the musical diversity, the successful musical experiments and the overall feel and flow of the album.
With only nine tracks, clocking out at 44:12, the only real strike against Innervisions is its duration (or lack thereof!). This is a short album and as a result, one is always left wanting a little bit more from it. When the biggest complaint one has about a c.d. is there is not enough of it, one has to truly respect the artist - at least when it is simply a classic album upgrading to compact disc. New artists who can't fill an entire compact disc usually just annoy me! In the case of Innervisions Stevie Wonder may be excused; when the album was originally released, this was more or less the most music that could be packed onto a record!
And it is Stevie Wonder who deserves the credit for the content of this album. Stevie Wonder wrote all of the music and lyrics on Innervisions; he did not collaborate for these vital creative elements with anyone. As well, he provided the lead vocals on all of the tracks and plays an unspecified number of musical instruments on the album (there are several - like pianos, drums and bass - that are specified, but several songs just say "all instruments" played by Stevie!). As well, Stevie Wonder produced and arranged Innervisions, so it is his musical vision undeniably!
And on Innervisions, Wonder's musical expertise explodes in many different, but perfectly compatible, directions. The classic song "Higher Ground" is pure funk, "Jesus Children Of America" has a soul/gospel flavor to it and "All In Love Is Fair" is a classic pop-rock ballad. "Don't You Worry 'Bout A Thing" is a wonderfully dancable song while "Visions" is a slow, contemplative piece that is perfect mood music.
As is often the case with Stevie Wonder's music, in addition to having a wide array of musical styles, the success of Innervisions is largely brought about by the strength of the lyrics. The songs that simply have hypnotic rhythms seldom endure in our minds, but the ones that endure for over thirty-five years, as the songs on Innervisions have, have to have great lyrics. Stevie Wonder is a great lyricist and on this album, he balances the socially conscious ("Higher Ground," "Visions," "He's Misstra Know-It-All") with the personal songs that explore universal emotions like love ("Too High," "Golden Lady," "All In Love Is Fair").
Arguably the most well-known song on Innervisions is "Higher Ground," an anthem for working together to achieve a better future for all people. It's a great song and it deserves its status, but "He's Misstra Know-It-All" is much more satirical with its lines like "He's a man / With a plan / Got a counterfeit dollar in his hand / He's Misstra Know-It-All / Playin' hard / Talkin' fast / Makin' sure that he won't be the last / He's Misstra Know-It-All / Makes a deal / With a smile / Knowin' all the time that his lie's a mile / He's Misstra Know-It-All." While "Higher Ground" is a righteous anthem, "He's Misstra Know-It-All" is more a cautionary tale about who would embody our society should we not work together for change! And there is a sense of sarcasm toward the poseurs and those who "front" in the final song on Innervisions that makes it quite memorable.
But largely the songs Stevie Wonder writes are socially conscious and positive. Wonder has a strong sense of optimism and it comes through on his songs like "Higher Ground" and "Visions." Just as "Higher Ground" is a call to action, "Visions" is an incentive piece. Wonder muses on the past and future and paints a picture of what the world could be: "People hand in hand / Have I lived to see the milk and honey land? / Where hate's a dream and love forever stands / Or is this a vision in my mind? / The law was never passed / But somehow all men feel they're truly free at last / Have we really gone this far through space and time / Or is this a vision in my mind? / I'm not one who makes believe / I know that leaves are green / They only change to brown when autumn comes around / I know just what I say / Today's not yesterday / And all things have an ending" ("Visions"). Wonder is beautifully poetic and his sense of imagery is powerful and universally understood.
As important, Wonder is able to tie the social to the personal and nowhere is this more clear than on "Don't You Worry 'Bout A Thing." On that song, Wonder has lyrics that can be interpreted either for social movements or simply interpersonal relationships. The universal quality to his words "They say your style of life's a drag / And that you must go other places / But just don't you feel too bad / When you get fooled by smiling faces but / Don't you worry 'bout a thing . . . Cause I'll be standing on the side . . . Everybody needs a change / A chance to check out the new / But you're the only one to see / The changes you take yourself through" ("Don't You Worry 'Bout A Thing") resonates just as much now as it did back in the day.
The thing about a lot of classic albums - be they classic rock, classic r&b, classic country, classic folk - is that while many of them lay the groundwork for today's music, we have today's music that keeps those of us of this time period adequately entertained and musically engaged. The problem, too frequently, with going back is that the music sounds underdeveloped from the musical potentials that have come since. This is not the case with Innervisions. Innervisions is as listenable now as it was when it was first released. It is still engaging because it does not capitalize on a single musical style, instead exploring a wide range of them. Even rapper Kanye West seems to have realized that when he declared one of his goals was to make an album with the enduring quality of Innervisions. Good luck Kanye!
The final element Stevie Wonder has that sells Innervisions as a timeless, truly great and perfect album would have to be the voice of Stevie Wonder. Wonder has a beautiful, smooth, soulful voice that is articulate and resonates with every word. He has mid-range vocals that he can stretch, as he does on "Don't You Worry 'Bout A Thing," a song that also requires him to often sing quite fast and be articulate on. He does that on that song and on every song on Innervisions. He, truly, is a master in this regard and Innervisions is a splendid example of his range and vocal abilities.
The best song is "Higher Ground" and there are truly no bad tracks on this album.
For other works by Stevie Wonder, please be sure to visit my reviews of:
The Jazz Soul Of Little Stevie
Eivets Rednow
Music Of My Mind
Talking Book
Songs In The Key Of Life
Stevie Wonder’s Original Musiquarium I
In Square Circle
Conversation Peace
Natural Wonder
The Definitive Collection
A Time To Love
10/10
For other music reviews, please visit my index page by clicking here!
© 2012, 2009 W.L. Swarts. May not be reprinted without permission.
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