Not The Celine Dion We Once Knew, Loved Me Back To Life Is An Overproduced Event Album!

The Good: Moments the vocals break through the production elements, I can't complain about including a Janis Ian cover!
The Bad: Overproduced, Not a cohesive album
The Basics: Loved Me Back To Life is an album that seems to be Celine Dion desperately chasing a hit song, more than a cohesive musical experience.


Every musical artist who has massive success has a peak from which they invariably fall. Every empire falls and for the truly enduring musical artists, that empire falls slowly and the artist or performer seldom goes quietly. As the world changes, artists like Celine Dion continue to try to find their place in it and even in 2013 when Loved Me Back To Life came on, most radio stations (at least in the United States) were not playing music like the songs that had made Celine Dion a worldwide musical phenomenon. While Celine Dion had ebbs and flows within her career before her Las Vegas residency, none of her albums had sounded so . . . desperate before Loved Me Back To Life.

Allow me to explain. Loved Me Back To Life is not a cohesive album, it is a collection of singles designed to try to sell one that will land the album. The album does not have a producer; like collaborative hip-hop albums, Loved Me Back To Life features various producers for each track as each producer attempts to make a hit and the album is pretty much thrown together and the hope Sony had was that one would stick with listeners. The result is an album that features songs like "Water And A Flame," which sounds like it could have been a James Bond theme and "Save Your Soul," which sounds like Rhiannon! And while technically accurate, Celine Dion's cover of Janis Ian's "At Seventeen" is hard to take seriously as Dion's personal history makes the lyrics feel entirely inauthentic from her.

With thirteen songs, clocking out at 60:58, Loved Me Back To Life is very much a collaborative effort which Celine Dion had very limited apparent control over. Dion did not write any of the songs on Loved Me Back To Life and she plays no instruments on it as well. Celine Dion does provide all of the lead vocals, but she is not credited even as a co-producer on the album, so it is questionable how much creative control she actually had over the venture.

Opening with the poppy, overproduced "Loved Me Back To Life," Loved Me Back To Life sounds right away more like a dance-pop album than anything else. Ironically, from "Thank You" (track 8) on, Loved Me Back To Life presents more familiar-sounding pop ballads that actually showcase more of Celine Dion's voice than the front-half of the album. Instead, percussion, engineering elements and auditory majesty seem to be the priority of Loved Me Back To Life; the album desperately tries to create something that sounds big and full. But with elements like an electric guitar solo at the end of the first track, listeners are far more likely to be asking "what the hell?!" as opposed to thinking they actually bought a Celine Dion album. The Gotye-like "Somebody Loves Somebody" finds Celine Dion fighting massive basslines to get her vocals out and the backing music is far more compelling than the lines Dion sings.

Vocally, Loved Me Back To Life is an unfortunate departure for Celine Dion. On the songs on Loved Me Back To Life, Dion does not try to hit the truly high notes that were once her staple. For sure, she goes whispy and high on "At Seventeen" and she holds notes a decent amount of time on "Somebody Loves Somebody," but far more often than not, Dion's vocals are altered by production elements or she stays in the lower registers, making an unimpressive auditory Celine Dion experience. Added to that, Loved Me Back To Life is notable in that it includes two guest vocalists - Ne-Yo on "Incredible" (Ne-Yo also produced "Thank You") and Stevie Wonder on his song "Overjoyed." I suppose Wonder and Dion might have wanted to work with one another, but the Ne-Yo song with its overproduced backing and odd vocal accompaniment just sound like Dion is desperately chasing a younger audience. Hell, on "Thank You," Celine Dion sounds like virtually identical to Michael Jackson (on "You Are Not Alone") for a disturbing amount of time on the track!

Lyrically, Loved Me Back To Life is all over the map. While the album starts with songs about love, the album moves into gratitude and then into completely inauthentic songs about youthful awkwardness. All of the songs are covers, so presumably she wanted to sing things like "I can't believe in every word you're saying / Wrapped up in every kiss you've poisoned / I could swear I've never tasted sin / But If I just knew / I'll forget what you've done / But I can't save your soul ("Save Your Soul"), which creates a fairly jumbled narrative. The musical protagnist knows their partner is lying, but seems to be okay with it as long as the subject does not want her to save his soul?!

The lack of consistent writing on Loved Me Back To Life leads to some of Celine Dion's least-compelling lyrics. There is no smash hit on Loved Me Back To Life arguably because of rhymes like "I'm pickin' up all the pieces / When I put 'em back together I'm like new / 'Cause my greatest wish has already come true . . . I'll be holdin' the wrap if you tumble and fall / There's love after love after all" ("Always Be Your Girl"). None of the songs have lines that pop in a new, fresh way for Dion.

But Loved Me Back To Life becomes very hard to take seriously when Celine Dion covers "At Seventeen." The song is wonderful with lines like "I learned the truth at seventeen / That love was meant for beauty queens / And high school girls with clear-skinned smiles / Who married young and then retired" ("At Seventeen"), but they are entirely outside Dion's experience. Celine Dion was a massive pop star in Canada by seventeen. She is hardly the one to credibly sing "And those of us with ravaged faces / Lacking in the social graces / Desperately remained at home / Inventing lovers on the phone" ("At Seventeen").

Artists absolutely should evolve, but on Loved Me Back To Life, Dion is only a performer. Celine Dion is performing, with incredibly minimal creativity to her work (the song I knew best on Loved Me Back To Life was "At Seventeen" and Dion stripped it back to a sound very similar to Janis Ian's "one woman and a guitar" sound, unlike anything else on the album) and the choices Dion and Sony make on this album make it sound more like a desperate attempt for a hit than anything truly creative or thematically unified. Instead, Loved Me Back To Life is a remarkably ineffective attempt to swing for a very different sound and because Dion does not settle on a sound or message, Loved Me Back To Life comes across as more messy and desperate than divine.

The best songs are "Thank You," "Water And A Flame," and "At Seventeen;" the others are not worth listening to.

For other works by Celine Dion, be sure to visit my reviews of:
Celine Dion
The Power Of Love (single)
The Colour Of My Love
Falling Into You
Let's Talk About Love
The Collector's Series, Volume 1
A New Day Has Come
One Heart
These Are Special Times
Miracle: A Celebration Of New Life
Taking Chances
I Drove All Night (single)
My Love: Essential Collection
My Love: Ultimate Essential Collection

3.5/10

See how this album stacks up against every other musical work I have reviewed by checking out my Music Review Index Page for a listing where albums are organized best to worst!

© 2017 W.L. Swarts. May not be reprinted without permission.
| | |

Average-At-Best, Hotter Than July By Stevie Wonder Is More Lukewarm.

The Good: Some socially conscious lyrics
The Bad: Musically boring, Vocally unchallenging, Repetitive, Short
The Basics: Arguably one of the most boring Stevie Wonder albums, Hotter Than July has one great song and a lot of 80's funk filler!


Fans of a musical artist tend to dislike hearing or reading that their preferred musical artist has put out a lemon, but it happens and it tends to even happen to the best of artists (in all mediums). Even musical geniuses like Stevie Wonder have their off albums and Hotter Than July is one of the albums of his that is the very easiest to pass by, especially now. For those keeping score, one of my problems with the one-disc version of Stevie Wonder's The Definitive Collection was that it was lacking in the song "Happy Birthday." That song is present here, but none of the other tracks on the album hold a candle to it.

In fact, outside the social consciousness evident on "Happy Birthday" and a few of the other tracks, Hotter Than July is repetitive, boring and all of the best tracks are on subsequent compilation albums, so passing on this album does not leave one lacking in anything essentially Stevie Wonder. And to fall back to one of my old standards, if the best songs are on compilations, it is hard to recommend the original album.

With only ten songs, clocking out at 45:52, Hotter Than July is a pretty generic early '80's pop-funk album and it holds up poorly over multiple listens, despite largely being the musical vision of artist Stevie Wonder. And this is largely Stevie Wonder's musical creation; he wrote the music to all ten tracks and only co-wrote the lyrics to "All I Do." The rest of the lyrics were all written by Wonder and he provides the lead vocals for every single track.

As well, Stevie Wonder reminds the listener just how impressive he can be instrumentally. He plays multiple instruments on each track, often performing all of the instrumentation. He is no slouch in the instrument department either. On Hotter Than July, he plays (well): Vocoder, synthesizer (regular, farlight and bass), pianos, drums, bells, flute synthesizer, percussion, clavinet, cabasa, celeste, harpsichord, arp, and harmonica. As well, he produced the album and so it is hard to argue that this is not Stevie Wonder's intended musical vision or statement.

The problem is, while the album has its moments and there are a few different styles - "Master Blaster (Jammin')" has a Jamaican sound to it that is pretty different for Wonder - it is mostly repetitive, dull and not as impressive creatively or socially as many of Wonder's other works. The entire album has a very produced sound and every track is very musically full, like Wonder has suddenly become terrified of silences in his songs. Hotter Than July is driven by percussion on almost every track so there is a strangely homogenous sound to the album and most of the songs are energetic and full of sound in the same way. The result is that the songs blend together more than on some of Wonder's other albums.

As well, Wonder is hardly as articulate on Hotter Than July with his vocals as he is on every other work I have heard of his. "Did I Hear You Say You Love Me" actually has lines Wonder seems to mumble or vocalize in such a way that they cannot easily be interpreted and that is a real change for Stevie Wonder! Some of the other songs - "All I Do," "Master Blaster (Jammin')," etc. - have a few lines as well that are strangely obscured, which is something Wonder never seemed to do before this album.

As well, Wonder's range is very safe - save on "Happy Birthday" - on the songs on Hotter Than July. He does not seem to be about pushing himself vocally on this album. So, the softness of "Rocket Love" is safe (and oh so boring) and "I Ain't Gonna Stand For It" is smooth and hardly as rebellious as the title or lyrics would suggest. Wonder doesn't put the energy into his vocals to match the lines he wrote . . . except on "Happy Birthday."

For those who might be unaware of "Happy Birthday," Stevie Wonder was at the forefront of the movement to get a national holiday for the birthday of Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. In addition to devoting space in the liner notes to this worthy cause, he gave the final song on the album to raise awareness to the cause. Wonder does it quite articulately as he asks and explores, "Why has there never been a holiday / Where peace is celebrated / All throughout the world? / The time is overdue / For people like me and you / Who know the way to truth / Is love and unity to all God's children / It should be a great event / And the whole day should be spent / In full remembrance / Of those who lived and died for the oneness of all people . . ." ("Happy Birthday"). Few artists devote a song to such things and few do it as well as Wonder can, making it both articulate and a great song!

Unfortunately, it seems like Wonder has spent all his passionate and intellectual capital on this album on the one song. "Do Like You" is horribly repetitive and somewhat inane and he is plagued at other parts with obvious and unfortunate rhymes. After repetitive refrains on "Cash In Your Face," for example, Wonder wrote lines like "Our first child is due here any day / That's why we're desperate for a place to stay / The location is so perfect too / So please try to do what you can do" which seem well below his creative ability. As well, the song doesn't have as well-constructed a social message, though it is clearly about the demands of capitalism in our society and what people will do to survive.

And even Wonder's attempts at exploring the usually universal themes of love are underwhelming on Hotter Than July. For example, the song "Rocket Love" is mellow and mumbled and when one looks up the lyrics, they find they have been struggling to hear "You took me riding in your rocket, gave me a star / But at a half a mile from heaven you dropped me back / down to this cold, cold world." The most articulate love song on the album is about the loss of love and it just sounds singsongy and silly at the end of the day.

Stevie Wonder is a musical genius, but Hotter Than July is one of his off-albums. The only song from it truly worth hearing is "Happy Birthday," though "Rocket Love" and "Master Blaster (Jammin')" do seem to make it onto some of the subsequent compilations. Wonder is vocally and musically unchallenging and he fails to innovate on this album. The result is that it is largely forgettable and can easily be passed by.

The best track is "Happy Birthday," the low point is "Do Like You."

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
Innervisions
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

5/10

For other music reviews, please visit my index page by clicking here!

© 2012, 2009 W.L. Swarts. May not be reprinted without permission.
| | |

Deep, Relistenable, And Profound, Innervisions Is Stevie Wonder's Diverse Musical Epic!

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.
| | |

A Great Two-Disc Set, Songs In The Key Of Life May Be Stevie Wonder's Best!

The Good: Socially conscious lyrics, Musically interesting, Well-performed
The Bad: A few weaker or over-the-top tracks that replay poorly.
The Basics: Despite a few musical experiments that go awry, Songs In The Key Of Life is a powerful and smart album by Stevie Wonder!


Have you ever listened to an album by a musical artist who has a vast career and repertoire and heard one of their albums and been convinced that it simply must be a "best of" album because so many of the songs are recognizable or great? I've had that experience as I continue my exploration of the works of Stevie Wonder with his album Songs In The Key Of Life. After all, a two-disc set with "Sir Duke," "I Wish," "Pastime Paradise," and "Isn't She Lovely," has to be a compilation album, right?

No. Songs In The Key Of Life is actually one of Stevie Wonder's ambitious, albums that simply illustrates a ridiculously high quality and amazing standard for musical creativity. For those who want to hear a full, complete album that shows true musical genius, Songs In The Key Of Life is arguably one of the best. However, just because Wonder experiments musically does not mean he is always successful. The second disc is actually a bit inferior to the first and things that seem like a novelty on the first listen or two - recorded sounds of Wonder's daughter Aisha and the almost militant shouted questions and responses at the end of "Black Man" - soon become trite, boring or just disturbing upon further listens.

With twenty-one songs and over one hundred minutes of music on the two discs - ten tracks at 42:43 and the other eleven comprising the 62:10 second disc - Songs In The Key Of Life is mostly the musical vision of artist Stevie Wonder. He wrote all of the songs on the album (four are cowritten) and provides the lead vocals on each and every one. As well, he provided instrumentals on every song (though the only one he is specifically credited with is harmonica on "If It's Magic." Wonder also produced and arranged the music on the album, so it is quite difficult to argue that this is anything other than the musical vision of artist Stevie Wonder.

And it is a decent vision; Wonder is many things on Songs In The Key Of Life and ambitious would certainly have to be near the top. On this album, Wonder makes socially conscious rhythm and blues and funk that became very popular. Largely, the album is defined by a musical richness involving multiple keyboards and Stevie Wonder's smooth vocals. The songs tend to be longer and range in sound from the funky educational track "Black Man" to the slow ballads like "Joy Inside My Tears" and "Love's In Need Of Love Today." His sound goes almost classic folk with the musing "Village Ghetto Land" and he goes big band jazzy with "Sir Duke!" With the bonus tracks like the optimistic "Saturn," Songs In The Key Of Life explodes with creativity and a huge array of diverse musical sounds.

Thematically, Songs In The Key Of Life has a lot to recommend it. Stevie Wonder explores such issues as urban decay ("Village Ghetto Land"), spirituality ("Have A Talk With God"), interethnic relations ("Black Man") and tearing down the idealism for a strong sense of realism ("Pastime Paradise"). But instead of a stark album solely preoccupies with societal problems, Wonder creates a soulful album that is packed with songs on the nature of love and beauty as well, with memorable songs on the joy of children ("Isn't She Lovely") to the ideal woman ("Ebony Eyes") to flat-out love songs like "Knocks Me Off My Feet." Honestly, this might be Stevie Wonder's best, most consistent non-compilation album.

It all starts with the lyrics and it is hard to argue that Stevie Wonder is not an amazing lyricist. It is tough to take topics like urban decay and make them truly musical and worthwhile, yet Stevie Wonder does that on "Village Ghetto Land." It is hard to dispute the meaningful poetics of "Broken glass is everywhere / It's a bloody scene / Killing plagues the citizens / Unless they own police / Children play with rusted cars / Sores cover their hands / Politicians laugh and drink-drunk to all demands / Families buying dog food now / Starvation roams the streets / Babies die before they're born / Infected by the grief" ("Village Ghetto Land"). Wonder writes smart, thoughtful lines that are powerful and poignant.

The problem is, they are not all completely sensible or replayable. His history lesson "Black Man" is a worthwhile collection of historical tidbits that he has listed out like "Heart surgery / Was first done successfully / By a black man [Dr Daniel Hale Williams] / Friendly man who died / But helped the pilgrims to survive [Squanto] / Was a red man / Farm workers rights / Were lifted to new heights [Caesar Chavez] / By a brown man." They are good, interesting and accurate. The problem is that the song does not hold up all that well outside the educational context and with its long running time, it is hard to listen to over and over again. The themes of diversity and recognition of diversity are both incredibly important. At the same time, it is not all that musical and it replays poorly, especially the question and answer between the teachers and students at the end, which sounds a lot like Chinese rote learning after too many listens to the song. The track has value, but it is a drag on the movement of the entire second disc, just as the musical repetition on the last half of "Another Star" is (yes, there are only so many times we can hear "la la la la la" before we get tired of that, too!).

That said, his humanistic storytelling songs are pretty wonderful. It is easy to argue that part of the reason songs like "I Wish" are considered classics are lines like "Brother says he's tellin' / 'Bout you playin' doctor with that girl / Just don't tell I'll give you / Anything you want in this whole wide world / Mama gives you money for Sunday school / You trade yours for candy after church is through." I still don't get why he reminisces favorably on getting a beating, but it more or less works, so . . . Wonder accurately and adequately captures child life in "I Wish" and it is his sense of nostalgia that is universal for all people that works so well on so many of his tracks.

In fact, it is only some of his musical experiments that sometimes fall a little flat and usually it is the use of samples and recordings at the end songs (like voices at the end of "Saturn") that one tires of quickly. It is still so much to love with tracks that are timeless and so many that are virtually unknown, save to those of us who have heard this album. And for us, they are timeless as well.

The best tracks are "Sir Duke" (disc 1) and "Saturn" (disc 2) and the low points are the utterly unmemorable "Contusion" (disc 1) and the repetitive "Another Star" (disc 2).

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
Stevie Wonder’s Original Musiquarium I
In Square Circle
Conversation Peace
Natural Wonder
The Definitive Collection
A Time To Love

9/10

For other music reviews, please be sure to visit my Music Index Page!

© 2012, 2009 W.L. Swarts. May not be reprinted without permission.
| | |

Outside The Repetition And (Lack Of) Duration, Talking Book Is A Good Album!

The Good: Good vocals, Some decent lyrics, Some interesting instrumentals
The Bad: SHORT!, Repetitive
The Basics: On one of his more collaborative and - unfortunately - repetitive albums, Stevie Wonder reminds us of his gifts with Talking Book!


As January picks up and I suddenly become inundated with albums from my Artist Of The Month, Stevie Wonder, I find myself exploring a period of his musical career that is intriguing, developed and conceptually more diverse than his earliest works. With his album Talking Book, Stevie Wonder has a decent mix of a classical pop and soul sound with some emerging funk sensibilities and instrumentations.

In fact, more than most Stevie Wonder albums, listening to Talking Book affirms for the listener that Wonder had a sound and ability that were audacious. Instrumentals on "Tuesday Heartbreak" and "Superstition" are still surprising and funky in ways that few artists have since built upon, making Wonder's work pioneering and enduring. But as a compact disc, Talking Book does not take great advantage of the medium and some of the songs are so repetitive that they drone on in ways that are boring, especially upon further replayings of the disc.

With only ten songs constituting 43:26, Talking Book is a blend of Stevie Wonder's musical sensibilities and those of a few guest artists. Stevie Wonder wrote all of the music on Talking Book, but he only wrote the lyrics for seven of the songs. Yvonne Wright and Syreeta Wright, Wonder's wife, wrote the lines for the other three songs (Yvonne one, Syreeta two). Even the vocals are not only Wonder's on Talking Book. On his classic song "You Are The Sunshine Of My Life," Gloria Barley, Lani Groves and Jim Gilstrap have significant "backing vocal" presences. Several of the songs have significant background vocals, some of which are not even credited in the liner notes (but it is clearly not Wonder performing the repetitive bit at the end of "Maybe Your Baby").

Beyond that, Wonder's musical vision appears to be aided, but not corrupted. Ray Parker Jr. pops up for guitarwork on "Maybe Your Baby" and Jeff Beck and Buzzy Fenton provide the same support on "Lookin' For Another Pure Love." Stevie Wonder appears to do all of the other instrumentation, mostly on the Arp and Moog synthesizers. Wonder is also credited with producing the album, though associate producers Cecil and Margouleff won a Grammy for their work engineering Talking Book. In other words, this seems like one of Wonder's more collaborative works and it is good.

However, Talking Book is hardly flawless and one need look no further than the second track to realize that. After the feel-good, harmonizing vocals of "You Are The Sunshine Of My Life" comes "Maybe Your Baby," a song absolutely plagued by a repetitive line that invokes headaches when on repeat. Indeed, that the last two and a half minutes of the song are spent repeating the same eight words over and over again is just annoying. Actually, more than simply annoying, it is painful to listen to and it guts the emotional resonance of the lyrics that come up early in the song.

But beyond that and some of the way more pedestrian songs like "You And I" understate the instrumentals (after listening to the album over nine times, I can't even pick the tune for that song out!), Talking Book is a musical and lyrical triumph.

Perhaps best known for "Superstition" and "You Are The Sunshine Of My Life," Talking Book is a diverse album that explores themes of love, paranoia, loss of love and government interference. But more than simply exploring such a diverse range of themes - with instrumental and vocal accompaniment that ranges from obvious pop to jazz to funk to slow, classical ballads - Wonder does it well. Take, for example, the classic "Superstition." It is hard to argue that the song has been so popular since its release without acknowledging that "When you believe in things that you don't understand, / Then you suffer, / Superstition ain't the way / Very superstitious, wash your face and hands, / Rid me of the problem, do all that you can, / Keep me in a daydream, keep me goin' strong, / You don't wanna save me, sad is my song" ("Superstitious") is good writing!

But the surprise of Talking Book is that it is not a two-song album. Despite the greatness of his two biggest hits of the album, some of the best lines come in his socially conscious lyrics. Wonder articulates the paranoia against encroaching government that helped to define the late 1960's and early 1970s with his compelling lines "Your name is big brother / You say that you got me all in your notebook, / Writing it down everyday, / Your name is I'll see ya, / I'll change if you vote me in as the pres, / The President of your soul / I live in the ghetto, / You just come to visit me 'round election time / I live in the ghetto, / Someday I will move on my feet to the other side . . ." ("Big Brother"). The vilification of the poor and downtrodden by the oppressive institutions of the government are not lost on Stevie Wonder. But what is more impressive is that he explores the problems in the context of a very nonthreatening, light funk song that allows it to slip under the radar. For those considering Talking Book, it is a song to pay attention to!

But it is not all grandiose social statements on this album. Instead, Wonder continues his trend of exploring the human spirit and he does that quite well. So, for example, he is truly soulful in his mourning on "Tuesday Heartbreak." His longing is palpable when he sings "Tuesday heartbreak seem to be a drag, / When you know that you love her especially, / Catch up baby, catch up with my dreams, / Maybe than I can see you all the time / But I wanna be with you when the nighttime comes / I wanna be with you when the daytime comes, / I wanna stay and never go away, / Oh baby, it's alright (sic)" ("Tuesday Heartbreak"). Wonder has an amazing concept of how tortured the rejected lover's soul can be!

As well, Stevie Wonder has an amazing voice for exploring his diverse themes with. Smooth and soulful on tracks like "Lookin' For Another Pure Love" and energetic and funky on songs like "Superstition." The vocal diversity here is not so much in range as it is in the ability embody so many different sounds and levels of volume and energy with the same voice. So while he stays within a fairly stable and safe register - mid-range - Wonder's songs do not sound repetitive in their vocalization.

Ultimately, Talking Book is a slightly above average album, but it is plagued by repetition - as I write this, the album is closing again with the interminable repetitions of the title line to "I Believe (When I Fall In Love With You It Will Be Forever)" - and that does grate on the listener after even a few listens.

The best track is "Big Brother," the low point is "Maybe Your Baby."

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
Stevie Wonder’s Original Musiquarium I
In Square Circle
Conversation Peace
Natural Wonder
The Definitive Collection
A Time To Love

7/10

For other music reviews, please visit my index page by clicking here!

© 2012, 2009 W.L. Swarts. May not be reprinted without permission.
| | |

Stevie Wonder Helps Define The Sounds Of The 1980s On In Square Circle

The Good: Socially conscious, Easy to listen to, Decent production
The Bad: Repetitive sound, Short
The Basics: Good, but dated, In Square Circle is an odd combination of Stevie Wonder's social conscious and some terribly mundane music.


My male Artist Of The Month, Stevie Wonder, has a slew of albums to choose from and some of them are decent, some overrated, some classic. When I finally made it to his album In Square Circle, I found myself at something of a dilemma. In Square Circle is a good album and it sounds essentially '80s with its pounding drums, synthesizers and catchy pop lyrics. As a function of the time, it is quite a good work. But now, years later, the album holds up poorly over multiple repetitions and is very hard to recommend outside of the nostalgia value.

The contradiction comes in the importance of the album both in Stevie Wonder's repertoire and as a musical historical document. Wonder's song "Part-Time Lover" was a huge hit on the charts and it still sounds good today. Songs like "It's Wrong (Apartheid)" illustrate that while the political forces in the United States might have been slow to react to the struggles in South Africa, many - like Stevie Wonder - were working to raise awareness. And for those reasons alone, there is some value to In Square Circle that might not be evident just by listening to the album.

With only ten tracks, clocking out at 49:19, In Square Circle is hardly an extensive work by Stevie Wonder. It is, however, very much his musical vision and he worked hard to push his sound to both accommodate and set trends in the mid-1980s. Wonder wrote, produced and arranged the album and so his level of creative control was pretty much complete. As well, he provides the lead vocals on every track and plays several instruments on the album. The result is that Wonder presents an album that is musically rich with virtually every track being packed with instrumental sounds, beats that are pounding and synthesizer-driven tracks that came to define the piano/keyboard sound of individuals and groups that were driven by those instruments in the mid-1980s.

Vocally, Stevie Wonder does not stretch himself on In Square Circle. Instead, this album showcases what he has and what he has become comfortably and popularly known for. His vocals are safely in the mid-range, not too deep, not high. He has some significant lung capacity, which he brings out on songs like "Whereabouts" and he has the ability and enthusiasm to present energetic songs like "Overjoyed" like no one else does.

Of course, it probably helps Wonder maintain his enthusiasm when he is singing his own material. On In Square Circle, Wonder has a weird dichotomy of socially conscious and lawless. He opens the album with his infidelity anthem "Part-Time Lover" and closes it with the smart and powerful "It's Wrong (Apartheid)." And in between, he sings pop songs about love, spirituality and the way the world was changing.

In fact, Wonder presents some songs that have a story-song quality to them that is seldom utilized in pop-rock music. For example, on "Land Of La La," Wonder tells a story (through song) about the differences between the towns and the big cities in the '80s. He sends a musical protagonist on a journey from "You were brought up in a small town / Where everyone greeted with a morning smile / I mean the place was so free from crime / You could leave your front door open" to "You get off the bus, pick up a paper / And look through the classified . . . Then you turn around to pick up the duffel bag / That you brought along / But much to your surprise you find / Your bag has taken off walking" ("Land Of La La"). It takes a pretty impressive mind to make a song that is both interesting, sounds good and make statements of social relevance about crime in big cities! Stevie Wonder does it, though!

His social conscious comes through most clearly on "It's Wrong (Apartheid)." This seems like a pretty safe subject for a musical artist to sing about, but in the 1980s, there was a general attitude of isolationism. The United States was focusing on itself and trying (publicly, at least) to not get involved with problems in other nations. Still, Stevie Wonder evaluated the apartheid problem and felt compelled to sing "The wretchedness of Satan's wrath / Will come to seize you at last / 'cause even he frowns upon the deeds you are doing / And you know deep in your heart / You've no covenant with God / 'cause he would never countenance people abusing / You know apartheid's wrong (Qha), wrong (Qha) / Like slavery was wrong (Qha), wrong (Qha) / Like the holocaust was wrong (Qha), wrong (Qha)" ("It's Wrong (Apartheid)"). The forcefulness of the lyrics and the directness of a celebrity like Wonder speaking out on the subject helped to raise awareness in the United States and through that, pressure was exerted on politicians to create change. Wonder deserves a lot of credit for his writing and presentation of that.

Unfortunately for In Square Circle and Stevie Wonder, not all of the songs are that intelligent or forthright. Instead, there are songs like "Whereabouts" which are singsongy, repetitive and droll. The album mixes up smart songs with songs with lyrics like "I'm trying to find my whereabouts, what shall I do / When nothing seems to follow through / In me, trying to find my whereabouts, I'm turning blue / But wait I may have found a clue / My whereabouts are somewhere in yesterday with you" ("Whereabouts"). And while the poetics might not seem initially terrible, the song's lines are repeated so often in the short song as to be draining and promote the appearance that Wonder is just phoning in the track. The rhyme scheme - like many on this album - is obvious and that is unfortunate.

As well, In Square Circle suffers some, in ways many Stevie Wonder albums do not, from a lack of musical originality. Every track - and it is mostly upbeat sounding or cool, mellow tracks - has a full, rich sound, but it seems creatively stunted. On this album, Stevie Wonder does not use quirky or obscure instruments. Every track is dominated by safe, familiar instruments like the piano, keyboards and the very typical snare drums. The result is an album that has a typical '80's pop-funk feel to it, without much more than what one initially expects it to have.

The result is an album that breaks even at slightly above average in its quality, but is still a tough sell outside those who are looking for a new-to-them 80's pop-rock sound. I suppose In Square Circle is ideal for those who have worn out their copies of Thriller and Bad but don't want something too new to their ears.

The best track is "It's Wrong (Apartheid)" and the low point is the mundane lilting of "Whereabouts."

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
Stevie Wonder’s Original Musiquarium I
Conversation Peace
Natural Wonder
The Definitive Collection
A Time To Love

6.5/10

For other music reviews, please check out my Music Index Page!

© 2012, 2009 W.L. Swarts. May not be reprinted without permission.
| | |

Creative And Interesting, I Still Can't Recommend Buying Stevie Wonder's Music Of My Mind

The Good: Moments of creativity, Decent instrumentals
The Bad: Average Stevie Wonder vocals, Remarkably average lyrics, SHORT
The Basics: Indistinct and terribly repetitive, Music Of My Mind leaves the listener with very little of an impression.


One of the things I seldom address in my music reviews is the concept of how/why I look to recommend or not recommend a musical work. In addition to the quality of the music, I look at the duration of the album and on works that I find average, I consider shelf space. Seriously. Ultimately, sometimes on works that seem average, I consider how people have finite time, money, and shelf space with which to build a collection and I ask "is this truly worthy of a permanent collection?" As a result, sometimes when I add in those factors on an average work, I find that it becomes impossible for me to recommend it.

That is where I find myself on the Stevie Wonder album Music Of My Mind. Is it good? Yes, I suppose. Is it indispensable? No. If you have a thousand c.d.s, is it likely to be one you listen to even once a year? Probably not. As a result, I ultimately found that this album was just too average to recommend. Having listened to it eight times, there are no tracks that truly stand out and/or intrigue me. I find myself listening to it and when it restarts, I am left with a "meh" feeling and without any real impression of what I have been listening to. And having listened to some truly great Stevie Wonder albums, I know that Wonder is capable - in fact, quite good at - of leaving an impression upon the listener.

With nine tracks, adding up to 47:53, Music Of My Mind is largely the musical vision of Stevie Wonder. The first album of Wonder's that he produced, he wrote or co-wrote all of the songs. This gives him almost all of the creative control over the album and as a result, he bears the responsibility for the sound and content. Wonder performs the lead vocals on every song and he is credited with playing the Moog and Arp synthesizers. In other words, this is, truly, his album.

Unfortunately, it is also generally bland, plagued with more average vocals, instrumentals and lyrics than most of his other albums. Vocally, for example, the only time he breaks out and actually sings with an emotion that is undeniable is on the final track, "Evil." There, he lets his voice soars and he is expressive and clear, his tone evoking the powerful emotions of loss and disbelief in the state of the world that the lyrics call for.

But that is the exception to the rule on the album. The album opens with "Love Having You Around," which Wonder drones through almost amelodically, like he is telling a story. His vocals do not illustrate either appreciation or desire over the subject of his line being in his life. Instead, it is passionless, inexpressive and his vocal range is kept limited to the safe, mid-range vocals that he is comfortable in. This, unfortunately, is how many of the tracks go.

As well, several of the songs, like "Love Having You Around" has background vocals that are distracting for the way they are produced and mixed. The vocals drone like a crowd in the background, leaving the listener more befuddled than impressed.

Unfortunately, Music Of My Mind is not Stevie Wonder's greatest lyrical outing, either. Take, for example, "Happier Than The Morning Sun," one of the more poetic songs on the album. This song has a decent refrain of "I'm happier than the morning sun / And that's the way you said that it would be / If I should ever bring you inside my life" "("Happier Than The Morning Son"). Unfortunately, those three lines are repeated at least eight times in the song, with additional repetitions of the title. In a song barely over five minutes, this is terrible and made worse by the fact that much of the bridges between the refrains are "bom" and "dum" repeated ad nauseam. The result is a track that is tiresome to the ear.

This is not to say that Wonder has no decent musical stories on Music Of My Mind; he does. Perhaps the most direct is "Superwoman" which actually has a sensibility close to that of folk-rock music in the tradition of musical storytelling. With its lines like "Mary wants to be a superwoman / And try to boss the bull around / But does she really think that she will get by with a dream / My woman want to be a superwoman / And I just had to say good-bye / Because I can't spend all my hours start to cry" ("Superwoman") Wonder viably creates musical protagonists, tells a musical story and carries a theme. The song is not bad and it works to illustrate that Wonder can do something other than just sing about love with his songs.

Sadly, that seems a niche he is often too happy to let himself get trapped in. And while there are truly masterful love songs by Stevie Wonder, the ones on Music Of My Mind are far more blase and average. When singing about desire, the best Wonder seems to muster on this album are rhymes that were even stale and predictable when they were new, such as "Some folks say that you're really, really fine, / All you want to be is just a friend of mine, / But I know, the man your with gonna break your heart, / And you'll be sad real soon, yea. / Keep on running, / Keep on running from my love, / Keep on running, yea, / Keep on running from my love" ("Keep On Running"). Rhyming the same words with themselves over and over is bad enough, but that he keeps repeating that over and over again within the song is just inexcusable.

Instrumentally, Music Of My Mind is also particularly bland. This has more of a "one man and his piano (synth)" sound to it than many of his other albums which are musically rich. This one, though, is limited and after eight listens to the album I am fairly sure I could not pick a single tune off this album. There are no hooks, no catches, nothing that stands out musically. It is melodic, but indistinctive and ultimately, sadly, quite bland.

Fans of Stevie Wonder or those just getting into him deserve something with more punch, impact and memorability than this. As it is, it is pretty bland, repetitive and - yes, one might not think it possible for Stevie Wonder - generic R&B.

The best track is the smooth and articulate "Evil," the low point is "Happier Than The Morning Sun."

For other works by Stevie Wonder, please be sure to visit my reviews of:
The Jazz Soul Of Little Stevie
Eivets Rednow
Stevie Wonder’s Original Musiquarium I
Conversation Peace
Natural Wonder
The Definitive Collection
A Time To Love

5/10

For other music reviews, please visit my index page by clicking here!

© 2011, 2009 W.L. Swarts. May not be reprinted without permission.
| | |

More Wonder From The Jazz Tradition Of Stevie Wonder: Eivets Rednow Almost Works!

The Good: Musically interesting
The Bad: Short! Somewhat monotonous over multiple listens.
The Basics: Simplistic, a poor mix of energetic and depressing, Eivets Rednow, one of Stevie Wonder's more obscure albums doesn't seem to know what it wants to be.


Stevie Wonder is my male Artist Of The Month at the moment and as I review his various albums, I am reminded of the old saying, "I don't always know if something is good or bad, but I know what I like and what I don't." That's where I am with Stevie Wonder's album Eivets Rednow. This is one of Stevie Wonder's earliest albums and for those who doubt, spell Eivets Rednow backwards and see what you get.

And after my customary eight listens to this album, I am finding that I am not truly enjoying it. Instead, it is vague, background jazz that is largely indistinct. None of the songs pop in a way that are interesting enough to make me want to come back to the album. It is soft, melancholy, sleepy music and it feels like background mood music in a movie with a lot of dinner scenes. Add to that, it is short, making it a poor use of the c.d. medium. Had it been combined with one of Wonder's other early albums, I might have gone for it. As it is, it is just boring and for one inclined toward music with lyrics (though I have reviewed a number of Classical albums as well!) this is just dull in an unfortunate way.

With only nine tracks, clocking out at 32:03, Eivets Rednow, like many of Wonder's early albums, is less the creative vision of Stevie Wonder and more the producer and record label's vision. In this case, Henry Crosby produced the album and Burt Bacharach and Hal David wrote two tracks, Wonder wrote one and the reason this is still viewed as a Stevie Wonder album is that Wonder performs on all nine tracks.

Stevie Wonder, in this context, is treated as a gifted musician. He plays harmonica, clavinet, and piano on various tracks. Wonder opens the album playing harmonica on Bacharach and David's "Alfie" which sounds like a motion picture soundtrack song . . . because it is. Slow and charismatic, the theme Wonder performs is played over a gentle, jazzy percussion and it has a slow, musing quality to it that wears thin after a few listens.

More upbeat is "More Than A Dream," which has Wonder again on harmonica using that almost like vocals over the brass and drums. The track has a big band, light swing sound and it almost defines the sound of driving on a sunny day. The album takes a turn for the melancholy with "A House Is Not A Home" and because the clavinet is the dominant instrument, one assumes that is what Wonder plays. This track is soulful and sad with the clavinet and a string section winding between one another to create a strong sense of loss and sadness that needs no words.

That is followed - awkwardly - by the lightstepping sound of "How Can You Believe," which Wonder seems to be playing the harmonica again. This track has a very limited pop melody and like a refrain with singsong rhymes that is repeated once too often, this track repeats itself and ultimately, it leaves the listener with the feeling that they have not ended up anywhere new and the song lacks a sense of consequence or meaning.

Track five is a medley called "Never My Love/Ask The Lonely" and this song does have a sense of movement. Opening with an almost nauseating decline on the scales - reminiscent of falling - Wonder plays the harmonica as a resistance to loss, as if the musical protagonist he is describing without words is deep in denial and fighting for a principle. The song has crescendos that lead the listener to believe the protagonist does overcome and the theme of the song is carried well to its end.

"Ruby" is a longer track that serves to remind us that longer is not necessarily better. Keeping in the melancholy theme, this actually sounds distractingly like "Unforgettable" and has a soaring string section that is strangely ponderous. As well, Wonder's harmonicas are only maintaining the melody, they do not offer the listener anything new, different or even exciting. The result is a slow jazz song that plods along somewhat listlessly. It is the musical equivalent of wandering down an empty street.

"Which Way The Wind" starts out with a big band sound, then quickly becomes the musical equivalent of the pop rendition of "Blue." The theme is repetitive and it has several similarities to the Stevie Wonder song upon which "Gangster's Paradise" was based. The thing is, there are audacious trumpets that perk up, but they punctuate a fairly blase theme.

Wonder's own "Bye Bye World" opens with a fanfare sound before becoming strangely energetic for a song with that title. Musically, with its staccato rhythms and accenting brass, is like a pimp walking down a sunny street pointing to all the neighbors he sees and letting loose a comment. The song wanders, is bright and cheerful and utterly defies the idea of leaving the world, right up until (and including) its climax.

The album closes with "Grazing In The Grass" a song so similar to "Bye Bye World" the only real differentiation becomes Wonder playing his harmonica again. This is another sunny, upbeat song that wander and leaves the listener with little impression of what they've just heard.

Having listened to Eivets Rednow over eight times now, that is the general feeling I am left with. This is pretty generic swinging jazz that seems frilly, insubstantial and in no way audacious or even interesting. The result of having this on high rotation is not enlightenment or enjoyment, it's a numbing boredom. Many artists have an album that has indistinct qualities track to track and for Stevie Wonder, if this is the low point, he ought to be proud: at least he was just performing other people's stuff.

The high point is "Never My Love/Ask the Lonely," the low point is the repetitive and boring "How Can You Believe."

For other works by Stevie Wonder, please be sure to visit my reviews of:
The Jazz Soul Of Little Stevie
Stevie Wonder’s Original Musiquarium I
Conversation Peace
Natural Wonder
The Definitive Collection
A Time To Love

4/10

For other music reviews, please visit my index page by clicking here!

© 2011, 2009 W.L. Swarts. May not be reprinted without permission.
| | |

The Jazz Soul Of Little Stevie Opens The Career Of Stevie Wonder Well!

The Good: Decent instrumental performances
The Bad: SHORT!
The Basics: An obvious strong star to the auspicious career of Stevie Wonder, The Jazz Soul Of Little Stevie is nevertheless short and more traditional jazz than groundbreaking Wonder.


I swear, I have never met anyone who talks about jazz who is not an expert in it (or an apparent expert in it). It seems every time jazz comes up in a conversation I am involved in, the parties involved quickly separate into two camps, those entirely ignorant of jazz and those who seem to know every jazz artist and performer who ever lived. It's a kind of "you either know it or you don't" mentality. But because Stevie Wonder is my Artist Of The Month, I was lucky enough to pick up his debut album, which is much more jazz-centered.

The Jazz Soul Of Little Stevie, renamed on c.d. The Jazz Soul Of Little Stevie Wonder was the debut of eleven year-old Stevie Wonder. This is an instrumental album and I've decided to approach it as I would a Classical album, describing the feel of each song because - lacking lyrics - the message is a bit more open to interpretation. Before he became an R&B and funk god, Stevie Wonder began with jazz and The Jazz Soul Of Little Stevie is enough to make those of us not immersed in jazz want to hear more.

With only nine tracks, clocking out at an anemic 29:52, The Jazz Soul Of Little Stevie has very little that is Wonder's unique work. He performs on bongos, drums, harmonica, organ, and piano over the course of the album, but he only co-wrote two of the songs and he was not involved in the production either. There are no lines sung, but it is a feel-good, swinging album that clearly establishes the instrumental prowess of Stevie Wonder, even though some of the instruments he plays are drown out by his accompanists.

"Fingertips" features Stevie Wonder on bongos and they are not the most prominent instrument on the track. Instead, this is a piano and flute-driven jazz number that is upbeat, but terribly repetitive. The piano and guitars play essentially the same three notes or chords over and over again, making it almost sound like percussion. The flute, then, has a chance to be expressive and it creates an intriguing and fast countermelody.

Stevie Wonder's harmonica is well-featured on "Square," a classic jazz piece that actually sounds like an upbeat version of "Fever." Wonder bleats out on the harmonica with a soulful resonance that is probably the closest he gets to vocals on this album. While the piano and percussion lay down a melody, his harmonica rings over it with a harmony that varies from being complimentary to the other instruments to being jazz scat on the harmonica!

"Soul Bongo" is another energetic number with Stevie Wonder beating his hands out against trumpets and saxophones. On this track, though, his bongos can be heard and he creates a frenetic sound that is indescribable. In fact, simply listening to the bongo part one has to be amazed that a human can hit drums with their hands that fast to make such a sound! Still, Wonder illustrates endurance and speed in playing on the bongos.

The sense of speed and simple sound continues on "Manhattan At Six." On that song, Wonder plays the drums and he does it with an enthusiasm that makes the listener rock back and forth. There is a Caribbean feel to the song and that type of energy and enthusiasm to the song that makes the title somewhat mystifying.

"Paulsby" is a jazzy number that actually reminds me of the theme to the animated "Peanuts," though I cannot say way. Wonder plays the organ and harmonica on it and this has a rich, big band/swing sound to it that evokes mental images of bright lights and dance halls. It is up-tempo and danceable and while it, too, lacks a strong melody, it has a cohesive theme and a decent sense of movement to it.

"Some Other Time" is a slower song with Wonder on the harmonica. As the bass and piano create a melancholy melody, Wonder harmonizes with his harmonica in a way that is pensive and there is the sense of autumn and reminiscing in the sound of the music. While the music has crescendos as it returns to its main refrain, there is generally a softer, slower, more contemplative feel to this song and the difference makes for a distinct track on an otherwise upbeat album.

"Wondering," one of only two tracks Wonder co-wrote, has Wonder on the organ, which he plays enthusiastically while trumpets and brass act more like percussion. The effect is actually hypnotic, especially as the organ becomes the central sound in the middle movement. Wonder is fast with his fingers and actually creates - back in 1963! - a song that one can imagine freestyle dancing to! "Wondering" is like the ultimate chase sequence theme with the organ and brass alternating in a way that feels like a pursuit!

The more subtle "Session Number 112" is similarly the ideal skulking theme. Wonder plays on the piano and harmonica and his piano work muses along until he pounds some deeper chords that act almost like the auditory version of a Pink Panther cartoon when he sneaks from the shadows around the light cast from a streetlight back into the shadows. There is a playful and mysterious quality to it that is actually fun.

The album closes with "Bam," which has Wonder on harmonica droning out against the pianos and drums in a very classical jazz sounding number that borders on swing. He closes the album with a harmonica solo that is soulful in a "back porch at sunset" kind of way. "Bam" is a good strutting song and it is hard not to imagine walking off into the sunset to it!

The Jazz Soul Of Little Stevie suffers some from the fact that it is a reproduction of the original recording and thus does not use the c.d. medium all that well; two of Wonder's early albums could easily have fit on one disc and it is disappointing they were not consolidated, as they share many of the same musical sensibilities.

For those looking for non-threatening jazz (we non-experts need somewhere to start!) or who want to see how an artist evolved from the established order (in this case the jazz tradition) into his own (Wonder becomes a pioneer in R&B-based rock and roll) this is a great place to start. It is, however, quite short and while the mood is frenetic and upbeat, there is not much to come back to time after time.

The best track is "Some Other Time," the low point might well be "Fingertips," if for no other reason than Wonder's part is frequently drown out by the other performers.

For other works by Stevie Wonder, please be sure to visit my reviews of:
Stevie Wonder’s Original Musiquarium I
Conversation Peace
Natural Wonder
The Definitive Collection
A Time To Love

6.5/10

For other music reviews, please visit my index page by clicking here!

© 2011, 2009 W.L. Swarts. May not be reprinted without permission.
| | |

(Almost) Living Up To Its Name, The Definitive Collection Is Stevie Wonder's Perfect Collection!

The Good: Great vocals, instrumentals, lyrics, mix, production. Everything!
The Bad: One essential song missing.
The Basics: A perfect collection, Stevie Wonder's The Definitive Collection lives up to its name with all of the most recognizable songs by Stevie Wonder!


The beautiful thing about being new to the music of Stevie Wonder is that I approach his compilations with a strong perspective of someone who has authority based pretty much only on what I have heard on his few albums I have listened to so far and what I have heard from him on the radio over the years. Yes, quite simply, I am able to declare that Stevie Wonder's album The Definitive Collection truly lives up to its name because every song I have ever heard of Wonder's (before he became my Artist Of The Month) was on this album. Except one.

The sole detraction of this album is that "Happy Birthday," Wonder's tribute to the life of Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. is not on The Definitive Collection. That's it. Otherwise, every hit and song that is still played on the radio by Stevie Wonder is on this one. The thing is, in the UK, there is a two-disc version that has "Happy Birthday," as well as significant collaborations like "Ebony And Ivory" and "That's What Friends Are For," but they also have a number of songs I have not heard before. This might have the net effect of making the perfect album more perfect, if that is possible, given that the best "best of" albums I have encountered are two-disc albums that feature all of the greatest hits and then a disc that improves the listener's appreciation of the artist.

With twenty-one tracks, clocking in at 79:46, The Definitive Collection truly is the greatest works of musical artist Stevie Wonder. All of the songs are written or co-written by Wonder (save "Fingertips (Part 2)" and "For Once In My Life") and he provides the lead vocals on all of the tracks. He is credited with producing the majority of the tracks and he plays a slew of musical instruments on the album. This is his truly great, complete collection, even with the one missing song!

And for those unfamiliar with Stevie Wonder, this is a great way to get into him and his work. Wonder is a master of r&b and funk and this album captures his journey from a more gospel-based r&b sound to a more pop-based and funky sound. He captures or defines the sounds of the various time periods, with "Fingertips (Part 2)" illustrating a soul, falsetto performance which evolves to "Living In The City's" background that has synths reminiscent of the Bee Gees and ultimately to the feel-good mid-80's anthems like "I Just Called To Say I Love You." Stevie Wonder is both a definer of trends and a survivor in the changing musical world and this album reflects an impressive musical diversity and range.

Part of that comes from Wonder's vocals. Stevie Wonder has an impressive vocal range, starting high and almost uncomfortable to listen to with his earliest works, like "Uptight (Everything's Alright)." Wonder evolves, then, into more mid-range vocals with songs like "Signed, Sealed, Delivered I'm Yours" and even going lower on songs like "Do I Do" and "Overjoyed." The Definitive Collection explores the full range and depth of Wonder's vocal abilities and he is clear in his articulations, regardless of which register he is performing in!

But one of the key aspects to any artist enduring long enough to release a collection like this is the lyrics. Stevie Wonder can (and does!) write well and this is perfectly illustrated on The Definitive Collection. Even when he is co-writing some of his early tracks, like "Signed, Sealed, Delivered I'm Yours," Wonder has a statement that he is able to make funky and clear, interesting and new. There are plenty of love songs and even a good number of songs where the musical protagonist essentially begs for love and attention, but Wonder makes it seem new again with his lines "I've done a lot of foolish things / That I really didn't mean, didn't I? / Seen a lot of things in this old world / When I touch them, they mean nothing, girl / Oo, baby, here I am, signed, sealed, delivered, I'm yours! / Oowee baby, you set my soul on fire / That's why I know you're my heart's only desire" ("Signed, Sealed, Delivered I'm Yours"). He makes his lines dancable and clear and that combination works for him, even when his lyrics have a somewhat predictable rhyme scheme.

And while I frequently criticize singer-songwriters for obvious rhymes, Stevie Wonder forces reviewers like me to acknowledged that predictability is not synonymous with lack of diction. Indeed, on songs like "You Haven't Done Nothin'," Wonder illustrates a strong level of vocabulary even while presenting the unsurprising rhymes "But we are sick and tired of hearing your song / Telling how you are gonna change right from wrong / 'Cause if you really want to hear our views / 'You haven't done nothing!' / It's not too cool to be ridiculed / But you brought this upon yourself / The world is tired of pacifiers / We want the truth and nothing else." Wonder has a social conscious and he clearly expresses that in his lyrics, often demanding of his listeners that they stand up and become involved with causes. This is a wonderful thing for an artist of his caliber to do.

Wonder also has a strong romantic and passionate side. A great number of his songs are love songs and it is hard to imagine Stevie Wonder's music not being used as mood music for getting down. He is easily one of the greatest artists who is presenting such a mellow, classy sound that he is the background music for many people for dancing and making love. He also has a very realistic sense to him with the differences between love and sex. Nowhere is this more clear than on the song that caps off the album, "Part-Time Lover." For that song, Wonder wrote "If she isn't with me I'll blink the lights / To let you know tonight's the night / For me and you my part-time lover / We are undercover passion on the run / Chasing love up against the sun / We are strangers by day, lovers by night / Knowing it's so wrong, but feeling so right / If I'm with friends and we should meet / Just pass me by, don't even speak / Know the word's 'discreet' with part-time lovers" ("Part-Time Lover"). It is hardly romantic, but it does have realism to it!

The Definitive Collection is a perfect album (even missing "Happy Birthday") and fans of the music of Stevie Wonder will want to get this one for their collections. Moreover, anyone considering getting into Stevie Wonder or looking to explore the history of funk and r&b-based pop needs to get this album; after all, a huge selection of the best of it is right here!

I am foregoing my usual "best" and "worst" tracks for this review: there are no bad tracks and I shall not ignite the firefight that would surely come from trying to name Stevie Wonder's best song.












(But it's "Sir Duke").

For other works by Stevie Wonder, please be sure to visit my reviews of:
Stevie Wonder’s Original Musiquarium I
Conversation Peace
Natural Wonder
A Time To Love

9.5/10

For other music reviews, please visit my index page by clicking here!

© 2011, 2009 W.L. Swarts. May not be reprinted without permission.
| | |