ALBUM OF THE WEEK # 266 STEVIE WONDER - INNERVISIONS (1973)

[RJhog (Admin)]

Artist: Stevie Wonder

Genre: Singer Songwriter/R&B/Soul/Funk

Nationality: American

Rock And Roll Hall Of Fame Member: Yes (1989)

Album: Innervisions

Producer: Stevie Wonder/Robert Margouleff/Malcolm Cecil

Release Date: August 3, 1973

Running Time: 44:12

RIAA Certification: N/A

Peak Billboard Chart Position: #4 (U.S.)/#1 (R&B Chart)

Singles: Higher Ground (#4)/Living For The City (#8)/Don't You Worry 'bout a Thing (#16)/He's Misstra Know-It-All

 

Disclaimer: All info that does not reside in my brain is gathered from wikipedia.com (mostly because Jon can't stand it). 

Moving along to 1973 this week, we take a bit of a left turn, but not really.  This week's Album of the Week is Innervisions by Stevie Wonder.  Many folks may think of Stevie Wonder as just an R&B singer, but back in the late sixties and early seventies, even in the eighties, he was just an artist that got a lot of radio play.  Yes, radio stations that most classic rock fans listened to.  And that is the spirit of this feature, what was played back then to make up our musical libraries now.  

I've always enjoyed some of Stevie's music, but this is the first album I purchased.  So I can't say this is one of those albums that is burned into my memory, simply because I've only owned it for a short time.  And since I can't type anything from memory here, I'll quote Wikipedia for a short overview:

Innervisions is the 16th studio album by American musician Stevie Wonder, released August 3, 1973, on the Tamla Label forMotown Records, a landmark recording of his "classic period".^[1] The nine tracks of Innervisions encompass a wide range of themes and issues: from drug abuse in "Too High", through inequality and systemic racism in "Living for the City", to love in the ballads "All in Love is Fair" and "Golden Lady". The album's closer, "He's Misstra Know It All," is a scathing attack on then-US President Richard Nixon, similar to Wonder's song a year later, "You Haven't Done Nothin'".^[2]

As with many of Stevie Wonder's albums, the lyrics, composition and production are almost entirely his own work, with the ARPsynthesizer used prominently throughout the album. The instrument was a common motif among musicians of the time because of its ability to construct a complete sound environment. Wonder was the first black artist to experiment with this technology on a mass scale, and Innervisions was hugely influential on the subsequent future of commercial black music. He also played all or virtually all instruments on six of the album's nine tracks, making most of Innervisions a representative one-man band.

So there you have it.  Innervisions is still readily available.  I picked up my copy from Amazon for eleven dollars.  It's remastered and sounds great to me.  How about you?  Do you own this or any of Stevie Wonder's work?  

Side One:

1. Too High

2. Visions

3. Living For The City

4. Golden Lady

Side Two:

5. Higher Ground

6. Jesus Children Of America

7. All In Love Is Fair

8. Don't You Worry 'bout a Thing

9. He's Misstra Know-It-All

 

[Jon]

Could swear I have this album, but when I looked I couldn't find it! I do have "Talking Book" and "Songs In The Key Of Life", but the latter was misfiled. Wonder if I misfiled this one as well, or maybe I'm stupid and don't have it. 

Along with those above mentioned albums, I also have "At The Close Of The Century" which is quite a nice, and extensive, boxset. The 70's out put from Stevie is awesome, when you get to the 80's it kinda goes downhill. Still want to pick up "Hotter Than July" because it has some cool songs on it.

This is a fantastic album, quality from track one until the end. Definite must-buy for those that don't have it (might also include me), along with Tb and SITHKOL at the very minimum.

Nice, unexpected post but there is an error.........................

[RJhog (Admin)]

RIAA cert maybe?

[Scott]

Never heard much other than the radio stuff from him, but have read the rave reviews of albums such as this an Songs In The Key of Life.  So have been very curious to hear his work.  I love good 70's soul music and my affection for Earth Wind and Fire is no secret to anyone on this site, them and very few other bands can do this genre justice.  So with that in mind...

TOO HIGH ... is very cool, a great opener with good energy.  I get the politically charged lyrics but I don't really may much attention to them at first listen.  The music should drive this and it does it well enough to keep my attention out of the gate!

VISIONS ... little too mellow but maybe it would grow on me...

LIVING FOR THE CITY ..  Getting some American Idol audition flashbacks which I don't like, but the real tune is familiar and much better than a radio listen.  Maybe because its still holding my attention

GOLDEN LADY ...  Not a terrible way to end side one.  Has some great keyboard atmosphere going on, very layered which may have been relatively new to the listeners at the time.

HIGHER GROUND ... Another familiar tune, very cool one at that!  

JESUS CHILDREN OF AMERICA ... This is the first swing and a miss for me

ALL IS FAIR IN LOVE ... Kind of has a Chicago feel to it, Make Me Smile came to mind immediately before he started singing. But its another nice ballad

DON'T YOU WORRY 'BOUT A THING ... Speaking in tongues, weird opening to the tune.

HE'S MISSTRA KNOW-IT-ALL ... Kind of a dud to the end of this.

Overall, close, but not quite in my Soul wheelhouse.  I did very much enjoy this though the last two tracks I didn't find interesting.  Would still like to hear more of his 70's work, specifically SITKOL

[Niels (Mod)]

There's no question, that Wonder is a genius. He's one of the absolute best singers ever, definitely the best harmonica-player I've heard, and what instrument doesn't he master? And he's written great music over the years.

I've got 2 albums by him: One best off and "Songs In The Key Of Life".

But I would definitely not call myself a fan.

As I've said before: This is the kind of music my older sister was playing in the house, while I was playing KISS or Van Halen in the 70's. Some of her music, I could hear was kind of okay, and Stevie Wonder was one of those.

I don't know, if I've heard all of this album before now, but I know that it is considered to be one of Wonder's very best, and I can certainly hear why.

"Living For The City" and "Higher Ground" are two of the most wellknown songs to me (sung by Wonder), and probably also my favorites (except LFTC keeps on a little too long for my taste). "Too High" is also very good, and almost Jazz.

"Don't You Worry 'bout A Thing" I know by other artists, and I've heard it countless of times, and it's very, very good, probably the best song on this album. What a song-writer that man is/was!!!

And off course "He's Misstra Know-It-All" also appears on my Best Off-album, but that one never was a favorite of mine.

Bottom line: This album IS better than SITKOL, which I thought was his best album (and I DO like a double-album).

It's very rare these days, that I put on this kind of music by free will, but next time I feel like listening to Funk/Jazz/Pop/Soul/Whatever, this album will be the very best choise for me.

[Scott]

Better than SITKOL?  Hmmm...