Taken from quite possibly the greatest Stevie Wonder tribute album of all time. No, not possibly, it is the best tribute album. Madlib and his Yesterday’s New Quintet personae deliver on the album aptly titled Stevie. Here we have two of my favorite joints from the album, “Too High” and “Visions”, though it’s difficult to pick two favorites. Front to back the album is solid. You can pick up a copy of the album on various places through out the interwebs. I suggest doing so.
Songs in the Key of Life, is widely considered Stevie’s best work. One of my favorite cuts on the album, is “Pastime Paradise”. Stevie is certainly known for his spiritual lyrics and with lines like “Tell me who of them will come to be. How many of them are you and me? Dissipation of race relations, consolation, segregation, dispensation, isolation, exploitation, mutilation, mutations, miscreation, confirmation to the evils of the world.”, who can argue. Stevie blended songs like “Pastime Paradise” and “Village Ghetto Land” so perfectly with tracks like “Sir Duke” and “Isn’t She Lovely” that it’s impossible to image the project without any of them. I am a admitted Stevie stan and as such I have a very hard time picking a single body of work as my absolute favorite, but this record is very high on my list of all-time favorites regardless of artist. But once again, in my top 20 albums of all-time there are easily 3-4 from Mr. Wonder.
Plus, without this song, we would have never had Weird Al and Coolio beefing and then making up and nobody caring much at all.
STEVIE WONDER – HOTTER THAN JULY : BBC DOCUMENTARY
STEVIE WONDER – INNERVISIONS : PROMO VIDEO
STEVIE WONDER – LISTENING PARTY FOR SONGS IN THE KEY OF LIFE???!!!???
My good friend, Brian, sent this over to me yesterday. Shot as a promo for Stevie’s Innervisions album, it includes some in studio performance as well as an interview. The songs performed are “On The Flipside”, “All Is Fair In Love”, “Fine Young Thing”, & “Superstition”. “On The Flipside” and “Fine Young Thing” were not included on the album. This starts what many believe is the classic period for Stevie, as he dropped his 3 most influential albums, arguably, Innervisions, Fullfilingness’ First Finale, & Songs In The Key Of Life. I often wonder what exactly was going on in the studio during these sessions when he created these works of art. This is a little glimpse. Artistry amazes me, perhaps because my own specific abilities are devoid of art. Here is a man who has delivered some of the greatest musical works of the past 100 years. Enjoy this and thank me later when you see me…….
Easily one of the most recognizable and subsequently beautiful voices to come out of the 1960s was that of Joan Baez. Admittedly I have a soft spot for female folk singers. See my Joni Mitchell stan-dom. In 1975 she released Diamonds and Rust, the title track was a dedication to her one time romantic fling, Bob Dylan. She also covered one of Bob’s songs, “Simple Twist of Fate” on the album. Then there is the duet with the afore mentioned Joni Mitchell, “Dida”. However the song that sticks out the most, possibly because another artist I stan often, Stevie Wonder. She does an incredible version of his song “I Never Dreamed You’d Leave in Summer”. When I first heard her version about…….well a very long time ago, I was blown away. She added to the song through pure emotion. She mastered the song beautifully and created a haunting rendition which will stand the tests of time. Enjoy
Stevie masters the Dilla beat within seconds and murks the crowd….in every facet of musicianship, Stevie is the G.O.A.T.
Probably one of my favorite Soul Train moments, Stevie probably my all-time favorite artist paying tribute to Minnie Ripperton, Don is in rare form as well…..”El Toro Negro.”
Soul Train & Don Cornelius left a legacy behind and opened up doors that were all but slammed and barricaded shut. We should all strive to leave behind such a legacy.
This entire video is well worth the watch……classic television that is made possible by one Don Cornelius
Merry Christmas world
Stevie Wonder’s A Song In The Key Of Life is widely regarded as a classic album. It was the 3rd album of what I consider the best three album period of any artist’s catalog. Innervisions, Fulfillingness’ First Finale, and Songs In The Key of Life will forever live as complete and outstanding bodies of work. The fact they came in a 3 year span from the same artist is amazing, not to mention they followed Music Of My Mind and Talking Book, which are incredible albums as well. It’s impossible for me to pick a favorite song from these albums or even Stevie’s catalog because, well it’s just impossible. So my favoite Stevie song for the day or at least the last 30 minutes is “Love Is In Need Of Love Today”, like so many of Stevie’s other works, this song is more true today than the day it was written. In a world gone mad with it’s own vanity, we have lost the meaning of love, sure we show it during the holidays or when we yearn for affection, but shouldn’t we exemplify the spirit of love every day? In fact isn’t that what God is all about, love? Shouldn’d we love more and hate less? Wouldn’t the world be a better place if our first impulse was to love? I wonder……………….
Stevie will forever and always be THAT DUDE, you can convince me of nothing else in live if not that.
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