Well they put the CD up on ITUNES so STEVIE can be eligible for the Grammies this year, and I must say, even though the Wait and the Delays for this CD were crazy, the Album is really good. Im still giving it a listen so I dont have a track by track breakdown. The album is heavy on the Mellow side, a Few very Funk jams especially the Opening track. Once I give everything a fair listen i will give a Track by Track Description. But the Album is up on ITUNES as of Midnight.

I can't wait to hear it!!!!!

Dammitt, that's what I was afraid of. I'm so sick of people doing "mellow" albums.

No itunes in OZ. Infact checked most sites and no one got it here. Oh the pain.

So is this the last week to be eligible for Grammy nominations?

Thats a good trick - releasing as a download makes it eligible & the record company can wait a few more weeks to release a hard copy.

Sorry - I don't wish to doubt - but is this for real?

I just downloaded it too - haven't had a chance to listen to it yet - is it an iTunes only release at this point?

lastdecember said:

Tricky bastards. I'm tempted to buy it over there but I'll wait to get it in my hands.

Please, give a review of each song

vainandy said:

Hey Vainandy...you should check out the new Earth Wind and Fire CD 'Illumination'.Surprisingly,it actually contains alot of uptempo funk tracks.These days,most Old School artists and bands "play it safe" with alot of slow tracks.But EW&F just released their funkiest album in years.

manthevan said:

that's what I'm saying


how is the track "Moon Blue"? Fox News gave it a rave review.

alandail said:

No, not just iTunes. I've been listening to it on Yahoo's music subscription service as well. I've listened to several tunes so far, and it is very good. The first track, If Your Love Cannot Be Moved is a good tune with a spare, stuttering percussion track. It's a great start to the album.

DavidEye said:

Nice song. Reminds me of one of his mid 70s ballads. Of course, the production is more up-to-date sounding, but it's reminiscent of that period of his work. His voice has obviously gotten a little deeper as he's gotten older, but I was surprised at his ability to hold a high note in the middle of this song (he also does a somewhat crazy vocal run directly after that which was a bit off-putting).

Please Don't Hurt My Baby reminds me of one of the better songs from Characters. Has a similar sound and production style to Skeletons. The horns sound a little too artificial, but still a good uptempo song.

How Will I Know is a beautiful jazzy number. Even though it's a given that he's going to be great on the keys, the piano on this one is excellent! It's a duet with his daughter Aisha. I've never heard her sing before, but her voice is especially sweet (in a good way). Her sound is not dissimilar to India Arie, who shows up later on the title track. Of the slows songs I've really listened to so far, this one's my favorite.

My Love Is on Fire - only listened to it once so far. It's okay. Too smooth jazz for me, but it gets stronger in the second half of the song.

A Time to Love - another that I've only listened to once. Good song though it's a bit too preachy in its message (all else suffers if you don't take time to love). Occasionally Stevie's songs feel like they go on and on and on...and on. This is one of those times.

I've yet to fully dig into the meat of the album. That said, my first impression is that it's a strong album. If Motown's decision to release it on digital media was indeed a strategy to just get it out there in time for Grammy nominations, it might not have been a bad move. It's a nice set of songs, but they'd really have to push it to get Recording Academy to notice it.

RipHer2Shreds said:

Thanks for the analysis! I'm gonna be patient and buy my copy in the record store.But I'm encouraged by these early reviews.

an article on billboard.com says that "so what's the fuss" features Prince. Is that true? What does P do on the song?

JonSnow said:

Guitar.

DavidEye said:

"I do do do do wanna be ur man", not as funky as that song surely

sad to say it but...stevie aint ever gonna be the classic music of my mind,innervisions...talking book...songs in the key of life dude again...its on par with his 80´s stuff IMO

Well, as great as all those albums of the 70s were you can still find people who thought they were not great, especially Songs in the Key of Life. I think they are all excellent. But I suppose Prettymansoon will be among the few who don't like this stuff. Can't please everybody.

I just got through listening to Woman In Red, In Suqare Circle, Characters, and even Hotter Than July. Hell, last night I listened to Jungle fever and Conversation Peace too just so I wouldn't be so quick to say this is a great album since it's been a while.



When you listen to all of the 80s and 90s stuff in succession there is no way that this Cd can be compared to them. A Time 2 Love is a far better piece of work. He may not be classic 70s but this is definitely the closest to it he has come in 20+years. That statement alone still makes him better than 94% of the recording artists who are on a label today.

i agree with u...in fact i wear a stevie t shirt to go jogging almost everyday...(yes i wash it) stevies my man...i even collect old concert video´s...i just hate to hear anyone...prince included...follow rather than lead...

thedoorkeeper said:

Yes, the Grammy cutoff was September 30th.

Looking forward to this!