NDRU said:

I was all about Tamyra Gray... I was like... downloading her AI performances. I thought she was the real artist out of all of em.

squiddyren said:

The Book of Wonder is just as powerful NOW as it was in 1973. We're still dealing with the same issues. Stevie was preaching the truth.

lilgish said:

that one is funky!

Adisa said:

agreed!

CinisterCee said:

She still is.

Songs in the Key of Life is obviously incredible. It should be a crime not to own a copy. I adore every track, but my favorites are "Isn't She Lovely," "Sir Duke," "Ngiculela - Es Una Historia - I Am Singing," "I Wish," "Summer Soft," "Ebony Eyes," "Saturn," "Knocks Me Off My Feet," and "All Day Sucker." The ones in bold are particularly underrated IMO.

Depending on the day, this album, Innervisions, or Fulfillingness' First Finale is my favorite Stevie album. Talking Book is phenomenal, but it's always 4th for me.

To sustain that level of creativity over a double album, with every song as perfect as the one before it, is amazing. Even P has never managed that. SOTT is NOT a perfect album. I think this is. You can see Stevie was reaching for gold with this album; for immortality; he was consciously trying to make the album to end all albums and he had the skill to pull it off. That's one thing I don't understand about most other artists. They don't have that ambition to be the best ever. They have the ambition to be really successful but not to break new ground as artists.

whoknows said:

I think it has more to do with talent. Not many artists are on Stevie's level(when he was at his peak).

I didn't get into Stevie until the reissues about 4 years ago. It was tough. I had always been a compulsive Prince fan, believing there was no one on his level when at the top of his game. Stevie's 70's albums forced on me a reckoning of sorts.

Every home should have a copy of 'Key of Life'.

Let's get this straight: you can't go wrong with any of his 70's peak albums. I mean, whatever he did at that time was revolutionary. It was like every year he released a new album, he would better himself from the experimental Music Of My Mind to the spiritual Fulfillingness First Finale. But for me, Songs In The Key Of Life is one of those monumental masterpieces that will stand the test of time. This was where he challenged himself of doing an album that was personal and indeed acessible at the same time. It had the eclecticism and energy no other album had at that time and although it was 2 and-a-half records long, it had the cohesion that many double albums didn't have. Every song on that album is a classic and just serves an important purpose. There are absolutely no weak or filler tracks here, just plain gold and when people say that Stevie is a musicial genius, they're referring to what he did on this classic.

AND ONE MORE THING: When is this album and Innervisions, Fulfillingness' First Finale, and Talking Book going to be part of Universal's Deluxe Edition series????? I think it's time for a petition!!!
[Edited 6/16/06 11:52am]

sexyfunkystrange said:

Although the material is to great to be classified as r&b or any other genre. It's much bigger than that. But I agree with everything else u posted. It's a beautiful album. This is Stevie being in TOTAL touch with his gift from God. It's that simple.

CinisterCee said:

I totally agree. And so would John and Paul.

"Innervisions" is a totally different THANG than "Songs In The Key". Stevie had soooo much talent and was sooo gifted that whatever was going on around Stevie, of course it's going to color his material at that time. "Talking Book" is another brilliant album as well.

uPtoWnNY said:

I don't think it's that simple. P and Stevie wouldn't have got that good if they didn't spend hundreds of hours practising their instruments. Also,both of them talk about the importance of studying great songwriters. The bar was set high for them and they were determined to match that and go beyond it. That's artistic ambition. They didn't become great just by genetic accident.

Not my favorite Wonder album but without a doubt a goodie.

I'm surprised that Isn't She Lovely wasn't a single.
Seemed like it was. It certainly got singles-type airplay.

Contusion:
A tune many Wonderlings overlook since it's an instrumental.
I dig the fact that Stevie included this Fusiony tune (featuring Michael Sembello on guitar I believe).

Other personal favs (beyond the obvious ones)...
Love's in Need of Love Today
Knocks Me off My Feet
Summer Soft
Ordinary Pain
All Day Sucker
Easy Goin' Evening



tA

Tribal Disorder

http://www.soundclick.com...dID=182431

Let me add that "Saturn" is the "Moonbeam Levels" of Prince's career.

theAudience said:

I love it, but I do prefer the focused genius of Talking Book and Innervisions to the sprawl of Songs in the Key of Life - I think those two are perfect, more or less. While SitKoL is a great display of Wonder's talents and has a looser, more relaxed feel than the two records I mentioned, I also think it has a touch of fat on it, mostly on the second record.

damosuzuki said:

Cloudbuster said:

You just answered yourself!

Moonbeam said:

Harrumph - I defy you to find fault with Talking Book and Innervisions. I dare ya...

damosuzuki said:

You're reading my mind.

tA

Tribal Disorder

http://www.soundclick.com...dID=182431

I recently bought the Rhino DVD "Songs in the Key of Life: Recounting the Journey of a Legendary Music Recording". Very interesting. The comments from Coolio were unneeded, but I guess since he did the Gangsta's Paradise thang. Nah, still wasn't needed. . .

damosuzuki said:

Yeah, well....

















They don't have "As" or "Saturn" or, or, or "Ngiculela", so there!

Moonbeam said:

Don't you find Saturn to be...erm, how can I put this...slightly iffy lyrically?

I usually don't pay a lot of attention to lyrics - the only time I really notice them is when I hear something really dopey that shocks me out of my enjoyment of the song. Y'know, like when some clueless Al Green wanna-be says 'Girl, I can't live without your body' or something stupid like that.

Saturn's lyrics kinda have that effect on me.

EDIT - in case I'm being too harsh, I'll point out that I think the melody to that song is wonderful, absolutely great, and it goes without saying that it's played, arranged and sung perfectly.
[Edited 6/16/06 21:01pm]

damosuzuki said:

I find it perfect! Plus, he says "moonbeams".

hmmm I have a gay porn with this title.

its really bad

Moonbeam said:

Co-sign! In particular, these lines get me every time:

We can't trust you when you take a stand
With a gun and Bible in your hand
And the cold expression on your face
Saying give us what we want or we'll destroy

Then that scream that comes next... perfect!

lazycrockett said:

Wtf?

NuPwr319 said:

I ahve that DVD and yes,it is very interesting.One of the bandmembers who played on the album said that there are many other songs that were recorded but didn't make the final tracklist I would kill to hear those tracks!

Moonbeam said:

"Saturn" is the one song that gets a bad rap,but I like it.I love the message.

through the ages all great men have taught
truth and happiness just can't be bought
or sold....tell me why are you people so cold?


Those lyrics are just as relevent today as they were in 1976!

theAudience said:

Rumor has it that Motown wanted to release "Isn't She Lovely" as a single,but in order to do so,they had to edit the track since it's very lengthy.Stevie said "no way"...he wanted listeners to hear the entire song (with the baby sounds and all) and so it was never released as a single.That didn't stop radio programmers from playing it,though.

"Contusion" is a great song.Reminds me of mid-70s Santana