AlexdeParis said:

"Front Line" is alright

SoulAlive said:

"Alright"?! That song is fire!

SoulAlive said:

All 1987 or before. After '87, Stevie was OVA.

Graycap23 said:

Nah, I like "Gotta Have You" and "Fun Day" a lot -- not to mention most of A Time to Love. He may not be a true albums artist like he was back in the day, but he's still given us some good songs in the last 20 years AFAIC.

AlexdeParis said:

I dug those songs in relationship 2 the movie. I question if I would have liked them if the movie did NOT exist.....

i don't think he'd 'DIED' artistically. i think the industry changed a great deal and his artistic output decreased for probably several reasons. i'll risk redundancy rather than read thru all the posts, but the Jungle Fever Soundtrack Stevie did was EXCELLENT, thematically cohesive. he's had some strong singles since the 80s, These 3 Words, For Your Love. A Time to Love had several trax i enjoyed, but his legacy is such that this all is insufficient for STEVIE

I know this isn't the main subject of this thread, but was Characters really a good album? I've never heard of this album that much, except that the LP was totally ignored by the pop community, but adored by the whole R&B scene back in the day. The only 2 songs I've heard from this album was You Will Know, which is an cool socio-politcal cut and the funk-driven Skeletons.

silverchild said:

Its a pretty good album despite the production values. "In Your Corner" is the jam, "With Each Beat Of My Heart" is probably his most tender, beautiful ballad he's ever written. "Free" a throwback from the 70's is really good too. "Come and Let Me Make My Love Come Down" is like electro-country-funk; if theres a genre. Plus the aformentioned Eyes Don't Cry- Theres a lot of clever ideas and plain good songwriting, except for probably "Get It" Michael definitely got the better deal of their duet with "Just Good Friends"

TonyVanDam said:

I don't think it is.

Sure "I Just Called" is definitely boring, but its unoffensive

He has some of his underrated funky stuff on there; like "Woman In Red" "Love Light in Flight" which is probably the most passionate vocal Steveland ever has done and Don't Drive Drunk is amazing. I think the distinct difference on these tracks from a lot of stuff on In Square Circle and Characters is that he wasn't throwing every sound on the wall and hoping something stuck, he still was arranaging everything; very reminiscent of Prince's stuff actually; for me that is

AlexdeParis said:

I would add "Never In Your Sun" "Strangers on The Shore Of Love" "With Each Beat of My Heart" as well.

Yeah thats a great track. The fact that we're scrambling after the odd track here and there shows how much the quality dipped during the 80s. The 70's had stings of albums stuffed full of classics.
I'd say Prince during the 90s beats Stevies 80's work hands down. Easy!

"Woman in Red"? Dont make me laugh...Its rubbish

yxl1 said:

"Love Light in Flight" is excellent.

Sorry I should have added "IMHO"

I'd say SW produced about one albums worth of good music during the 80's which is quite a feat concidering he produced more than that on SITKOL!

(I'm not including Hotter than July here.. )
[Edited 3/11/07 7:09am]

yxl1 said:

I knew what you meant; I was merely offering a contrary opinion.


Obviously.

vainandy said:

Hotter has the jams! And I love how Stevie always had each song go right into the next. No time to tyhink between songs. I think when he stopped playing live drums is when he lost the real Stevie sound. The drums on Hotter are fantastic!

My fav Stevie Wonder album is "Hotter than July". But that was the last Stevie Wonder album that I really payed attention to. If Stevie has "lost" his artistic edge, he at least gave us a series of great albums before he did lose it. I never expect an artist to be great all time and put out classic after classic all the time, if you always expect that you will end up being disappointed in the end.
[Edited 3/11/07 10:37am]

whatsgoingon said:

"Ribbon in the Sky" was one of the 4 new tracks on Original Musiquarium I, the '70s singles package released in 1982. The other three new songs were "Front Line," "That Girl," and "Do I Do."

Stevie's so-caled "death" is the total and complete envy of any lesser known yet over-heralded songcrafter. Admittedly, not as stellar as his 70s oputput, but I still get good plays out of his 80s & 90s works; certainly much more than any other pop artist.

.

Besides I'm especially fond of

I forgot all about square circle.

Graycap23 said:

I still can't understand why that is one of his biggest albums? The synthesizers and production are incredibly dated on that album and some of the songs have some crappy songwriting.

Graycap23 said:

I think the 'Jungle Fever' soundtrack is excellent,a total improvement over 'In Square Circle' and 'Characters'.I was very impressed with that album.

PFunkjazz said:

I agree.Imo,Stevie has never made a "bad" album.Even though 'Characters' isn't one of my favs,I still enjoy a handful of songs on it.Even when the production is trendy and uninspired,the great lyrics and his melodic sense is still there.And while his 80s albums can't compete with his 70s work,I still appreciate what he's given us,and what he continues to give us.We'll never have another musical genuis genuis like Stevie Wonder.

silverchild said:

"I love You Too Much","Overjoyed" and "Land Of La La" are top-notch songs.I also like "Go Home" and "Whereabouts".Considering what most music sounded like in 1985,I think this album is pretty good.