lilgish said:

How could you say that? Just because he's older, doesn't mean he doesn't sound good. He sounds just as good as he did 30 years ago.

Haha, I respect Bewdy's opinion. Hey not every great artist is gonna have people in awe all the time.

Ellie said:

Yes, most likely.

Bewdy said:

I can't speak for anyone else, but I'm really curious what 7 albums those are. If someone told me they had 7 Stevie albums, I would never have guessed that Hotter Than July wasn't one of them. (From a singles perspective, it's actually his most successful album in the U.K., having spawned 4 top-10 singles including 3 in the top 3.)

wasitgood4u said:

wow, some of my relevants live in Israel too!! But I didn't knowyou use the word as well. But I know it's not yiddish, because "Schlager" can literally be translated as "hit".
Also Schlager comes from "schlagen" (verb; means to hit) and schlagen is pretty German.

daPrettyman said:

Hell no.

Bewdy said:

It's not about "buying" more Stevie albums. However, many of the songs you mentioned that you didn't know come from these essential albums.

lilgish said:

Listen to his Live stuff from then and now. The only major difference are the arrangements. Besides, Stevie is not about frills. He's all about the music.

daPrettyman said:

I don't see what that has to do with his vocals not being what they were 30 years ago.



Do you think I'm forming an opinion of his vocals without actually having heard them?

Hmmm, i'm suprised you didn't enjoy the show as it's been getting overwhelmingly positive reviews, as pretty much anything associated with Stevie does. You're only second person i've ever heard who didn't enjoy seeing Stevie Wonder in concert.

My father is the only other person i've heard say Stevie is not good in concert. He saw Stevie back in the 80's and told me that it remains to this day the worst concert he's ever seen. He said he found Stevie to be very boring in concert and thought he talked too much lol. Still, I think Stevie is a musical genius and I love his music so none of this has deterred me from wanting to see him live. He is a legend. I hope to see him in concert someday soon, I just hope I have a better experience than the OP or my Dad had!

purplecam said:

Agreed, if Prince can get ripped apart on here I don't see why anyone else should be immuned to criticism! I don't think people should criticize Bewdy or question his musical tastes just because he didn't enjoy the concert. No one is above criticism, not even Mr. Wonder. It seems like most on this site cannot handle any negative comments about Stevie whatsoever. I mean it's not as though the OP was mean or nasty about Stevie. He just gave his opinion, if he didn't enjoy the concert then he didn't enjoy it. At least he was respectful about it, which is more than I can say for some people.
[Edited 9/11/08 16:29pm]

I saw Stevie about 2 years ago... he was AMAZING, he brought his daughter out to sing...she sucked...just horrible. and I felt bad too. It was like I was expecting her to be fantatsic because she's Stevie's daughter
The only complaint I had was him speeding through his major hit catouloge (Literally singing 2 to 3 sentences with a few chords) to get to new music that hadnt even been on the radio yet. This was around the time of "So What The Fuss?" being played on radio.

Well I'm gonna stick my neck out and agree with Bewdy, the first half of the show was a bit dull with too much emphasis on showcasing the skills of his musicians and some overlong call & response audience participation. I didn't know what to expect but would have preferred a tighter, audience friendly show after not touring here for so long.

As for the attacks on Bewdy, he has his opinion and it doesn't matter if he isn't familiar with every obscure album track etc. I have every Stevie Wonder album but I don't think I'm better than Bewdy or consider my opinion to be worth more than his. Instead of attacking a guy who was actually at the concert, leave him free to express his personal thoughts on a gig you did not attend.

pacey68 said:

Wrong. Whoever has the most Stevie Wonder albums is the best person

_

I saw him in LA last July and thought it was a great show.

BlaqueKnight said:

why question his credibility because he didnt enjoy the show? art is subjective, what you think is great somebody else may very well think is a dud

Right,saw the show last night and was worried after reading about the preachy stuff....I shouldnt have worried.Stevie took 2 mins to pay respects to his late mum who passed away in 2006(saying this was when he had planned to do this tour,but put it back 2 years),,and a minutes silence for 9/11.

The music and everything was fantastic. He was hilarious with the audience participation and played all my fav songs. My only critisism was the song played when introducing his band,and the band played in turn. That really dragged. Other than that,brilliant show!!!!

Claire73 said:

Wow. I have to say I'm rather surprised that people would react to his band members the way that they are doing here (or maybe I shouldn't be)...Stevie's band is comprised of some of the most notable musicians in the entire music industry. They are highly respected virtuosos with a fair degree of reverence among their peers and serious music students the world over...it's very telling that one wouldn't appreciate the chance to see some of these cats play ...but then after all, this is the org Different strokes for different folks, I guess.

Ottensen said:

Im not dissing the musicians at all,just saying that listening to someone play bongos for 5 mins solid does nothing for me.
Should also add "ribbons in the sky" was amazing...really funny when Stevie "went off on one"

Claire73 said:

Ottensen said:

well we (18 of us in a box all sorts of cultures and ages) all had a great time at this concert, danced for most of the night, atsmosphere really good - and really enjoyed the individual band members music and of course SW voice - what was not to like???

My wife saw him yesterday and said she danced through most of it. Yeah, she loved it. Me? I like some of his songs, and I accept that he's a musical genius, but he doesn't do it enough for me to go and see him live.

Shapeshifter said:

I used to feel the way you did. I have always admired his work, but I always felt that he wouldn't be good live. I really didn't start to appreciate him until I started listening to his radio show and I gained a new appreication for his art and performances.

As he gotten older Stevie has become more politically vocal and his voice is not as great as it use to be.

Graycap23 said:

You couldn't pay me to go to a Patti LaBelle concert.

whatsgoingon said:

He was always political. He even went to jail fighting for the King holiday. I think he is at a point in his life where he doesn't care what others think and he's going to speak what he feels is right.

On his radio show, he always spends the first hour of the show talking to a community activist asking questions about how to help with the problems in LA.

Well he was on Jonathon Ross last night (uk talk show) and I've got a few more comments to make after having seen that.

From the interview point of view, i thought it was extremely contrived and insincere. The fact that he was saying things almost verbatim that he said in the concert makes me think that he has been rehearsing what he says, and it makes me question someones sincerity. I also think he is pretty boring to listen to.

Then the performance, although the set on TV was pretty short, but long in Jonathon Ross's standards, it was much more upbeat and seemed to have more life to it than the gig in Manchester. But again bizarrely, Stevie let Jonathon Ross play along at the front with an electronic drum kit for the first track (Superstition). Man I know it is supposed to be an entrainment show, but where is Stevie's sense of dignity, i thought it was pretty foolish. Kudos for Jonathon Ross for having a laugh, major lack of kudos for Stevie letting him have it at his expense. Fair enough the electronic drums were very low in the mix but come on!

Anyway, I think I've established the crux of why I'm not digging Stevie live. On the one hand, i think there is too much going on in the drums and percussion, and I think it really blurs the sound in a live situation, and makes it very difficult to pick out what's going on, from a musical point of view. Secondly, although I dearly love his albums, I think as person I just don't get him.

I'm happy to separate the man from the music, and I think I just won't go see him live again. Lets hope he continues writing great albums.
[Edited 9/13/08 1:36am]

Bewdy said:

I say kudos to Stevie! Most people can only dream of being able to play with him.

AlexdeParis said:

Just to be clear, Jonathon Ross can not play the drums, fine as a musician you may dream of playing with Stevie, but this was just for comedy no dreams being made, at least not any serious ones I wouldn't have thought.
[Edited 9/13/08 2:13am]

Bewdy said:

Jeeez does it matter? Goes to show that Stevie can have a laugh and isnt at all uptight and stuffy. He was probably told the nature of the show.

Bewdy said:

I'm a singer and can't play a lick of drums (not even Rock Band). Still, if Stevie asked, I'd be banging on those mofos for all they're worth with a Kool-Aid Man grin on my face the whole time!