Easily the most overlooked anti-war song ever written. This ROCKS!

This war vet lament was overshadowed by "That Girl" and "Do I Do" but it's still relevant today. Is that an actual lead guitar solo or a Wonder guitar synth?

Identity said:

This war vet lament was overshadowed by "That Girl" and "Do I Do" but it's still relevant today. Is that an actual lead guitar solo or a Wonder guitar synth?

I believe it's Stevie on the synthesizer guitar.

i play this track on the radio a lot.

Ha. This was actually one of the first Stevie Wonder songs that I got hooked on.

[Edited 4/16/11 1:12am]

novabrkr said:

Ha. This was actually one of the first Stevie Wonder songs that I got hooked on.

[Edited 4/16/11 1:12am]

Yep me too! Stevie Wonder's Original Musiquarium I was one of the first albums that came into my attention when I was younger and this was the cut that got the most replayed value. That was before I got deep into his diverse catalog of music. This song just struck me for some reason when I was younger.

[Edited 4/16/11 1:57am]

So which movie was he talking about? Does anybody know?

The song is fantastic. It sounds even better on vinyl

This song just isn't very good. Pretty basic pop. Nothing that much moves me.

2freaky4church1 said:

This song just isn't very good. Pretty basic pop. Nothing that much moves me.

I didn't want to be the first one to voice a negative opinion but I agree with you. Of the four new songs on Original Musiquarium this always struck me as the weakest. It was left off of At the Close of a Century and the other three were included so someone else must agree with us.

I'm not sure how to articulate it but the sound of the song always struck me as a little cheap. It doesn't quite sound finished.

rialb said:

2freaky4church1 said:

This song just isn't very good. Pretty basic pop. Nothing that much moves me.

I didn't want to be the first one to voice a negative opinion but I agree with you. Of the four new songs on Original Musiquarium this always struck me as the weakest. It was left off of At the Close of a Century and the other three were included so someone else must agree with us.

"Jesus Children of America" was left off the boxed set as well, so I doubt quality was a consideration. More likely, "Front Line" was omitted because it is the only one of those then-new tracks that wasn't released as a single.

AlexdeParis said:

rialb said:

I didn't want to be the first one to voice a negative opinion but I agree with you. Of the four new songs on Original Musiquarium this always struck me as the weakest. It was left off of At the Close of a Century and the other three were included so someone else must agree with us.

"Jesus Children of America" was left off the boxed set as well, so I doubt quality was a consideration. More likely, "Front Line" was omitted because it is the only one of those then-new tracks that wasn't released as a single.

Or perhaps it wasn't released as a single for the same reason it was left off the box set?

rialb said:

AlexdeParis said:

"Jesus Children of America" was left off the boxed set as well, so I doubt quality was a consideration. More likely, "Front Line" was omitted because it is the only one of those then-new tracks that wasn't released as a single.

Or perhaps it wasn't released as a single for the same reason it was left off the box set?

AlexdeParis said:

rialb said:

Or perhaps it wasn't released as a single for the same reason it was left off the box set?

rialb said:

AlexdeParis said:

rialb said:

(I don't think this emoticon is relevant but let's see how long we can keep this up)

LOL @ failing to understand the social relevence of this song. I agree with Silverchild. This and The Isley Bros. Ballad for the Fallen Soldier are very overlooked anti-war songs. Nowadays, the country has been "formatted" not to think of the wars or question the authorities out of fear of being labled "unpatriotic" but songs like these play a vital part in musical culture. They make people think and feel when it comes to topics that people aren't comfortable about. This is why music is so corporate these days. They have STOLEN the avenue for venting passion that isn't superficial.

Its easier to pretend someone is a one-dimensional stereotype rather than to examine the total person. It seems like the only person allowed to be multi-dimensional around here is Prince but Stevie if far deeper and its one of the reasons I love his body of work. He truly is a musical genius.

Stevie all day.

BlaqueKnight said:

LOL @ failing to understand the social relevence of this song. I agree with Silverchild. This and The Isley Bros. Ballad for the Fallen Soldier are very overlooked anti-war songs. Nowadays, the country has been "formatted" not to think of the wars or question the authorities out of fear of being labled "unpatriotic" but songs like these play a vital part in musical culture. They make people think and feel when it comes to topics that people aren't comfortable about. This is why music is so corporate these days. They have STOLEN the avenue for venting passion that isn't superficial.

Its easier to pretend someone is a one-dimensional stereotype rather than to examine the total person. It seems like the only person allowed to be multi-dimensional around here is Prince but Stevie if far deeper and its one of the reasons I love his body of work. He truly is a musical genius.

'ballad of the fallen soldier is a track i play on the radio all the time. i also play front line, so i definitely agree with you. i don't hear people talking about these songs.

NMuzakNSoul said:

Stevie all day.

ALL DAY. EVERY DAY!!!

Ballad of the Fallen Soldier, now there's an ass kicker of a song, a song the Isleys avoid like the plague.

Jesus Children, another stinker.

2freaky4church1 said:

Ballad of the Fallen Soldier, now there's an ass kicker of a song, a song the Isleys avoid like the plague.

Jesus Children, another stinker.

"Jesus Children of America" is a stinker??? Did you mean that in a good way or bad one?

novabrkr said:

Ha. This was actually one of the first Stevie Wonder songs that I got hooked on.

[Edited 4/16/11 1:12am]

Same this is one of my favorites... I love the edge

I like this.I haven't listened to 'Musiquarium' in awhile...might be time to pull it out.