PlayboyOriginal said:

This album is underrated but there is ZERO validity in the claims that this album is better than Songs In The Key Of Life. That is strictly opinion based.

Continue discussing this album's greatness

Sure but at the same time there is ZERO validity in the claims that Songs in the Key of Life is better than Fulfillingness' First Finale. That is also strictly opinion based.

For me there is too much bloat and filler on Songs in the Key of Life. Song for song I find Fulfillingness' First Finale to be a much stronger and more consistently great album.

jdcxc said:Has any contemporary popular artist had the creative runs of Stevie (72-76) or Prince (82-87)? The best of their work still sound fresh today. Both were incredibly ahead of their times and in an untouchable zone.

The material that P left off the "official" releases holds up against anything out at the time...and when you add his side projects and live material...goddamn.

It should be Prince(79-87).

Too Shy To Say makes me wish pedal guitar was more prominent in R&B/Soul music.

Harlepolis said:

Too Shy To Say makes me wish pedal guitar was more prominent in R&B/Soul music.

Agreed. I may risk crucification for stating this but one slight flaw in Stevie's "classic" albums, for me, is the relative lack of guitar and bass. Of course the songs and albums are great but I would have liked just a bit more variety in the instrumentation.

rialb said:

Harlepolis said:

Too Shy To Say makes me wish pedal guitar was more prominent in R&B/Soul music.

Agreed. I may risk crucification for stating this but one slight flaw in Stevie's "classic" albums, for me, is the relative lack of guitar and bass. Of course the songs and albums are great but I would have liked just a bit more variety in the instrumentation.

More guitar? Absoutly. Bass? I think he compensated it with his moog bass playing, I mean who else but Stevie could make a keyboard sound like an upright bass? I think it made him sound even less conventional than the sound that was the rage back then.

hell, yall crazy if you think this album is better than Talking Book, Innervisions and specially SITKOL

damn, I'd rank 'Fulfillingness' lower than Music From My Mind or even Hotter than July...

JoeTyler said:

hell, yall crazy if you think this album is better than Talking Book, Innervisions and specially SITKOL

damn, I'd rank 'Fulfillingness' lower than Music From My Mind or even Hotter than July...

smoothcriminal12 said:

JoeTyler said:

hell, yall crazy if you think this album is better than Talking Book, Innervisions and specially SITKOL

damn, I'd rank 'Fulfillingness' lower than Music From My Mind or even Hotter than July...

FFF is "underrated" for a reason

JoeTyler said:

hell, yall crazy if you think this album is better than Talking Book, Innervisions and specially SITKOL

damn, I'd rank 'Fulfillingness' lower than Music From My Mind or even Hotter than July...

Lets not get carried away, dammit

smoothcriminal12 said:

HOTTER THAN JULY is a GREAT ALBUM

probably his last GREAT album

Harlepolis said:

rialb said:

Agreed. I may risk crucification for stating this but one slight flaw in Stevie's "classic" albums, for me, is the relative lack of guitar and bass. Of course the songs and albums are great but I would have liked just a bit more variety in the instrumentation.

More guitar? Absoutly. Bass? I think he compensated it with his moog bass playing, I mean who else but Stevie could make a keyboard sound like an upright bass? I think it made him sound even less conventional than the sound that was the rage back then.

Well, it's fair to say that I am nitpicking but I would have enjoyed a slightly more organic sound, at least occasionally. Obviously Stevie was one of the best with his keyboard basslines but I think he could have done some cool stuff with a full, live band.

JoeTyler said:

JoeTyler said:

HOTTER THAN JULY is a GREAT ALBUM

probably his last GREAT album

I am right there with you (unless the new songs on Original Musiquarium qualify as an album, I really dig 'em) but I think you are being too hard on Fulfillingness' First Finale. Hotter Than July is a good/great album but does it stand up to his work circa 1972-1976? I'm not so sure. And what's this about Music of My Mind being better than Fulfillingness' First Finale? Surely you jest!

rialb said:

JoeTyler said:

HOTTER THAN JULY is a GREAT ALBUM

probably his last GREAT album

I am right there with you (unless the new songs on Original Musiquarium qualify as an album, I really dig 'em) but I think you are being too hard on Fulfillingness' First Finale. Hotter Than July is a good/great album but does it stand up to his work circa 1972-1976? I'm not so sure. And what's this about Music of My Mind being better than Fulfillingness' First Finale? Surely you jest!

I just enjoy those albums more, there's something about FFF that just doesn't work for me; it's another excellent album though...but it's "just" an A- for me (not a big fat solid A+)

JoeTyler said:

HOTTER THAN JULY is a GREAT ALBUM

probably his last GREAT album

I agree!!

When one's opinion goes overboard...

Just saying.

rialb said:

PlayboyOriginal said:

This album is underrated but there is ZERO validity in the claims that this album is better than Songs In The Key Of Life. That is strictly opinion based.

Continue discussing this album's greatness

Sure but at the same time there is ZERO validity in the claims that Songs in the Key of Life is better than Fulfillingness' First Finale. That is also strictly opinion based.

For me there is too much bloat and filler on Songs in the Key of Life. Song for song I find Fulfillingness' First Finale to be a much stronger and more consistently great album.

Nah, there isn't any bloat or filler on SITKOL. You simply don't understand the concept and the vision behind that album. Each song serves a purpose and its tied so fucking well to one another. People just can't grasp the scope of this man's greatness all at once. Your mind is used to 9 songs of greatness but 3 discs of SHEER GENIUS might just be out of your league which is truly understandable. Everything isn't for everybody

FFF is a great album and there is nothing bad I can say about it. All of his golden era albums to me are the bookmarks on how music should SOUND. All of them are equal to me, though I do have my preferred favorites.

Once again, carry on discussing this album's greatness...... no need in putting down any other album. Just focus on the topic at hand

AlexdeParis said:

See, the classic album I consider "overrated" is Music of My Mind. It's a great album by any measure, but I think it's clearly below the top 4. I actually have it below Where I'm Coming From, which would be my pick for #5.

Do a lot of folks rate Music of My Mind highly? I thought that generally Stevie's classic period is considered to have started with Talking Book? I don't hear Music of My Mind praised too often.

Oh, and you are absolutely crazy if you think Where I'm Coming From is better than Music of My Mind.

I find it hard to compare the two albums. I kind of view Where I'm Coming From as a transitional album. The sound of it is quite different than the albums that came immediately after. To me it sounds like he still has one foot in the traditional Motown sound. It is certainly different than his prior albums but he hasn't quite hit on the sound of his classic albums either, it's right in the middle.

It is criminal that Where I'm Coming From is somewhat scarce and hard to find. Is there a reason that it is out of print?

AlexdeParis said:

See, the classic album I consider "overrated" is Music of My Mind. It's a great album by any measure, but I think it's clearly below the top 4. I actually have it below Where I'm Coming From, which would be my pick for #5.

Hmm can't say I agree. I don't think MIYM gets as much credit actually. Whenever they talk about Stevie's post assembly-line work, they're first to mention Talking Book, Innervisions and Songs and bypass the other two of the so-called "classic five Stevie records" as they call them.

rialb said:

I find it hard to compare the two albums. I kind of view Where I'm Coming From as a transitional album. The sound of it is quite different than the albums that came immediately after. To me it sounds like he still has one foot in the traditional Motown sound. It is certainly different than his prior albums but he hasn't quite hit on the sound of his classic albums either, it's right in the middle.

That's what I took from WICF too. While it was Stevie's first real production by himself, it's still had some assembly line instrumentation backing it. The Funk Brothers were on that album and it seemed as if the album was more of an experiment Stevie was trying in Hitsville at the time. Once he moved to New York his sound completely changed.

I love FFF! It's awesome. Seriously, it's amazing.

Underrated? Perhaps. But can I honestly say it's better than Innervsions or Songs in the Key of Life. No. But I will say that overall, it's a bit stronger than Talking Book. The best songs on TB are stronger than FFF, but the weaker songs on TB are weaker, and on the whole, FFF is better, imo.

JoeTyler said:

hell, yall crazy if you think this album is better than Talking Book, Innervisions and specially SITKOL

SITKOL is the best album of all time,imo.

rialb said:

AlexdeParis said:

See, the classic album I consider "overrated" is Music of My Mind. It's a great album by any measure, but I think it's clearly below the top 4. I actually have it below Where I'm Coming From, which would be my pick for #5.

Do a lot of folks rate Music of My Mind highly? I thought that generally Stevie's classic period is considered to have started with Talking Book? I don't hear Music of My Mind praised too often.

Oh, and you are absolutely crazy if you think Where I'm Coming From is better than Music of My Mind.

I'd wager most people consider MOMM to be the beginning of the classic period.

I find it hard to compare the two albums. I kind of view Where I'm Coming From as a transitional album. The sound of it is quite different than the albums that came immediately after. To me it sounds like he still has one foot in the traditional Motown sound. It is certainly different than his prior albums but he hasn't quite hit on the sound of his classic albums either, it's right in the middle.

That's what's so enthralling about WICF. The transition between the Motown sound and the Stevie sound makes it unique. As critical as people are of the Motown sound, it was a phenomenal success for a reason.

It is criminal that Where I'm Coming From is somewhat scarce and hard to find. Is there a reason that it is out of print?

Yes, that is criminal and no, I don't know of a reason it's so scarce. It was released on CD overseas some years ago, but it should've received the reissue treatment with the rest of his catalog. The same can be said for the also-underrated Journey Through the Secret Life of Plants.

AlexdeParis and MickeyDolenz have got to be 2 of my favorite posters on the org. Always insightful and just know what the hell they are talking about. I love it!!

SoulAlive said:

JoeTyler said:

hell, yall crazy if you think this album is better than Talking Book, Innervisions and specially SITKOL

SITKOL is the best album of all time,imo.

I would never have guessed that you are a fan of Songs in the Key of Life.

AlexdeParis said:

I'd wager most people consider MOMM to be the beginning of the classic period.

I can see that. "Superwoman (Where Were You When I Needed You)" was included on Original Musiquarium and Music of My Mind was probably the first time that he hit on his signature sound of the seventies. Production wise it is very similar to the four albums that came next. However, as a songwriter I don't think he was quite there yet. Typically Talking Book is hailed as his first flat out classic album. I don't know if I can get away with this again but I think Music of My Mind could also be viewed as a transitional album. He had clearly forged his sound and made a clean break with the Motown sound but he still hadn't delivered a phenomenal set of songs (that would come on the next album).

Maybe I am just biased against Music of My Mind. It was the last of the "classic" albums that I heard and for that reason it will probably always be regarded by me as the least of those albums.

jdcxc said:

Has any contemporary popular artist had the creative runs of Stevie (72-76) or Prince (82-87)? The best of their work still sound fresh today. Both were incredibly ahead of their times and in an untouchable zone.

The material that P left off the "official" releases holds up against anything out at the time...and when you add his side projects and live material...goddamn.

For me I think OUTkast's run of first 5 albums has been the greatest of any artis'ts run since Prince from 82-87.

FFF is my favorite Stevie album

classic run of 70's Stevie (IMO):

MOMM/TB/INNERVISIONS/FFF/SITKOL

JTTSLOP is cool as well (maybe classic even)

but when I think of Stevie

in the environment I grew up in.. I saw each of those albums I just mentioned

in most of the households I've been to.. (including Hotter Than July)

HTJ is one of my fav album covers ever

but the album as a whole was not as hot

I like maybe 3 songs from there

WICF, I love for "Look Around" mainly

I agree with what was said about FFF & SITKOL

being great "sets of songs"

I honestly feel like FFF is kind of all over the place

but in a good way.. certain songs definitely reflect

what was going on with Stevie spiritually at the time

but one minute he's melancholy (They Won't Go/Too Shy To Say)

the next it's about the boogie (Reggae Woman)

then it's a quiet storm (Creepin)

and then he's pleading for his love to stay (Please Don't Go)

I mean it's a range of emotions/subjects

that didn't mesh as "classically"

as SITKOL did... that album always feels

like I'm watching a movie

MOMM is also a favorite (from start to finish)

it's probably my 2nd favorite Stevie album