"What are you listening to right now?" thread | Page 600 | Fab Forum | The Beatles Bible

vonbontee said

PurplishRain said

Listening to a live version of Prince’s Illusion, Coma, Pimp, & Circumstance

  

Wow, I have no idea what that is…I think when I’m done my Stevie Wonder chronological binge, I should move on to Prince…

Anyways, since it comes in between “Music of My Mind” and “Talking Book,” I’m listening to the 1972 debut album by Syreeta Wright (the then-Ms. Stevie Wonder)…

…which I decided to love immediately upon seeing the Zeppish typeface. And it’s pretty lovable, and lovely; she’s got a nice light timbre, and Stevie adds some of his new electronic innovations here and there, including a gimmicky talkbox singing the Lennon parts on a “She’s Leaving Home ” cover. 

  

I must say I had completely forgotten about Syreeta. I especially did not remember she was Preston’s singing partner on Born Again, which was huge. I’m not sure about the talk box effects (wonder did this influence Frampton or the other way around) but otherwise really enjoy her She’s Leaving Home . It’s a cool feature of story songs that as you get older, the characters you relate to change. At one time or another in my life I have been in the position of almost all of the characters in this song including She, Man, and Daddy.

sigh butterfly said

Just finished my first listen to Music of My Mind @vonbontee. You’re right, it is fascinating to listen in terms of knowing what is to come. I particularly enjoyed Girl Blue. Except for the singles, I didn’t fully turn on to Stevie until Innervisions. After that Stevie was a welcome member of our daily 4:20 get togethers. 

  

Not surprised you couldn’t wait, sigh b! Because MoMM is the breakthrough, the push into unexplored territory (like, unexplored by anyone) , the first *statement*, and the liner notes pompously play this up:

“this album is virtually the work of one man. all the songs are composed, arranged and performed by stevie wonder (with a guitar solo by buzzy feiton on ‘superwoman’ and a trombone solo by art baron on ‘love having you around’) on piano, drums, harmonica, organ, clavichord, clavinet, and arp and moog synthesizers. the sounds themselves come from inside his mind.”

There’s a fully unified sound for the first time: a warm, organic fusion of electronic and natural timbres that’s as irresistable to the ear as a feather bed with a super springy mattress. Pop, rock, soul/r&b, progressive rock, easy listening – this record fits all these categories and none of them; it invents a new one. I’ve said that Stevie’s genius reminds me of Paul McCartney ‘s, and this album is just like the kind of thing Paul would do – it’s kind of a loose concept album vaguely about the Stevie/Syreeta marriage: sexytimes, some male-chauvinist resentment, breakup, reconciliation, some more sexytimes, and finally some vague social commentary to finish it off. The original melodies are wondrous; his store of funky clavinet riffs (with and without wah-wahs and ring modulators and talkbox) is bottomless – even when he lets his codas run for a minute or two too long, his grooves sustain interest. He leaves in loose ends, lets the tape run a bit, and even abandons the Paul act to emulate johnandyoko for a second when he exclaims “Cookies!” for no real reason. And OMG that voice, now that he can overdub harmonies, and percussive “ch-ch” mouth-sounds (just like, yes, Paul McCartney , and long before Michael Jackson “invented” them), or pull out some deliberately corny, goofball macho come-ons. This stuff is just plain lovely headphone-candy, lush in the tradition of “Abbey Road ” or “Dark Side” or “Band On The Run “. One of the most excellentest albums of the decade (the first in a run of FIVE) and you all oughtta listen to it right now.

  

It really is remarkable how he progressed from Little Stevie Wonder to this and beyond. The creativity is off the charts. Just the fact that he ends up mastering so many instruments is mind blowing. I WoNdEr if there is a good biography about him. I looked around for some isolated tracks for Music of My Mind but couldn’t really find any. Did find this for Maybe I’m Amazed (that as you alluded to) demonstrates the same sort of genius.