Stevie' Journey Through The Secret Life of Plants

[alanbill1074]

I just bought this for the first time this week, as I'd been re-discovering his 70s work over the last few months. I really didn't know what to expect, but I found it quite enjoyable, in a background listening kind of way. If the instrumentals were removed, there'd have been an interesting single album there, although with only the one obvious hit in it.

I guess he was trying different things artistically but it seems like a huge gamble after a 3 year chart hiatus, and I'm not sure he ever really regained his footing afterwards on the pop chart, with a couple of exceptions.

What's the general view on this album? Misunderstood gem or forgettable claptrap?

[Bokiluis]

I just bought this for the first time this week, as I'd been re-discovering his 70s work over the last few months. I really didn't know what to expect, but I found it quite enjoyable, in a background listening kind of way. If the instrumentals were removed, there'd have been an interesting single album there, although with only the one obvious hit in it.

I guess he was trying different things artistically but it seems like a huge gamble after a 3 year chart hiatus, and I'm not sure he ever really regained his footing afterwards on the pop chart, with a couple of exceptions.

What's the general view on this album? Misunderstood gem or forgettable claptrap?

suggestion: view the entire documentary on YouTube and it will give more understanding of the soundtrack. I wouldn't say it is a great listening experience as a whole....but, "fascinating" is probably the best way I can describe it.

[Bokiluis]

What's the general view on this album? Misunderstood gem or forgettable claptrap?[/QUOTE]

After the grand and iconic classic that was "Songs in the Key of Life", I know my expectations were high. I knew it would have a "new age" spin...but, I also thought it would be a lot more relatable.
Considering that I believed greatly in the "gospel of Wonder", I had hopes of being taken on a wonderful adventure. It didn't quite play out that way. I had to keep reminding myself it was also a soundtrack/a musical score about plants no less.
Viewing the documentary has given me a little more understanding. It was bold and daring and I am glad it is part of his discography, but, I would be remissed to say, "I get it", even today.
The documentary is gorgeous to look at, especially the orchids. It is even sensual at times and a tad melancholy considering man's relationship to nature.

[marv2]

I just bought this for the first time this week, as I'd been re-discovering his 70s work over the last few months. I really didn't know what to expect, but I found it quite enjoyable, in a background listening kind of way. If the instrumentals were removed, there'd have been an interesting single album there, although with only the one obvious hit in it.

I guess he was trying different things artistically but it seems like a huge gamble after a 3 year chart hiatus, and I'm not sure he ever really regained his footing afterwards on the pop chart, with a couple of exceptions.

What's the general view on this album? Misunderstood gem or forgettable claptrap?

I bought this album at the very end of 1979. They had been playing the single "Send One You Love" on the radio. After listening to the whole album, I like most everyone else at the time was very disappointed. I had forgot it was the soundtrack to a little known film, "The Secret Life of Plants". As a young person, I found the whole thing rather boring.

[soulster]

The album is very boring. ZZZZZZZZZZ Next!

[jobeterob]

I'd go with boring forgettable claptrap.

[radionixon]

It's one of two Motown records where someone else has already summed up what I wanted to say better than I ever could. To paraphrase :

"Whenever I dig it out for a listen, I start off being blown away - why is this not better known? Why do I not play this all the time, it's amazing! And after 15 minutes or so I realise I'm not really listening any more and I've gone to make a cup of coffee or read a newspaper without noticing it was still playing."

As the posters above said, I'm glad it exists and it's nice in a background music kind of way, but I don't think I love it.

[Sotosound]

I just bought this for the first time this week, as I'd been re-discovering his 70s work over the last few months. I really didn't know what to expect, but I found it quite enjoyable, in a background listening kind of way. If the instrumentals were removed, there'd have been an interesting single album there, although with only the one obvious hit in it.

I guess he was trying different things artistically but it seems like a huge gamble after a 3 year chart hiatus, and I'm not sure he ever really regained his footing afterwards on the pop chart, with a couple of exceptions.

What's the general view on this album? Misunderstood gem or forgettable claptrap?

Misunderstood gem. I really love it.

Commercial? No. Classic Motown? No. Classic Stevie? No. Classic? Yes.

Perhaps the greatest issue is that everyone was expecting another SITKOL or similar whereas Stevie had other ideas. In fact, it wasn’t the Stevie Wonder that we knew at all.

How many other artists can deliver something so different that doesn’t actually nod towards anything else? It’s not like Queen doing dance music, or Macca going classical. It’s Stevie creating the soundtrack to something rather unusual.

And, to me, that's the strength of the artist and the album and the weakness of the habit that some of us have of labelling artists and measuring their new album against their last one rather than considering it on its own merits.

For me, “Journey…” [[the acronym unfortunately ends with “SLOP”) doesn't appeal to the part of me that loves Motown, or even classic 70s Stevie. It touches an entirely different part of me and the bit that it touches makes me get it out every now and then and listen to it once more.

Perhaps, therefore, there's a need to put to one side the fact that it's a Stevie Wonder album and just listen to it as a creative work by an accomplished musician and lyricist.

Oh, and didn’t the musical world at large worry when Stevie veered away from classic Motown to deliver “Where I’m Coming From”? Then, even worse, he toured with the Rolling Stones and went Moog mad and delivered “Music Of My Mind”. Outrageous!

[jobeterob]

Always nice to hear a divergent opinion explained.

Another recent comment I found interesting is that Springsteen site that recently listed albums sales of Ross/Wonder/Supremes/Ray Charles had Ross with her Supremes albums [[less the Temptations duet albums) fairly extensively outselling Stevie Wonder.

[Bokiluis]

Misunderstood gem. I really love it.

Commercial? No. Classic

Perhaps, therefore, there's a need to put to one side the fact that it's a Stevie Wonder album and just listen to it as a creative work by an accomplished musician and lyricist.

Oh, and didn’t the musical world at large worry when Stevie veered away from classic Motown to deliver “Where I’m Coming From”? Then, even worse, he toured with the Rolling Stones and went Moog mad and delivered “Music Of My Mind”. Outrageous!

If if I recall correctly, in Mr. Gordy's bio he stated the Sales dept. enthusiastically pressured the Production Dpt. to press up 2 million copies against his better wishes. I could see how someone could naively read high expectations because "Send One Your Love" was shaping up to be a hit record. However, if you just listened to the album once, you knew it was an acquired taste. By that time, Stevie had a reliable fanbase of 1 mil. But where do you go after "Send One Your Love" ran its course?
[[I equate it to George Harrison's "Wonderwall Music" or the eclectic albums that John Lennon did with Yoko before "Double Fantasy").

Coming off of "What's Going On", I wonder what the expectations for "Trouble Man" would have been? Both albums had lead hit singles, but, hardly any other programmable single afterwards.