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  1. #1
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    Discovering Stevie Wonder's 1970s albums...

    Ive been having a great time going to the only 2nd hand record shop left in Auckland and getting 1970s Stevie Wonder stuff..ive had "Music Aquarium" for 20 odd years [[very worn out now after much djing with it)..so i knew all the key single release tracks but after reading about Stevie Wonder last weekend i wanted to hear proper albums..1st purchase - "Innervisions" i can see why it swept the Grammy Awards - I love "Visions" & "Golden Lady"...i remember [[I think Icognito) covering "Dont You Worry about A Thing" in the early 1990s.i love the opening skat sketch I had forgotten what a natural wit Wonder has.. next day.2nd purchase - "Talking Book" the track that got me on first listen is "Maybe Your Baby"..I knew Diana had covered "Blame It On The Sun" but I much prefer the original -"Youve got it bad girl" has now grown on me and "You And I"..yesterdays purchase - 'Music Of My Mind"..i immeadiatley dug the instruments Stevie used on this one,it has a very different audio texture than im used love straight away "Happier Than the morning Sun"..[[discovering Justin Timberlake had used the song structure for one of his last hits).."Girl Blue" has interesting instruments as well..and "Superwoman" is great as well...I know many prefer the 1960s as Motown's golden age but I prefer the 1970s..Diana,Marvin & Stevie's stuff had matured and studio production values had chagnged dranatically..lm now looking forward to collecting the rest of Wonder's 70s albums...

  2. #2
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    Stevie's '70s albums [[and Hotter Than July from 1980 of course) are indeed magnificent, nomis! His musical genius is evident in all of them!!!

    "Maybe Your Baby" is incredibly funky while "You've Got It Bad, Girl" is soft and sublime. It is also a real grower! You know, I didn't know that Justin Timberlake had used a Stevie song for his own, which is just testament to the profound influence Stevie has had on music!

    I have yet to properly explore all of Stevie's '70s work too, nomis [[namely that weird film soundtrack Secret Life Of Plants that no one knows about) and I look forward to doing so!!!

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    Stevie's 70s albums don't get any better than Songs In the Key of Life for me. "Sir Duke", "Knocks Me Off My Feet", "Summer Soft", "Ordinary Pain", "As". OMG that is one of the all time great albums. Fullfillingness First Finale is another one. "Smile Please", "Too Shy to Say", "You Haven't Done Nothin", "Please Don't Go". Good grief, this man was bad.

    My least favorite is Secret Life of Plants. The only two cuts worth my time is "Send One Your Love" and "Outside My Window".

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    thanks guys the shop only has got "Fullfillingness" left in its Wonder section which Im getting next... ordering "Plants" "Key Of Life' & "Hotter Than July" from Amazon soon..

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    Tomato Tim - Timberlake's "Pair Of Wings" -the hidden track after "Not A Bad Thing"..on "Experience 2" uses Wonders Melody but JT has totally changed the lyrics...

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    Ah, I see! I did try googling for it but didn't get much. Thanks nomis. I don't think he gave Stevie credit though...?

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    Tomato - i googled it as well...yup looks like he just stole it ! not cool.....

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    Wow! He can just do that? I'm listening now and OH MY they sound similar. The intro is practically identical! WOW. It's nice that Justin likes and admires Stevie's music enough to use it for himself but why not give Stevie credit? I mean, it wasn't even a hit! What's all that about!!?

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    i know..im shocked....

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    Quote Originally Posted by nomis View Post
    Ive been having a great time going to the only 2nd hand record shop left in Auckland and getting 1970s Stevie Wonder stuff..ive had "Music Aquarium" for 20 odd years [[very worn out now after much djing with it)..so i knew all the key single release tracks but after reading about Stevie Wonder last weekend i wanted to hear proper albums..1st purchase - "Innervisions" i can see why it swept the Grammy Awards - I love "Visions" & "Golden Lady"...i remember [[I think Icognito) covering "Dont You Worry about A Thing" in the early 1990s.i love the opening skat sketch I had forgotten what a natural wit Wonder has.. next day.2nd purchase - "Talking Book" the track that got me on first listen is "Maybe Your Baby"..I knew Diana had covered "Blame It On The Sun" but I much prefer the original -"Youve got it bad girl" has now grown on me and "You And I"..yesterdays purchase - 'Music Of My Mind"..i immeadiatley dug the instruments Stevie used on this one,it has a very different audio texture than im used love straight away "Happier Than the morning Sun"..[[discovering Justin Timberlake had used the song structure for one of his last hits).."Girl Blue" has interesting instruments as well..and "Superwoman" is great as well...I know many prefer the 1960s as Motown's golden age but I prefer the 1970s..Diana,Marvin & Stevie's stuff had matured and studio production values had chagnged dranatically..lm now looking forward to collecting the rest of Wonder's 70s albums...
    You'll have a lot of fun getting into Stevie Wonder's classic '70s albums. I also suggest getting Stevie's Live At Last-A Wonder Summer's Night DVD. Filmed at London' O2 Arena in 2007, it features many of the songs of his classic period [[and it's a reminder of what a Great live act Stevie Wonder is).

  11. #11
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    Another suggestion; try to find the two albums that Stevie Wonder produced for his ex-wife, Syreeta. Both Syreeta & Stevie Wonder Presents Syreeta [[from 1972 & 1974) were made during Stevie's classic years so there are a lot of great songs on them [[both albums were reissued as a 2-fer-1 CD by Hip-O Select/Motown in 2004 and it's worth tracking down).

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    Quote Originally Posted by Motown Eddie View Post
    Another suggestion; try to find the two albums that Stevie Wonder produced for his ex-wife, Syreeta. Both Syreeta & Stevie Wonder Presents Syreeta [[from 1972 & 1974) were made during Stevie's classic years so there are a lot of great songs on them [[both albums were reissued as a 2-fer-1 CD by Hip-O Select/Motown in 2004 and it's worth tracking down).
    That is indeed a wonderful 2 on 1 cd. Stevie and Syreeta certainly made great music together both in and out of the studio. Enjoy.

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    Quote Originally Posted by RanRan79 View Post
    Stevie's 70s albums don't get any better than Songs In the Key of Life for me. "Sir Duke", "Knocks Me Off My Feet", "Summer Soft", "Ordinary Pain", "As". OMG that is one of the all time great albums. Fullfillingness First Finale is another one. "Smile Please", "Too Shy to Say", "You Haven't Done Nothin", "Please Don't Go". Good grief, this man was bad.

    My least favorite is Secret Life of Plants. The only two cuts worth my time is "Send One Your Love" and "Outside My Window".
    Plants is the only one out of this period that did not knock me for six. He churned out classic after classic after classic, and virtually every day i change my mind about which is his strongest album. Today i am siding with Talking Book whilst yesterday it was Songs in the key. Tomorrow it may be Innervisions. Thre are just too many to choose from but it sure as hell is fun trying to decide!!
    Last edited by Bluebrock; 04-06-2017 at 06:41 AM. Reason: Not finished my post

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    Quote Originally Posted by Bluebrock View Post
    Plants is the only one out of this period that did not knock me for six. He churned out classic after classic after classic, and virtually every day i change my mind about which is his strongest album. Today i am siding with Talking Book whilst yesterday it was Songs in the key. Tomorrow it may be Innervisions. Thre are just too many to choose from but it sure as hell is fun trying to decide!!
    I think Talking Book, Innervisions, Fulfillingness' First Finale, and Songs In The Key Of Life are a quartet of recordings that are unsurpassed. No one, to my ear, has had a string of records as engaging and profound as the run of these four. Music Of My Mind was the beginning of this string, which laid a foundation so I would also include that one in my "Best of the '70s" list.

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    Quote from Paul Simon at the 1976 Grammy Awards ...

    "Well, I'm very happy to win this. I want to thank Phil Ramone, who co-produced this with me. And Phoebe Snow who sang along with me on the album. And Art Garfunkel who sang with me on "My Little Town." And most of all I'd like to thank Stevie Wonder, who didn't make an album this year."

  16. #16
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    im reading John Swenson's early 80s biography on Wonder,which states there are hundreds of unreleased tracks from the 1970s era - this dosent surprise me.. what does is there are no extra cuts on the Henry Weinger re-release 2000 cds i have got..did Stevie block the use of unreleased material ?

  17. #17
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    Quote Originally Posted by nomis View Post
    im reading John Swenson's early 80s biography on Wonder,which states there are hundreds of unreleased tracks from the 1970s era - this dosent surprise me.. what does is there are no extra cuts on the Henry Weinger re-release 2000 cds i have got..did Stevie block the use of unreleased material ?
    I do believe he did. Legend has it that there are indeed literally 100's of unreleased tracks in the vault. It is down to Stevie and Stevie alone whether we ever get to hear these songs. My guess is we shall have to wait until his passing before there is any hope of them ever seeing the light of day, and i hope that day is far away in the future despite our obvious curiousity.

  18. #18
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    Quote Originally Posted by Motown Eddie View Post
    Another suggestion; try to find the two albums that Stevie Wonder produced for his ex-wife, Syreeta. Both Syreeta & Stevie Wonder Presents Syreeta [[from 1972 & 1974) were made during Stevie's classic years so there are a lot of great songs on them [[both albums were reissued as a 2-fer-1 CD by Hip-O Select/Motown in 2004 and it's worth tracking down).
    Absolutely fantastic suggestion. I'm not a Syreeta fan, but these two albums are superb, especially the second one. And her version of "What Love Has Joined Together" is my favorite of all the ones I've heard thus far.

  19. #19
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    Quote Originally Posted by Bluebrock View Post
    Plants is the only one out of this period that did not knock me for six. He churned out classic after classic after classic, and virtually every day i change my mind about which is his strongest album. Today i am siding with Talking Book whilst yesterday it was Songs in the key. Tomorrow it may be Innervisions. Thre are just too many to choose from but it sure as hell is fun trying to decide!!
    What a rich musical legacy where an artists has so many albums done in such a short period of time being so difficult to choose "the best". Talking Book is another great one. But yeah, Plants is just too far into something different for my taste.

  20. #20
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    Quote Originally Posted by nomis View Post
    im reading John Swenson's early 80s biography on Wonder,which states there are hundreds of unreleased tracks from the 1970s era - this dosent surprise me.. what does is there are no extra cuts on the Henry Weinger re-release 2000 cds i have got..did Stevie block the use of unreleased material ?
    That's strange. I questioned whether there was any unreleased material because the reissues were lacking them, but it would make sense that there would be tons of stuff if you think about the kind of artist Stevie is. He's always creating something and I could see him living in the studio. Hopefully we'll get treated to some in the near future.

  21. #21
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    Quote Originally Posted by nomis View Post
    Ive been having a great time going to the only 2nd hand record shop left in Auckland and getting 1970s Stevie Wonder stuff..ive had "Music Aquarium" for 20 odd years [[very worn out now after much djing with it)..so i knew all the key single release tracks but after reading about Stevie Wonder last weekend i wanted to hear proper albums..1st purchase - "Innervisions" i can see why it swept the Grammy Awards - I love "Visions" & "Golden Lady"...i remember [[I think Icognito) covering "Dont You Worry about A Thing" in the early 1990s.i love the opening skat sketch I had forgotten what a natural wit Wonder has.. next day.2nd purchase - "Talking Book" the track that got me on first listen is "Maybe Your Baby"..I knew Diana had covered "Blame It On The Sun" but I much prefer the original -"Youve got it bad girl" has now grown on me and "You And I"..yesterdays purchase - 'Music Of My Mind"..i immeadiatley dug the instruments Stevie used on this one,it has a very different audio texture than im used love straight away "Happier Than the morning Sun"..[[discovering Justin Timberlake had used the song structure for one of his last hits).."Girl Blue" has interesting instruments as well..and "Superwoman" is great as well...I know many prefer the 1960s as Motown's golden age but I prefer the 1970s..Diana,Marvin & Stevie's stuff had matured and studio production values had chagnged dranatically..lm now looking forward to collecting the rest of Wonder's 70s albums...
    Another suggestion; try to see The Making of Songs In The Key of Life on DVD. While
    Stevie should have one of these for each his classic run of albums but this is one a good one with revealing interview from Stevie, his former wife Yolanda, band members, and Berry Gordy.
    Last edited by Motown Eddie; 04-07-2017 at 12:41 PM.

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    Quote Originally Posted by RanRan79 View Post
    That's strange. I questioned whether there was any unreleased material because the reissues were lacking them, but it would make sense that there would be tons of stuff if you think about the kind of artist Stevie is. He's always creating something and I could see him living in the studio. Hopefully we'll get treated to some in the near future.
    Ever see the Making of Songs In The Key of Life video? In one segment, Stevie mentions having songs that didn't make the final cut of the album [[after which he gives a sly laugh). While I'd love to see Expanded/Deluxe editions of Stevie Wonder's great albums, since he controls what goes out I think it's out of the question.

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    Quote Originally Posted by Motown Eddie View Post
    Ever see the Making of Songs In The Key of Life video? In one segment, Stevie mentions having songs that didn't make the final cut of the album [[after which he gives a sly laugh). While I'd love to see Expanded/Deluxe editions of Stevie Wonder's great albums, since he controls what goes out I think it's out of the question.
    I have not seen that video. I'll have to check it out. Not knowing the "why" behind not releasing the extra tracks will be the key into figuring out if they'll ever see the light of day or not. I know one thing, I get the chance to speak to Stevie, you better believe one of the first questions I ask is why no unreleased releases. Lol

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    thanx for all the suggestions guys I look forward to getting the above mentioned DVDs & Syreeta albums..Tracks that have been growing on me over the last few days - "Keep On Running" from Music Of My Mind [[its just too damn funky !) & from "Innervisions" - Golden Lady [[the opening riff reminds me of Marvins Mercy Mercy Me - same mellow vibe) "Mister Know It All" [[that was a top 10 single in the UK) & "Visions" i just love more and more

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    last week my trusty local record store had on cd - "Songs In The Key Of Life" & "Hotter Than July" which I snapped up..enjoying both but "Hotter" im playing more of..I love "All I Do" [[MJ on backing vocals) & "Rocket Love"..some tracks on "Key Of Life' i recognised from other sources - "Past time Paradise" sampled & changed by Coolio into "Gangsters Paradise" ..while "I Wish" & "Confusion" are in the notorious footage of Whitneys Greatest Hits photo shoot with Mario Testino [[A bonus on the original Whitney GH dvd)....I was checking over the tracks in John Swensons Wonder autobiography and surprisingly he is very critical of "In the Key" album..I also love the backing vocals on "Loves in Need Of Love'..

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    I noticed that no has mentioned Where I'm coming from. For me, that album started the classic period

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    Quote Originally Posted by nomis View Post
    I love "All I Do" [[MJ on backing vocals) & "Rocket Love"..
    If I'm not mistaken the backgrounds on "All I Do" in addition to MJ are Betty Wright and the mighty Ojays. I love "Rocket Love" too.

  28. #28
    Nomis,
    I hope you end up with with a collection that gives you as much enjoyment as mine does! Although my favorite is 'Fulfillingness', I also highly rate the 'old' albums with all those Wonder/Cosby/Moy collaborations - young Stevie always sings with such enthusiasm! Happy collecting, and remember: Be Cool, Be Calm [[And Keep Yourself Together)!

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