Splinterincisions

Overall Album Score: 9.5 out of 10

Another album, and for Stevie, it's another classic. This is one of the few great rock albums that even got due attention from the Grammys! It won best album of the year! Stevie must have been bribing them or something, because they rarely ever give this award to anyone who actually deserves it. ... I mean, Toto won this award, too ... yeah. What did Toto do, anyway? Hump Dorothy's leg?

Anyway, this is another rightful classic in the world of classic rock. Wonder delivers the goods here as well as he's ever done before! Every single solitary bloody freaking song in here is excellent. I mean ... dudes ... does it get any better than "Living For the City?" Well, yes. "Superstition" is probably better. A little bit. But "LIVING FOR THE CITY" IS AWESOME!!!!

And what else? "Golden Lady" is freaking sweet, too. ... Goshhhhhhhhh ... one of the greatest non-injustices of the recording industry and the general public in the U.S.A. was the immense recognition and popularity of Stevie Wonder ... let me tell you. I have my beef with Madonna and Michael Bolton, but ... Stevie Wonder is right where he belongs.

I guess something I miss in this album are Wonder's love songs. There are only two of them in here! ... (And, yes, I am a dude and, no, I am not gay.) Why do I miss the love songs? Because they were so optimistic and happy and made me GLAD TO LIVE! While Innervisions still makes me glad to live because the songs are so wonderful ... they're not exactly happy and optimistic songs. I mean, "Living For the City" kind of has a grimey and depressing ending and ... "Too High" is about drug addiction ... and is Stevie angry in "Higher Ground?" ... Say it ain't so!

But it's a good album! And it's an album that everybody in the world must own. Even me. Since I'm reviewing it on Rhapsody.

Overall Album Score: 9.5 out of 10 (Stevie Wonder gets more deserved praise for this excellent classic. Every song here is nearly perfect and Wonder is a god.)

Average Song Score: 9.4 (Great songs from start to finish. Rack another one up on Stevie's classics list.)

Album Tilt: 9.5 (He touches a lot of different subjects on here, lyrically. But musically, this is another utterly lovely and consistent Wonder album. No song here scored below a 9!)

Artist Rating: 9.5 (It is physically impossible to hate this album or Stevie Wonder or ... pretty much anything after listening to such a great thing.)

Track Reviews

Too High 9.5/10

What is Stevie Wonder good for? ... EVERYTHING!!!!!!!!!!!! ... That's it! That's your answer! The answer to the secret of life! Wooooooo!!! Is "Too High" the greatest song that I ever listened to? ... PROBABLY!!!!! ... Okay, it's not the greatest song ever released, but it's pretty freaking bloody good, anyway. It has a groove that makes me happy, a fun little melody, and chock-full of Stevie ... despite the fact that this is all about drug addiction. Drug addiction is good, though. ... Maybe.

Visions 9/10

There's nothing really funky about this song. It's just a nice, slow song that features Stevie singing and that's pretty much all you need ... in my world. Seriously. The song features very mesmerizing guitars and atmosphere. It doesn't quite have the great optimistic Stevie personality that we've come to adore about the dude, but that's okay. The song is gorgeous.

Living For the City 10/10

Another great Stevie song! ... It's also the lengthiest song thus far, which really continues to say a lot about the guy's impeccable taste! Even the dialogue in the middle of the song isn't stupid and unwelcome. A soulful vocal performance highlights this ode to New York. The melody is practically flawless and the instrumentation (featuring a perfectly-chosen synth) compliments it perfectly. It's a classic of the highest order.

Golden Lady 10/10

Holy craaaaaap! Doesn't Stevie make it all look so easy here? The melody is so easy, cool and lovable that I hardly think I can contain myself. ... A very easy song to find yourself becoming immersed into. It's full of Wonder's perfect melodic talents and ... this is like a window into Wonder's infinite soul.

Higher Ground 9/10

An angrier and grittier song than we are accustomed to hear from Wonder, but no matter! It's a classic! The well-oiled groove was very nicely done and again, the melody is something that other musicians would probably give their right leg to invent.

Jesus Children of America 9/10

A successfully soulful song that's easy and fun to listen to with some obvious religious leanings. The soul-groove is snappingly good and ... STEVIE WONDER, I LUV YEW...

All in Love is Fair 10/10

A love ballad ... AND IT'S AWESOME!!!! I almost wish that Wonder would consistently stick to love ballads because he's so freaking good at them, but ... that would get awful boring, wouldn't it? And that's the whole reason Barry White exists, and the whole reason I like making fun of him! Wonder gives a drop-dead-great vocal performance and, again, the melody is as natural as it gets.

Don't You Worry About a Thing 9/10

The beginning of this song makes me laugh ... And the tune, which is a very upbeat and tangy piano pop song gives me another good reason to stay alive.

He's Mista Know-It-All 9.5/10

I'd say this is a pretty natural-sounding song to conclude the album with ... seems like the conclusion of an epic, you know! It's another one of Wonder's perfectly enjoyable and very pleasant pop songs ... Really, if you have this, then what else matters? I asks ya!

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