Keys to the Song in Life

Overall Album Score: 9.4 out of 10

Stevie Wonder releases this double album just as he was in the prime of his career. He makes, as it is often called, the ultimate statement of optimism. Naturally, I agree with this statement, but this album is also so loooooooong. Unfortunately, plagued with overextended 7+ minute songs, which usually don't change its centralized hook, it might grow tiresome to some listeners.

But as far as overextended songs go, this is just about as good as you're going to find them. Just listen to the first track of the album to know. "Love's In Need of Love Today," the album opener, is a great example of this. It's seven minutes long, and I'm hardly ready for it to end. Sometimes, Wonder manages to create such energy and drive, as seen in such songs as "Ebony Eyes" and "Another Star" that they even seem like they could go on for longer. It seems like the songs that extended for far too long are in the minority here (specifically, "Ordinary Pain" and "Black Man" are weak spots). These are the reasons this album didn't score quite as well as the three previous albums.

I love the diversity in the album also. "Saturn" is distinctive to me, because it's a sci-fi epic! "If It's Magic" comprises mostly of Stevie just singing along with a harp. "Ebony Eyes" is a very fun music hall song! Naturally, there are some straight pop songs that turned into great hits. The best example "Sir Duke" ... but "Pasttime Paradise" is also a recognizable hit. As you'd expect, most of the songs on the album fall in that soul/sunshine pop category as you'd expect.

This is one album that I'd have to say is a lot more fun to soak up ... Doing what I did and reviewed every single track was an exhausting experience. You shouldn't be actively thinking about these songs ................ just enjoy them. The fact that the album is almost two hours long is only a benefit. You can never have too much Stevie.

Overall Album Score: 9.4 out of 10 (This double album is a monster ... and full of golden moments!)

Average Song Score: 9.1 (Many, many, many songs... They all range from good to perfect. Usually, they're just "very excellent.")

Album Tilt: 9.5 (It's exhausting to review ... but it's a real joy to sit through and let Wonder's optimism speak to you.)

Artist Rating: 9.5 (Give me this guy's spirit and creativity over ... anything.)

Track Reviews

Love's in Need of Love Today 9.5/10

This is a seven minute song that doesn't get boring. Sure, there are many seven-minute songs in rock that don't get boring, but Stevie basically keeps recycling the same hook (which isn't that *hooky* to be honest) throughout the piece... yet it never loses its freshness. I'm not sure how he does it. Maybe his likability is too high that you never get bored at what he does. Possibly. Anyway, this is a solid opening track. I'd say that it's more of a straight ahead rock song ... it doesn't sound soul to me. Naturally, Stevie's soulful vocal performance is at high gear here. He always believes what he sings ... always such a breath of fresh air.

Have a Talk With God 9.5/10

You know, I would say that this song proves why CCM doesn't exist, but I hate to say that CCM's audience would never go for something like this. It's a short funk song with very busy and innovative instrumentation that I daresay Prince had a difficult time topping. It does more to reveal the Holy Spirit than I've ever heard from any CCM artist. Not that that's surprising.

Village Ghetto Land 8/10

It's a good song though uninspired sounding for obvious reasons. Stevie sings along with just synth violins that are played in a classical music manner. He creates interesting sounds, and it does seem like most artists would have difficulty pulling such a song off. Well, he does it. The song does contain a few hooks, but nothing great. It adds to the variety, at least.

Contusion 8.5/10

Stevie takes a moment to try out jazz fusion. It's less than four minutes long, so anyone who has a difficult time taking in the real stuff like early Mahavishnu Orchestra will be able to digest it. This is pretty good jazz fusion, but the Mahavishnu Orchestra *really* spoiled me. They had some good studio musicians, and they create some good times.

Sir Duke 10/10

Yay! This is a famous Stevie Wonder song! This is the type of joyous funk-pop that made Stevie Wonder famous in the first place. The melody is good, the groove is snappy and Wonder's vocals make it even better. The festive horn arrangements give it personality. This is classic!

I Wish 9.5/10

It's not quite as famous, but it's just as good. "I Wish" is more of a dance (dare I say ... disco?) number. At any rate, this is the most unabashedly fun song Stevie offered up until this point, but ... they're all pretty much fun. I suppose a criticism of this song is there isn't much of a melody and it seems to drag on for awhile, but ... it's sure a lot of fun!!

Knocks Me Off My Feet 10/10

A gorgeous ballad that was brilliantly conceived. The melody, particularly the chorus, soars to the heavens. Naturally, the song wouldn't have worked as well if it was sung by anyone other than Stevie Wonder. (Stevie Wonder is to pop music as John Cleese is to comedy.)

Pasttime Paradise 8.5/10

This song was sampled by a '90s hip-hop artist and then parodied by Weird Al Yankovic. (That should prove how much I care about hip-hop ... being more familiar with the parody than the original.) Anyway, this is an excellent song with a nice hook at its center. They did some nice studio work here, especially with the busy but ear-catching percussion. It's not the best song of the album despite the familiarity of it ... well, it's also redundant. No wonder it turned into a hip-hop song!

Summer Soft 9/10

Very very good. It's reminiscent of the era it was released in, but it represents the era beautifully. A '70s light pop number with a little hint of disco. Sounds like a weaker but more lighthearted version of "Knocks Me Off My Feet." The melody is smooth and soaring. Maybe he gets a little too carried away with this one. (But Stevie getting carried away is usually considered a positive!)

Ordinary Pain 8/10

This is the end of disc one ... or how you'd like to put it. It's a nice, mid-temped soul-pop song that chugs along beautifully. I can't say it's more inspired than any of the other songs on here, but it's pleasant. That's Stevie's speciality after all. The song completely changes three minutes into it, and Wonder delivers a more harder, disco-relative with a nice female soul singer. It's a solid work but I can't say it's one of the album's better ones. This part seems to drag on for awhile.

Isn't She Lovely 10/10

This is one of his more memorably sunshine pop tunes (which is saying quite a lot, you know)! The melody is about as lovely as "she" is (which I'm guessing is a baby). This song is so optimistic and cheery that, to sound as utterly cheesy as possible, seems to make my day better! ... Ohhhhh... The harmonica is about as corny as it gets .... but I don't mind. I like cheese! Who doesn't like cheese?

Joy Inside My Tears 9/10

This is a straight-ahead pop-ballad that also happens to last nearly seven minutes. I love the good mood of this song but the length of it probably didn't do it a whole lot of favors this time! But the melody is pretty nice and Wonder's vocal performance is good to listen to as usual.

Black Man 8/10

This one approaches nine minutes ... It's not a bad song exactly, but it drags on! Good thing it's a semi-disco dance song, so it's not necessarily bad listening for so long! I can't say I dislike this experience as much as I can say this is harmless filler. I don't care much for the racially charged dialogue in the last few minutes of the song, which manages to sound more dated than the music itself!

Ngiculela (Es Una Historia) 9/10

This is an interesting Latin-tinged song ... that harpischord-esque synth it sounds cluttered and sloppy but oddly appealing. Wonder sings much of it in Spanish, so I don't understand what he's saying! (Oh, who cares, anyway?) This is a fun song with a good melody, and it also adds to the album's diversity.

If It's Magic 8.5/10

Wonder with just a harp? ... That doesn't come off as badly as it might sound. Wonder comes up with a decent melody and he, naturally, delivers a great vocal performance. I wouldn't want him to do this sort of song a lot, but it sounds genuine and pleasant. He was wise and limited the song to just over three minutes.

As 8.5/10

This is another tremendous soul-pop song! Yes, it's long as hell, but it's so much fun! Wonder gives a rather guttural vocal performance in the latter half of the album (perhaps half-trying to mimick James Brown). The gospel backing music seems to just sing the same thing over and over, but ... I guess that's part of the experience. It's a very entertaining song, anyway!

Another Star 10/10

More than eight minutes long, but this one has such inertia that you had better get out of the way! It probably could have been 10 minutes if he wanted it to be, but .... it's best not to get more carried away than you already are! This one's like Barry Manilow esque Vegas nightclub party music. It has such energy, and I can just imagine the colorful girls with naked legs running around on a stage! ... Steve mostly just sings "la-lahs" as instruments slowly fade in and out ... it's a fun song and gives you a good feeling. You're kind of in a high after this song fades out.

Saturn 9.5/10

This is a sci-fi epic about a utopian society. Musically speaking, it's a close relative to Elton John's "Rocket Man." Naturally, it features space-age synthesizers at its core ... and Wonder creates a chorus that absolutely soars! OK, not as good as Elton John's song, but it's still great.

Ebody Eyes 10/10

This is another one of the album's fun songs! (Although, they're pretty much all fun, right?) Well, this is another heavily distinctive song anyway. Sort of a music-hall song this time; it would be pretty well at home on a Broadway soundtrack, except give me this over Andrew Lloyd Webber any day of the week! This is a creative song ... Stevie is on top of his game!!

All Day Sucker 10/10

Another classic song! This is a funk song with a dose of weirdness ... I would have to say this is one of Wonder's more creative and distinctive efforts ... though I don't know why any other song wouldn't have qualified for the distinction. This song creates a very good mood ... there's a sort of wacky sound effects and twisted guitar solos to keep your ear 100 percent engaged.

Easy Goin' Evening (My Mama's Call) 8.5/10

Oh wow, I'm finally at the last song! ... The bad thing about reviewing all these albums track-by-track is it's exausting sometimes. Sure, I love this album, but .............. I have to sit here for almost two hours and come up with something to say about everything. Well, the final song of our little journey is a rather brief instrumental with a thoughtful harmonica playing over some sparse and charmingly sloppy instrumentation. This is certainly a good album closer ... they sound like they're winding down!

Everybody should comment on this album everyday here!