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| The Secret Life Of Plants (1978 Documentary Film) | 
 enlarge | Creator: Stevie Wonder
Label: Motown
Category: Music
Buy New: $40.00
New (4) Used (6) from $29.99
Avg. Customer Rating:  58 reviews
Sales Rank: 143577
Format: Soundtrack
Media: Audio CD
Discs: 2
UPC: 737463612722
EAN: 0737463612722
ASIN: B000001AJG
Release Date: May 11, 1992
Availability: Usually ships in 1-2 business days
Condition: Ships first class from New York City. All items are official products and come with all the original inserts, unless otherwise noted. We have a positive feedback rating of 96% - buy with confidence!
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| Tracks:
Disc 1
| • | Earth's Creation | | • | The First Garden | | • | Voyage to India | | • | Same Old Story | | • | Venus' Flytrap and the Bug | | • | Ai No, Sono | | • | Seasons | | • | Power Flower | | • | Send One Your Love | | • | Race Babbling |
Disc 2
| • | Send One Your Love | | • | Outside My Window | | • | Black Orchid | | • | Ecclesiastes | | • | Kesse Ye Lolo de Ye | | • | Come Back as a Flower | | • | A Seed's a Star/Tree Medley | | • | The Secret Life of Plants | | • | Tree | | • | Finale |
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Album Description
Full title - Journey Through The Secret Life Of Plants. 1993 reissue of 2 CD set originally released on Motown in 1979. 20 tracks in a standard double jewel case. Lyrics included in sleevenotes.
Album Details
Actually a Soundtrack for a Film that May Never have Been Released (Few People Even Say They've Seen It), this Mostly Instrumental Double Disc was Issued on the Heels of Wonder's Supreme Milestone 'fulfillingness' First Finale'. Not an all Out Pop Project, Yet it Yielded Two Hit Singles of 'send One Your Love' and 'outside My Window'. It Merely Marked Time Between It's Predecessor and 'hotter Than July', which Released in 1980.
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| Customer Reviews: Read 53 more reviews...
 One Of Those Albums Critics Should Get Blamed For August 9, 2005
26 out of 28 found this review helpful
Songs In The Key Of Life was Stevie Wonder's undisputed tour-de-force. With that opus, he mastered mostly everything he acquired from the four other classics he released in his 1970's prime: Music Of My Mind, Talking Book, Innervisions, and Fulfilligness' First Finale, and somehow covered all of the elements from those classics with two records. The production, brilliant songwriting, rhythms, and approach of that record was stunning and with all of those elements, he won tons of awards and outstanding recognition. I personally can only think of one album that can actually top that record and that record has to be his perfect 1973 masterpiece, Innervisions. But, four years had passed and many fans were waiting for a new album. Disco had took over big time and many R&B artists were just getting into that formula to probably chunk out a big hit. Stevie just had to experiment and release Journey Through The Secret Life Of Plants, the soundtrack to a film no one probably ever saw. Secret Life Of Plants was the record that critics and most of his fans just hated. Some said it was a flawed album that was filled with killers and fillers. I'll partially agree with that. The Secret Life Of Plants is as different as anything Stevie ever recorded, but it is a great album. It's a moody concept album consisting some interesting instrumentals about plants. On this album, Stevie expands his sound by showing different musical influences from other places like Africa or even China, which makes it such an epic proportion. He also plays or tries many abstract instruments played from different parts of the world, even though mostly everything he plays here are done with synthesizers. There are lots of variety in this album: funk (Race Babbling), ballads (Power Flower, Send One Your Love, Come Back As A Flower) chants (Kesse Ye Lolo de Ye), rock theatrics (A Seed's A Star/Tree Medley) and even jazz (Venus' Flytrap and The Bug). I admire this album for its groundbreaking sounds Stevie patched out of various synthesizers to actually give us a real feeling of how it might sound in a jungle or even in gardens. They might sound dated today, but it's truly amazing of how he created them back in 1979. Just like Songs In The Key Of Life or Innervisions, he is taking us on a journey through the development and amazement of plants. That is really what makes this album special, even though there are some weak spots here. So, Journey Through The Secret Life Of Plants is one of Stevie's more misunderstood and criminally underrated works, but it is an antonishing record that just takes you on a one-of-a-kind journey with amazing songs, top-notch arrangements, and mind-bending sounds. It's just a shame critics dismissed this one back in 1979. Anyone expecting another Talking Book or Innervisions will be disappointed because it's different and it would be advised for those listeners to skip this one. But, if you are looking for a more beautiful and experimental record, check this one out. B+
Stevie Wonder's Best Record January 23, 2006
22 out of 22 found this review helpful
As bassist Jeff Berlin said, Stevie Wonder is one of the five or six most important and creative musicians of the 20th century. The Secret Life of Plants ices it. Weirdly, The Secret Life of Plants is one of Stevie Wonder's most hard-to-find records. I rate it as his best. One way to describe this record is Duke Ellington writing about trees, bugs and venus fly traps. As a synthesist (ie. synthesizer player), on these albums Stevie Wonder brings the instrument probably as far as it has ever gone as a human, expressive instrument. But always his voice, acoustic piano, drums and bass and found ambient sounds meld with electronic textures to create something nobody had ever done before and people have been copying ever since. Secret Life of Plants has some of his best singing as well, freed from trying to get a "hit." In my opinion, this sound cycle is one of the most important recordings of any genre made in the 20th century. Why all the gushing? My dad was a tree cutter and landscaper and taught me all the scientific names of every tree in Massachusetts by the time I was 15. So all of the stuff about trees here is true. They are oldest and longest living creatures on Earth and are what humans were born under. Stevie Wonder does a beautiful job with this theme and for me it resonates very deeply.
No Secret January 29, 2001
19 out of 21 found this review helpful
After hitting his musical peak with the double album, Songs In The Key Of Life, every one wondered what Stevie Wonder would do next. Showing that he wasn't afraid to experiment, he released another double album, this time a soundtrack to the documentary film The Secret Life Of Plants. This album is different from just about anything in his catalog. The album is made up of mostly instrumentals, but the songs truly convey the feeling of the film. We are taken into the world of plants and the songs move between lush and serene to funky. "Send One Your Love" is the one song that doesn't really fit into the concept (obviously included to attract people to the album) but it an absolutely gorgeous song and one of his best ballads. To show that Mr. Wonder was a major force on the charts, the album that was from an obscure documentary, a second double album in a row and made up of basically instrumentals, still hit the top ten on the album charts.
Journey through secret wonders of Stevie! December 24, 2004
16 out of 16 found this review helpful
This album forever redefined my look on Stevie Wonder's music. I've always liked his R&B albums, but this one really illustrates his immense talent for instrumental composition and elegant, classic melodies. Although people may not agree, my favorite number is "Ecclesiastes" - its apparent simplicity and outstanding use of minor keys (not to mention the 12/8 meter and some virtuoso synthesizer playing) just seem to overwhelm. I've played this number to many people who love classical music (but not that familiar with Stevie Wonder) - most of them thought it was written by likes of Nino Rota or Michel Legrand. They refused to believe it was, in fact, by Stevie. Many of them asked me to borrow the album and were very impressed.
Every number offer surprises. Simply put, it is a great, great album!!
I just wish... June 17, 2005
9 out of 11 found this review helpful
Ok, this is a Masterwork. When I got this abum for Christmas in 1979, I played it over and over and over. Some albums entertain you, make you dance, tell stories. THIS album TAKES you places - inward & outward - and you realize YOU are on the Journey of the Secret Life of Plants.
One shortcoming - as if he had anything to prove by the late 70's, he set out to do an entire soundtrack on his own, playing all the instruments. He succeeded in doing so, but actually sold his material short, in my opinion. Can we hear REAL violins instead of synthesizer? Can we hear REAL drums, REAL bass? It's the main achilles heal that dates this great piece of songwriting, singing, and work.
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