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The 3rd album in this vein was `Innervisions', which has to be one of the mans crowning achievements. `Livin' For The City' still sounds titanic, an awesome number, as is `Don't You Worry `Bout A Thing' and the opening `Too High'. Not only was the mans music incredibly funky but he was now covering issues such as social ills and politics. The closing `He's Mr Know-It-All' is an enjoyable piano-led groove, and with so many classic cuts on one album this in itself could run like a Best Of record. Theres a nice vibe that runs through this album and the production is real high quality.

This is his 3rd essential in a row, and you have to admire the work of Stevie Wonder what an incredible back catalogue this guy was able to create in the 70s.


.......visions from a super musical visionary.......   April 3, 2005
 5 out of 5 found this review helpful

stevie wonder's 1973 legendary classic album "innervisions" holds a very special place in my heart because it was the first album that i ever owned.my sweet mother bought me this album when i was a 9 or 10 year old kid back in 1973.the artist efram wolff created a masterpiece of an illustration of the blind musical genius whose extraordinary vision of life can be felt with more compassion than those of us who have sight.wonder called "innervisions" a 'total statement'and he is true 2 the point with this masterpiece of an album.with this the third installment in working with synthesizer wizards robert margouleff and malcolm cecil who also did the associate production on this legendary album.the previous two albums of his new era:"music of my mind" and "talking book"(both from 1972)of which some of the material from both albums were recorded at jimi hendrix's 'electric ladyland'studios."innervisions"would be the first album that would not have parts of it recorded at 'electric ladyland'.it was recorded at only two studios:the record plant in los angeles and media sound incorporated in new york.wonder blends the elements of life brilliantly on this classic record:drugs,utopia,urban decay,romance,spirituality,the social political front,romantic heartbreak,and no good dirty hypocritical politicians.wonder opens "innervisions" with the hazyspaced jazzsoul funk cut 'too high' a serious cut about a young woman on drugs.this drug reference cut finds this young girl enjoying the pleasure of being stoned and she cannot escape the trappings of it's addiction:'i'm too high...i'm too high but i ain't left the ground...i'm too high...i'm too high...i hope i never ever come down'-also amazingly wonder magically makes the drugs 'talk' near the song's end:'she's a girl of the past/i guess that i got to her at last'....stevie plays all instruments on this cut and he also gives his great harmonica solo on the song.the background vocalists lani groves,tasha thomas,and jim gilstrap provide great vocalisations on this dark,moody cut.i had just recently learned that tasha thomas one of wonder's backup vocalists (on this song 'too high')is no longer with us.i
am sad.i had no idea that we lost her in 1984.she was only in her thirties.(she has done some solo albums)/the title cut 'visions'is where the album cover illustration comes to life with wonder's profiled vision of the earth in his complexed mind.it is wonder's utopian vision about the beauty of the earth and people in unity:'people hand in hand/have i lived to see the milk and honeyland?/where hate's a dream and love forever stands/or is this a vision in my mind??? 4 this intricate delicate melody flows in a rhythm that takes your mind and soul away from everything that is bad in this world into a world of beautiful peace and warm solace...'living for the city'is the album's most powerful harshest cut that is about urban decay.this powerful true to life cut is about a young black lad who is from hard time mississippi travels to new york city on a bus in which he exhorts in excitement:'wow!new york!just like i pictured it!skyscrappers and everythang!'in of which he is trying to pursue a better life only 2 stumble upon police brutality and is then thrown into the slammer by an injust system.wonder delivers his most harshest vocal near the song's conclusion 2 sum up the situation:'THIS PLACE IS CRUEL!/NO WHERE COULD BE MUCH COLDER/IF WE DON'T CHANGE,THE WORLD WILL SOON BE OVER!!! the song is still relevant today regarding these issues that still plague black america.the romantic 'golden lady'(which was written a few years before) features clarence bell on organ,ralph hammer on acoustic guitar,larry latimer on congas and stevie himself on the moog bass,fender rhodes piano,drums.the original origins of 'golden lady'of which wonder stated in a 1995 interview on video soul with donnie simpson,wonder originally called the song 'old little lady'but wonder said:'obviously it's not gonna be 'old little lady'so i came up with something really good:'golden lady!'that's it!'golden lady!'/and from there wonder created another classic romantic ballad:'to know the love and the beauty never known before,i'll leave it up to you to show it...golden lady,golden lady i'd like to go there...take me right away.../'golden lady'is one of wonder's most beautiful of ballads.his opening piano chords from this cut is pure genius.'higher ground'finds wonder back again with the one man band attack of which he plays all instruments on the track.despite the song's funky groove,the song is about social events in the world that make the world go 'round and references about reaching a higher spiritual ground and reincarnation of which stevie mentions one of the key quotes from the song:'i'm so glad that he let me try it again...cause my last time on earth i lived a whole world of sin..i'm so glad that i know more than i knew then...gonna keep on tryin'til i reach the highest ground.../'higher ground' was a very special song 2 him.he very well remembered the date.wonder wrote the song on may 11,1973.he did the lyrics,music in a span of three hours.stevie mentioned that was the first time that he had ever recorded a track so swiftly.the very spiritual 'jesus children of america'(of which wonder again plays all instruments)is the second gospel song of his new era alongside that of 'evil'(from "music of my mind"-1972).'jesus children of america'is a powerful song with spiritual emotion honoring jesus,mother mary,and spiritual upliftment.but the song also speaks about the holy roller,the junkie who sticks a needle in his veins to straighten up and get right-a spiritual foundation.when wonder speaks of 'transcendental meditation'in the song because it gives us peace of mind in moments of stress.this song is a great spiritual healer.it is also a shame that black gospel radio stations do not pick up on this one.shame on them!!!/the beautiful heartbreak 'all in love is fair'finds our maestro in all of his painful emotion when regarding heartbreak and the mysteries that lies ahead after a love affair that sadly ends.very beautiful piano playing on this piece.'don't you worry 'bout a thing'has a latin salsa flavor to it of which wonder intones a line in the song of speaking fluent spanish of which he does before singing in english.the song features yusuf roahman on the shaker,and sheila wilkerson on the bongos&latin gourd.one of the song's key lines speaks of when everybody needs a change 2 check out new things in life that is there for you...the final cut on this classic album 'he's misstra know-it-all'is a moderate attack on the then so-called devil president richard'TRICKY DICK'nixon.and this will not be the only time that wonder would blast 'tricky dick'nixon.he would blast him again a year later with 'you haven't done nothin'(from the album 'fulfillingness first finale'-1974)also there was another artist around this time in 1973 along with wonder's 'he's misstra know-it-all'is then former motown writer and artist lamont dozier who blasted 'tricky dick'with 'fish ain't bitin'.both of these artists songs just blew this devil out of the water.(these songs were released around the time of tricky dick's watergate scandal) on 'he's misstra know-it-all'wonder delivers these in your face lyrics about 'tricky dick'nixon:'makes a deal with a smile,knowin'all the time that his lie's a mile'/'if we had less of him don't you know we'd have a better land'...wonder concludes this legendary album on a moderate harsh note about hypocritical politicians who mean you no good,and are just out 4 greed and evil.../when stevie recorded "innervisions" in 1973,he also had an uncomfortable feeling when doing the legendary album.just three days after the release of "innervisions" stevie was involved in a horrific road accident of which he was on the passenger side of the car.john harris who is stevie's cousin was driving.they were on route 2 do a concert in durham,south carolina.stevie's cousin tried to drive around the swirving truck that was filled with wooden logs,but by that time one of the logs fell loose from the truck came crashing through stevie's side of the windshield and it damaged stevie's skull.(i don't ever recall remembering this accident that happened 2 stevie when i was a child,i learned about it about a year later as a 10 year old.)stevie remained unconscious in the hospital for a week.after wonder was released from the coma,an old friend of stevie's by the name of ira tucker brought one of stevie's instruments 2 the hospital.and 4 a moment wonder would not touch the keyboard-because of the fear that he may not be able 2 play again; and when he did touch the instrument and began to play there was an expression of joy all over his face.after the accident,'higher ground'was released as a single and many of his following assumed that the track was written about the accident,but it wasn't.it was written before the accident.it also gave stevie a more new spiritual awareness about life as he recovered,and he came back with a vengeance in the following months and years as he won grammies from the songs from "talking book" and "innervisions" won two grammies for best engineered record and album of the year in 1973.


Takes music to places it's never before or since been   May 14, 2005
 5 out of 5 found this review helpful

It's a shame that there haven't been many true musical pioneers in the soul and R+B genres since Stevie Wonder. The genre is sorely lacking today. There aren't many performers out there who write their own songs, and so many artists sound way too similar. I for one, prefer the live instruments of these recordings to the repetitive, bland programmed beats of modern day singers like R. Kelly. And it seems as if vocalists are trying to imitate the same style that's on display here, with less enthusiasm. Even if Stevie's new album (which comes out in June) is a dud, it'll probably still put all other current R+B acts to shame in terms of originality and creativity.
This album is R+B, soul, rock, jazz, whatever... it's all here. Most would classify Stevie Wonder as R+B, and if that's the case, then there has never been an artist who's made more compelling R+B music. Stevie jumps between more stylings of playing, singing and songwriting than most artists are even capable of pulling off in their entire careers, let alone recording on an album!
The album starts with the jazzy classic "Too High", which uses complex chord voicings done with both instruments and voices. It also has a great, funky backbeat, as well as great harmonica and keyboard work by Stevie. And let's have a hand for his awesome drumming as well (yes, he even plays the drums on this one, as well as many other songs of his). Next is "Visions", a soft ballad about a possible future of peace and happiness. A great vocal performance from Mr. Wonder, supplemented by tragic yet hopeful lyrics.
Next is possibly Stevie Wonder's most powerful song ever, "Living For the City". Just trying to describe the song is worthless. I happened upon this song by accident one day, and it may have changed my opinion on everything I ever thought could be done in music. From the horrific depictions of city life in the lyrics, to the tremendously funky rhythms, and the absolutely jaw-dropping composition, this song can be summed up with one word: "classic".
Next, following with yet another classic, we have "Golden Lady". Just a great song with great vocal work, a fantastic melody, and a great organ solo in the middle. Plus the outro is very exciting with it's multiple, ascending key changes, which really make this song great.
"Higher Ground" brings out the rock side of this album very well. Straightforward, yet funky, this song really gets one moving. A tremendously powerful vocal performance by Stevie, this song is well-loved by all. If you've only heard the Chili Peppers' cover, you're truly missing out, as all the groove is located here.
The weakest track on here would without a doubt be the greatest song on any R+B album from 1990 onward. This track is "Jesus Children of America", a criticism of evangelical Christians who preach but don't practice. Although it's admittedly the weakest track here, you won't be skipping it, as it still is an awesome, funky song.
And what would a Stevie Wonder album be without the obligatory love ballad? It just so happens that "All in Love is Fair" is a great song, as is typical of 70's Wonder. As always ends up being the case with his ballads, the vocals are the standout, as they are spectacular.
Next is a Latin-style number called "Don't Worry Bout A Thing". If this song doesn't make you want to dance, you may not have any life left in you. The Latin rhythms are infectious and likeable, and the vocals (lead and backup) will amaze you. It has some of the best harmonies I've ever heard in a song before.
"He's Misstra Know It All". Perhaps it's a change of pace from the rest of the album, as it's a softer song, but it plays along well, and has the best melody on the album (and since every song has a fantastic melody, that's saying alot.) And Stevie's soulful performance on the outro will definitely raise your spirits, regardless of how you're feeling (I get chills just thinking about it.)
Surprising how amazing this album is even after thirty years. To think that this style of music would have few artists who would even rival the creativity on display here, even with the advancement and influence of several new genres, including hip-hop, is disappointing. We need Stevie to come back strong this year, and show us musical genius at work once again. And for us teenagers, who never grew up with this, maybe we need to hear some refreshing R+B music for the first time in our lives...