TS: Stevie Wonder's Music of My Mind v. Talking Book v. Innervisions v. Fulfillingness First Finale

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Together these four records constitute an undeniably seminal moment in pop -- where the DIY aesthetic first took hold (sorry, post punk), powered by burgeoning developments in technology, while fusing gospel, soul and funk with pop, reggae, folk, and rock. Not, er, bad.

Conventional wisdom holds that Music of My Mind and Fulfillingness First Finale are the weaker pair with inferior material, while Talking Book and Innervisions are the stone-cold classics (we're putting aside Songs In the Key of Life for this discussion).

But are they really? Is it possible Talking Book is more an extended exercise in trite, banal love songs? Does Music of Mind sound more spontaneous or get the praise it deserves for being the breakthrough? Is Innervisions' previously-untouchable "Living For the City" less "gritty and real" than "simplistic and cheap"? And is the dreamy Fulfillingness First Finale the dark horse of this quartet?

― Naive Teen Idol (Naive Teen Idol), Monday, 15 August 2005 02:04 (twenty years ago)

i think stevie was a better singles artist. and i also think the beaver/krause contributions are made too much of.

― sittin here la la waitin for my ya ya (Jody Beth Rosen), Monday, 15 August 2005 02:13 (twenty years ago)

No love for WHERE I'M COMING FROM? Now THAT was the album that kicked off Stevie's prog years.

To be truthful, out of Stevie's Big Six of the seventies, I'd probably put SONGS IN THE KEY OF LIFE in second place, with the previous five albums tied for first place. Why? Although S.I.T.K.O.L. was a good album, you can hear him already starting to go off in a sappy love-song direction (as in "Part-Time Lover"/"I Just Called To Say I Love You").

The earlier five had a little more edge, and I tend to think of them all as part of a whole.

― Rev. Hoodoo (Rev. Hoodoo), Monday, 15 August 2005 02:37 (twenty years ago)

Talking Book has to rank #1 for me, it's probably in my top5 albums ever. I'd probably give 2nd place to the underdog Fulfillingness for Heaven is 10 Zillion, Creepin', Haven't Done Nothin, and They Won't Go When I Go. Innervisions usually gets hyped as the best of the four, but i think it's a little "cleaner" than the other releases. Music of My Mind has some great tracks, but is spotty. And you can't leave out WHere I'm Coming From, there's a couple hot tracks on there. Oh, and Syreeta Wright's "Syreeta" album was co-written and produced by Stevie in 1972. Add that great album to the list.

The fact that all of these records were recorded over the span of like 2 years is mind boggling. The only other artist(s) I can think of off hand who've had that strong an output in that short a time span would be the Beatles and CCR. Bayou Country, Green River, Willie, Cosmo's, and Pendulum were all released in 69/70.

Oh, and i've got no love for Songs In The Key. Everyone I ever talk to claims that's Stevie's pinnacle. But as someone stated above, that album is really the beginnning of the end for Stevie. Sappy and too polished and pure cheese.

― Aaron Grauer (grauzone), Monday, 15 August 2005 12:37 (twenty years ago)

FFF has two great uptempo singles plus "Creepin'" and "Heaven is !0 Zillion Miles Away," but in the end it's as uneven as Music of My Mind. I'll take the near-flawless Talking Book and Innervisions.

― Alfred Soto (Alfred Soto), Monday, 15 August 2005 12:45 (twenty years ago)

talking book is the sentimental favorite for me, but innervisions is probably the best. "living for the city" is actually one of my less-favorite songs on the album. mostly, "visions" and "too high" and "misstra know-it-all" are really really good, understated songs. as a result, there remains this palpable mystique about innervisions for me. its cryptic in this nice way.

― petesmith (plsmith), Monday, 15 August 2005 12:51 (twenty years ago)

"part-time lover" is sappy?

aaron grauer otm about syreeta.

― sittin here la la waitin for my ya ya (Jody Beth Rosen), Monday, 15 August 2005 13:34 (twenty years ago)

The fact that all of these records were recorded over the span of like 2 years is mind boggling

no, that makes sense to me -- you've gotta get while the getting's good, right? artists today wait too long to follow up, and they lose focus, plus whatever "magic" they had during that one brief winning streak.

― sittin here la la waitin for my ya ya (Jody Beth Rosen), Monday, 15 August 2005 13:37 (twenty years ago)

BTW, if you can, get your hands on Stevie's "WonderLove Soulnet Live '72" performance. Amazing. He blows through all of this material one badass track after another. Like a prize fighter. He plays some great covers too, an instrumental version of "What's Going On", rocks the talk box on "Papa Was A Rolling Stone", "Blowin' In The Wind" and more.

Hands down, the best live performance i've heard any band give.

― Aaron Grauer (grauzone), Monday, 15 August 2005 14:04 (twenty years ago)

Is it possible Talking Book is more an extended exercise in trite, banal love songs?

Well I had this dream once where people were replaced by talking green spoons and the ocean was above the sky, and I guess there's nothing in a physics textbook that rules that out so yeah, anything's possible.

― Lukas (lukas), Monday, 15 August 2005 17:35 (twenty years ago)

three years pass...

Blame It on the Sun is the most untrite, unbanal love song evuh

― iago g., Saturday, 28 February 2009 21:08 (seventeen years ago)

Music of My Mind is my favourite here actually, mostly because of the incredible opening 1-2 of "Love Having You Around" and "Superwoman". The only fault I can find with it is that "Keep On Running" just keeps on running and running and running... but I'd name MoMM as my very favourite Stevie album, closely followed by Innervisions.

I can find lots of moments in Talking Book and FFF which lean too far towards MOR for my tastes (not that they aren't wonderful albums too).

― bakerstreetsaxsolo, Saturday, 28 February 2009 22:27 (seventeen years ago)

For me, it's either "Fulfillingness" or "Talking Book". I feel like the former is the most constantly strong, but the latter has the best single tracks in "You And I", "I Believe" and "Blame It On The Sun".

― Geir Hongro, Sunday, 1 March 2009 02:51 (seventeen years ago)

FFF has become my favorite album of the four, but Innervisions is formidable.

― Nurse Detrius (Eric H.), Sunday, 1 March 2009 02:53 (seventeen years ago)

just cos SITKOL is the beginning of the end, doesnt mean it IS the end. most double albums rep an emptying of the barrel for artists - SITKOL might have had some sentimental ballads or sappiness but i think stevie did/does sentimental ballads and sappiness better than almost anyone. its an easy target anyway, for being too long, slightly bloated, but theres nothing bad on there and any album with loves in need, isnt she lovely, summer soft, ordinary pain, all day sucker, and a million other songs on it can only be classic.

― Yellow Carded (titchyschneiderMk2), Sunday, 1 March 2009 10:48 (seventeen years ago)

I love "Songs In The Key Of Love". Like most double albums, it might have worked better as a single one, but I love all those ballads. "Love's In Need Of Love Today", "If It's Magic", "Joy Inside My Tears" and "As" may well be my four favourite tracks on that album, although "Pastime Paradise" and "Village Ghetto Land" also come close.

― Geir Hongro, Sunday, 1 March 2009 16:26 (seventeen years ago)

otm. it might have worked better as a single but the whole point of it is that its gargantuan but it doesnt waste any time (apart from maybe the endings of loves in need and black man) and covers so much (and covers it well). its an amazing album. but then i love sprawling albums.

― Yellow Carded (titchyschneiderMk2), Monday, 2 March 2009 10:35 (seventeen years ago)

And those CS-80 strings must have sounded amazing at the time, when that synth was still new and revolutionary.

― Geir Hongro, Monday, 2 March 2009 10:39 (seventeen years ago)

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