Released: 1973
Tracks: Too High; Visions; Living for the City; Golden Lady; Higher Ground; Jesus Children of America; All in Love is Fair; Don’t You Worry ‘Bout a Thing; He’s Misstra Know-It-All
Best track: Living for the City, possibly Jesus Children of America
Tracks to skip: All in Love is Fair, Don’t You Worry ‘Bout a Thing
Man, in listening though this one the overwhelming thought I have is that Stevie Wonder is so enormously talented and he made some amazing music. At least for what he did during the early-mid 70’s, this is seriously some of the greatest music ever. Yes, he had his moments where he fell flat (and this album is no exception), but for the most part it’s startling how insanely good this stuff is. Besides being an excellent singer, his sense for creating a stellar melody has few peers. Throw in deep, deep grooves, compositions that constantly push his own boundaries, some goofiness, playing multiple instruments (very well) and creative use of the keyboards specifically….and that just scratches the surface.
I absolutely LOVE the melodies on Living for the City! This is probably my favorite song on this album, even though it has that absurd middle section. I’ve never understood why it’s there. It’s annoying, but at least it’s not really that long. And truthfully, it doesn’t take away how great of a song Living for the City is. Also, if you want a version of the song with the middle bit thankfully cut out, it’s on the Song Review album. This is one of those songs that I love more and more the more I hear it. So many fantastic melodies here!
My other favorite song on this album is Jesus Children of America. It’s a fantastic composition with some more heavy grooves. Oh yeah, and the grooves are thick as hell on Too High and Higher Ground too. Both Higher Ground and Jesus Children have some great spiritual/socially conscious lyrics. These four songs are my favorites of the album. I do love the ballads on the first half too – both Visions and Golden Lady are great songs.
The “falling flat” parts (for me) are All in Love is Fair and Don’t You Worry ‘Bout a Thing. Both of these songs back to back (middle of side two, no less) are hard to take in a row and it definitely drags the album down a bit. I know that All in Love is Fair is a very well-loved song. It just doesn’t have an effect on me as a composition…it just doesn’t move me. He’s Misstra Know it All isn’t the greatest song on the album by any means, but it’s a nice pick up after those two skippers and a good way to end the album. Those first six songs though? Man, absolutely great.
I definitely recommend this album if you like anything from Stevie Wonder’s 70’s albums. There’s so much good stuff here and the few “misses” are completely tolerable. Yet another example of Stevie Wonder’s awesomeness.
Rating: 94
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