My Lion King Forum

A special topic for one of my all time favorite musicians. One reason I find him so special is I personally think he probably has more masterpieces under his belt that most other musicians. Below I'll leave some mini-reviews of what I find his most classic albums.

Where I'm Coming From - Pretty much the "transitional" album from his classic young Stevie motown hits, this is where his music really took a sharp turn in his writing and compositional skill. A prelude to what was to come.

Music of my Mind - A build-upon his transitional period, but with many more solid and complex compositions this time around, this is where Stevie's work started to shape into his absolutely essential music.

Talking Book - Stevie's first absolute masterpiece, and by some considered one his greatest albums. Some of his absolute biggest hits such as Superstition and You are the sunshine of my life are from this album. A sharp turn in his musical complexity and his already pretty sharp songwriting got even more sharp.

Innervisions - In my opinion, Stevie's absolutely most quintessential album. Has some of the sharpest song writing of his career, and where Stevie started to really get great at blending his soul and funk sounds together almost seamlessly.

Fulfillingness' First Finale - Another of Stevie's masterpiece era, and just like the title implies, it's essentially was made to wrap up the string of fantastic albums that he had going on beforehand conceptually. But Stevie had one last huge bang even after this to send off to his fans.

Songs in the Key of Life - Undeniably not only one of Stevie's most accomplished albums, a true masterpiece in every respect, and easily one of the greatest albums of all time. At close to an hour and 40 minutes, it really never loses my interest anytime I listen to it. It's easily his most varied work, as well as being FULL TO THE BRIM with some of his most massive hits and most catchy hits. With this one by the time you're done listening you feel like you've really listened to something grand.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=GYuJKb8oVLA Like this is easily one of the best ballads ever written.

Hotter Than July - Extremely underappreciated album, with some really fantastic songs like Master Blaster, and I Ain't Gonna Stand For It

Stevie's incredible--clearly you're a bigger fan than I, and this post is a great roadmap for getting to know him better. I was listening to Songs in the Key of Life all the way through, and you're right: that album's just loaded. So many great tunes spanning really a couple different styles, but they all share Stevie's common musical themes and tendencies (guy just loves the long vamp at the end haha).

His bass player, Nathan Watts, is also show-stoppingly good throughout.

i really like that song he did with gladys knight, dionne warwick, and elton john.

‘that’s what friends are for’

Stevie Wonder is an incredible singer/songwriter, and Innervisions is my favorite album from him. My favorite songs to come from are "For Once in My Life", "Superstition", "Living for the City", "Higher Ground", "Don't You Worry 'bout a Thing", "I Wish", "Happy Birthday", "Jungle Fever", and the lesser-known "Feeding Off the Love of the Land".

Didn't realize that it was the incomparable James Jamerson on bass for For Once In My Life. Really falling in love with this album--stellar mixing and production combined with a great, 'classic motown' supporting cast. They bring Stevie down to earth a bit (he can get a little out there for my tastes occasionally) while still allowing him to express himself musically.

Stevie's got it. I absolutely love his work. All his records are timeless. I keep playing "I Wish", "Living for the City", "I Was Made to Love Her", "Sir Duke", "For Once In My Life", "My Cherie Amour" and many other Stevie hits. "Stay Gold" as well. It was the soundtrack for "The Outsiders" film.