I consider
\nInnervisions<\/i> to be the perfect follow-up album. To me,
\nfollow-up albums should have elements that appeal to those who
\nliked the previous album, but should also show new wrinkles and a
\nsense of artistic growth. Stevie Wonder used this recipe when he
\nfollowed his fine
\nTalking Book<\/i> album with this one.
\nTalking Book<\/i> contains Wonder’s two best remembered songs:
\n“Superstition” and “You Are The Sunshine Of My Life” so this was
\nindeed a tough act to follow. If Wonder could not quite match those
\ntwo singles in terms of popularity (both were #1 hits), he
\ncompensated by making a greater overall album.<\/p>\n
\nInnervisions<\/i> satisfies those that like funky, bass-driven
\nnumbers. “Jesus Children Of America” has a slow groove that
\ngradually builds to a rousing finish. “Higher Ground” has a
\nsynthesizer masquerading as a triple guitar attack like its
\npredecessor “Superstition.” “Living For The City” has a pounding
\nbeat that must have had George Clinton in awe, and the album opens
\nwith the jazzy lilt of “Too High.”<\/p>\n
And Wonder’s trademark ballads are equally..er..Wonder-ful. “All
\nIn Love Is Fair” is a poetic, piano-based love song. “Visions” has
\na dreamy, wistful sound and if “Golden Lady” may seem a bit dated
\nlyrically, it still has a seductive melody that is difficult to
\nforget.<\/p>\n
So, people wanting
\nTalking Book II<\/i> will be satisfied, but here is what
\nInnervisions<\/i> offers on top of this. The lyrical content of
\nthe songs are more diverse. Wonder downplayed the love songs and
\noffered his view on the social situations of the time, many still
\nresonating today.<\/p>\n
“Living For The City” is arguably Wonder’s most powerful song.
\nIt starts out depicting the life of a black family down south and
\nthe hardships they endure. The words and the music are tough and
\nuncompromising. The middle of the song, which has the son moving to
\nNew York for a better life and instead is framed for a crime and
\nsent to jail, is acted out with spoken word and sound effects. The
\nthird part of the song has the son out of prison roaming the
\nstreets of New York. Here, Wonder’s uses a very gritty vocal as if
\nhe is feeling the character’s pain. Simply, the song is a
\nmasterpiece.<\/p>\n
However, Wonder also examines other points of views. “He’s
\nMisstra Know It All” examines the life of an irresponsible,
\ndishonest person. “Higher Ground” is about Wonder’s personal quest
\nto be a better person. In “Visions” he yearns and has hope for a
\nbetter world. And if his skeptical examination of the Christian
\nyouth movement in “Jesus Children Of America” is no longer topical,
\nthe anti-drug message in the song “Too High” is undoubtedly
\nrelevant today.<\/p>\n
This is a diverse album musically as well: every song has a
\ndistinctive sound. He added a Latin tinge to his repetoire in the
\nthoroughly enjoyable “Don’t You Worry ‘Bout A Thing” and he was not
\nafraid to shift gears from tougher, weighter material to softer,
\ninnocuous material in the song sequence. This versatility is even
\nmore amazing when you consider he is the only musician on half the
\ntracks, with occasional support on bass, guitar, percussion, and
\nbackup vocals on the other tracks. “Golden Lady” is the only cut on
\nthe album with a full band.<\/p>\n
\nInnervisions<\/i> is an album that makes statements, but it is
\nalso a fun listen. It stands as the peak of Wonder’s long recording
\ncareer, and is one heck of a follow-up album.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":17,"featured_media":26455,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"closed","template":"","meta":{"_acf_changed":false,"footnotes":""},"artist":[6336],"rating":[5646],"class_list":["post-38825","review","type-review","status-publish","has-post-thumbnail","artist-stevie-wonder","rating-rating-a"],"acf":[],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/dailyvault.adishjain.in\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/review\/38825","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/dailyvault.adishjain.in\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/review"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/dailyvault.adishjain.in\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/review"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/dailyvault.adishjain.in\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/17"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/dailyvault.adishjain.in\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=38825"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/dailyvault.adishjain.in\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/review\/38825\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/dailyvault.adishjain.in\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/26455"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/dailyvault.adishjain.in\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=38825"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"artist","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/dailyvault.adishjain.in\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/artist?post=38825"},{"taxonomy":"rating","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/dailyvault.adishjain.in\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/rating?post=38825"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}