Stevie Wonder - Innervisions [Remastered] (CD 2000)

You know, when people talk about Stevie Wonder's career highlights, we are unanimous in saying that the seventies were his peak. Innervisions, Fullfillingness' first finale, Talking Book, and Songs in the key of life are usually mentioned in despatches and on the forums, but it is the 1973 album Innervisions which really stand out for me.

The kid was twenty three when he produced this. TWENTY THREE! He'd just managed to wring himself free of Motown's reins, and was finding the real Steveland for the first time, in terms of musical creativity. You can here tones of Psychadelia here, and the early model MOOG's influences appear in tunes like 'Visions' and 'Too high'. Stevie played almost all of the instruments in some way on this record, which is amazing for somebody with all five senses, but the kid only had four, and with the remaining four he made such good use of the heightened senses, as he produces an album not only of nine great songs, but the order in which they appear makes the album flow like a beautiful, sunny, Californian odyssey through tis genius of a man's early twenties.

When Stevie recently released a special boxed set of album tracks and hits chronicling his lengthy career, he chose a few tracks from each album. Just the cream, the ones he loved the most, whether successful commercially or not. It is an amazing testament to the album Innervsisons then, that he chose only to leave out just the ONE track from the boxed set. I don't know for sure which track it was because I don't own the boxed set, but my one and only 'weak' track is 'Jesus children of America'. Weak, that is, in the context of the wonderfully-woven lattice of beautifully-crafted songs that collectively are INNERVISIONS.

My favourite track?- It HAS to be the beautiful 'Golden Lady'. If it catches me in the right mood I'm prone to crying when attempting to sing along to this masterpiece of songwriting. I imagine Stevie, early twenties, financially secure, enjoying life as a young adult, beginning to fall in love for the very first time. It does it for me virtually every time. Have a listen. In fact, sit through the whole album, in a darkened room lit with candles, on your own if you can. By the time you hear the familiar opening strains of'He's Misstra know-it-all' you'll be both amazed and totally taken in by the time, the era, the feeling and the talents of one of popular music's most iconic talents ever.

Truly a must-have. Buy it on ebay now!
Martin Slade.