Songs in the Key of Life

Stevie Wonder

album cover

An All-Day Player That Never Gets Old

Consider what it takes for a blind recording artist to capture ideas in the studio. There are the usual problems of positioning oneself correctly at an instrument, and the challenges of keeping a constant distance to the microphone—quality takes can be ruined by a simple turn of the head. Then there is the not-small problem of lyrics. On this, his magnum opus, Stevie Wonder sang most of the lead vocals just after hearing the lines spoken into his headphones.

Think about that the next time you hear any of these twenty-one incandescent songs, which include one of the all-time funkiest looks back at childhood ("I Wish") and a prayer for the ages ("Love's in Need of Love Today") and a bursting-with-life samba ("Another Star"). Wonder sings all of them in an unbroken spirit stream, even though every few seconds he's being prompted with the next line in his ear. Miraculously, he's not thrown by this. He wriggles and tumbles through the lines as though he's riding river rapids. Nothing about these vocals—nothing—feels premeditated.

When he began work on Songs, Wonder had issued five albums, all classics, in the preceding thirty-nine months. He made a public decision to slow down for this collection; the musicians involved recall that in addition to spending time refining each track, Wonder kept writing (and in some cases recording) right up until the mixing sessions. The final product, which took two years to complete, contains seventeen thoughtful and undeniable songs originally issued on two vinyl records (plus a four-song "something's extra"). There is no filler.

Genre: R&B
Released: 1976, Tamla/Motown
Key Tracks: All of them.
Catalog Choice: Hotter than July
Next Stop: Shuggie Otis: Inspiration Information
Book Page: 873

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