.......visions from a super musical visionary.......

stevie wonder's 1973 legendary classic album "innervisions" holds a very special place in my heart because it was the first album that i ever owned.my sweet mother bought me this album when i was a 9 or 10 year old kid back in 1973.the artist efram wolff created a masterpiece of an illustration of the blind musical genius whose extraordinary vision of life can be felt with more compassion than those of us who have sight.wonder called "innervisions" a 'total statement'and he is true 2 the point with this masterpiece of an album.with this the third installment in working with synthesizer wizards robert margouleff and malcolm cecil who also did the associate production on this legendary album.the previous two albums of his new era:"music of my mind" and "talking book"(both from 1972)of which some of the material from both albums were recorded at jimi hendrix's 'electric ladyland'studios."innervisions"would be the first album that would not have parts of it recorded at 'electric ladyland'.it was recorded at only two studios:the record plant in los angeles and media sound incorporated in new york.wonder blends the elements of life brilliantly on this classic record:drugs,utopia,urban decay,romance,spirituality,the social political front,romantic heartbreak,and no good dirty hypocritical politicians.wonder opens "innervisions" with the hazyspaced jazzsoul funk cut 'too high' a serious cut about a young woman on drugs.this drug reference cut finds this young girl enjoying the pleasure of being stoned and she cannot escape the trappings of it's addiction:'i'm too high...i'm too high but i ain't left the ground...i'm too high...i'm too high...i hope i never ever come down'-also amazingly wonder magically makes the drugs 'talk' near the song's end:'she's a girl of the past/i guess that i got to her at last'....stevie plays all instruments on this cut and he also gives his great harmonica solo on the song.the background vocalists lani groves,tasha thomas,and jim gilstrap provide great vocalisations on this dark,moody cut.i had just recently learned that tasha thomas one of wonder's backup vocalists (on this song 'too high')is no longer with us.i

am sad.i had no idea that we lost her in 1984.she was only in her thirties.(she has done some solo albums)/the title cut 'visions'is where the album cover illustration comes to life with wonder's profiled vision of the earth in his complexed mind.it is wonder's utopian vision about the beauty of the earth and people in unity:'people hand in hand/have i lived to see the milk and honeyland?/where hate's a dream and love forever stands/or is this a vision in my mind??? 4 this intricate delicate melody flows in a rhythm that takes your mind and soul away from everything that is bad in this world into a world of beautiful peace and warm solace...'living for the city'is the album's most powerful harshest cut that is about urban decay.this powerful true to life cut is about a young black lad who is from hard time mississippi travels to new york city on a bus in which he exhorts in excitement:'wow!new york!just like i pictured it!skyscrappers and everythang!'in of which he is trying to pursue a better life only 2 stumble upon police brutality and is then thrown into the slammer by an injust system.wonder delivers his most harshest vocal near the song's conclusion 2 sum up the situation:'THIS PLACE IS CRUEL!/NO WHERE COULD BE MUCH COLDER/IF WE DON'T CHANGE,THE WORLD WILL SOON BE OVER!!! the song is still relevant today regarding these issues that still plague black america.the romantic 'golden lady'(which was written a few years before) features clarence bell on organ,ralph hammer on acoustic guitar,larry latimer on congas and stevie himself on the moog bass,fender rhodes piano,drums.the original origins of 'golden lady'of which wonder stated in a 1995 interview on video soul with donnie simpson,wonder originally called the song 'old little lady'but wonder said:'obviously it's not gonna be 'old little lady'so i came up with something really good:'golden lady!'that's it!'golden lady!'/and from there wonder created another classic romantic ballad:'to know the love and the beauty never known before,i'll leave it up to you to show it...golden lady,golden lady i'd like to go there...take me right away.../'golden lady'is one of wonder's most beautiful of ballads.his opening piano chords from this cut is pure genius.'higher ground'finds wonder back again with the one man band attack of which he plays all instruments on the track.despite the song's funky groove,the song is about social events in the world that make the world go 'round and references about reaching a higher spiritual ground and reincarnation of which stevie mentions one of the key quotes from the song:'i'm so glad that he let me try it again...cause my last time on earth i lived a whole world of sin..i'm so glad that i know more than i knew then...gonna keep on tryin'til i reach the highest ground.../'higher ground' was a very special song 2 him.he very well remembered the date.wonder wrote the song on may 11,1973.he did the lyrics,music in a span of three hours.stevie mentioned that was the first time that he had ever recorded a track so swiftly.the very spiritual 'jesus children of america'(of which wonder again plays all instruments)is the second gospel song of his new era alongside that of 'evil'(from "music of my mind"-1972).'jesus children of america'is a powerful song with spiritual emotion honoring jesus,mother mary,and spiritual upliftment.but the song also speaks about the holy roller,the junkie who sticks a needle in his veins to straighten up and get right-a spiritual foundation.when wonder speaks of 'transcendental meditation'in the song because it gives us peace of mind in moments of stress.this song is a great spiritual healer.it is also a shame that black gospel radio stations do not pick up on this one.shame on them!!!/the beautiful heartbreak 'all in love is fair'finds our maestro in all of his painful emotion when regarding heartbreak and the mysteries that lies ahead after a love affair that sadly ends.very beautiful piano playing on this piece.'don't you worry 'bout a thing'has a latin salsa flavor to it of which wonder intones a line in the song of speaking fluent spanish of which he does before singing in english.the song features yusuf roahman on the shaker,and sheila wilkerson on the bongos&latin gourd.one of the song's key lines speaks of when everybody needs a change 2 check out new things in life that is there for you...the final cut on this classic album 'he's misstra know-it-all'is a moderate attack on the then so-called devil president richard'TRICKY DICK'nixon.and this will not be the only time that wonder would blast 'tricky dick'nixon.he would blast him again a year later with 'you haven't done nothin'(from the album 'fulfillingness first finale'-1974)also there was another artist around this time in 1973 along with wonder's 'he's misstra know-it-all'is then former motown writer and artist lamont dozier who blasted 'tricky dick'with 'fish ain't bitin'.both of these artists songs just blew this devil out of the water.(these songs were released around the time of tricky dick's watergate scandal) on 'he's misstra know-it-all'wonder delivers these in your face lyrics about 'tricky dick'nixon:'makes a deal with a smile,knowin'all the time that his lie's a mile'/'if we had less of him don't you know we'd have a better land'...wonder concludes this legendary album on a moderate harsh note about hypocritical politicians who mean you no good,and are just out 4 greed and evil.../when stevie recorded "innervisions" in 1973,he also had an uncomfortable feeling when doing the legendary album.just three days after the release of "innervisions" stevie was involved in a horrific road accident of which he was on the passenger side of the car.john harris who is stevie's cousin was driving.they were on route 2 do a concert in durham,south carolina.stevie's cousin tried to drive around the swirving truck that was filled with wooden logs,but by that time one of the logs fell loose from the truck came crashing through stevie's side of the windshield and it damaged stevie's skull.(i don't ever recall remembering this accident that happened 2 stevie when i was a child,i learned about it about a year later as a 10 year old.)stevie remained unconscious in the hospital for a week.after wonder was released from the coma,an old friend of stevie's by the name of ira tucker brought one of stevie's instruments 2 the hospital.and 4 a moment wonder would not touch the keyboard-because of the fear that he may not be able 2 play again; and when he did touch the instrument and began to play there was an expression of joy all over his face.after the accident,'higher ground'was released as a single and many of his following assumed that the track was written about the accident,but it wasn't.it was written before the accident.it also gave stevie a more new spiritual awareness about life as he recovered,and he came back with a vengeance in the following months and years as he won grammies from the songs from "talking book" and "innervisions" won two grammies for best engineered record and album of the year in 1973.

A Classic

This is one of many classic albums Stevie put out in the 70's. His voice, instrumentation, and imagination were all at the very peak of their abilities. This is a great album for singles, but is best when consumed all at once (I suggest sparking a (...), putting on your headphones, and closing your eyes). If you enjoy soul music, or have any liking for quality recordings, this album is a must-have, so get it now, you'll love it! It's so good, writing about it makes me wanna go listen to it right now! I think I will!

Deep thoughts......

This album is actually one of the greatest of all time. Stevie Wonder created a masterpiece with 'Innervisions'. This album is one you can listen to all the way through- there are no filler songs on this one. All of the songs have meaning, rhythm, groove and life.

"Too High" tackles the problem of drug use, while "All In Love Is Fair", deals with the subject of heartbreak, and "He's Misstra Know-It-All"... loud talkers and schemers. "Jesus Children of America" is a groovy joint, with a beautiful message- Jesus loves you, get to know Him, and be honest with Him. "Visions" is a beautiful piece, which talks about looking at things beyond what the eye can see, but by the way the mind sees things; a real mind excursion. Listening to this one makes you wonder if Stevie sees things clearer than we do.

My all time favorites on this one are, "Don't You Worry 'Bout A Thing" (which has a salsa flare, and a message about people with hang-ups, trying to be things that they're not), and "Golden Lady" (a song which is designed to make any woman feel special, and puts you in a mellow mood). "Living For The City", and "Higher Ground" are the most powerful songs on this disk, but "Living For The City" contains that famous line, "Wow...New York City, just the way I pictured it; skyscrapa's and ev'rythang"! What a classic!

This is a music lover's dream. A disk with melodies, good lyrics, and full of real life. Stevie Wonder is an inspiration to all those who hear his message, and will continue to be until the end of time.

jeez, I can't believe how good this is!!!

my favorite song on here is "higher ground," but everything else defied all of my expectations for how Motown records are supposed to sound. Easily Stevie's best cd, and his most consistent (songs in the key of life is supposed to be good to, but it has more filler tracks), there is no filler in this cd. everything on here just blows my mind, I can't believe that everything is so good. I was honestly expecting schmaltz, because that is what I associated Wonder with before. This destroyed all those preconceptions. One of the greatest albums ever made, and the perfect place to begin. I am astonished that a blind man could make such astounding music. We all have something to learn. go get it now!!!

Just awesome.

An incredible melange of gutsy soul, R&B, and jazzy mood music. I had been only marginally aware of Stevie Wonder through his crossover hits on FM rock radio (two of which are on this disc), but I had no concept of what a brilliant artist he is. Through the years my tastes have grown to include a liking for jazz, and the jazz influence here is unique.

Stevie's best album

Innervisions, from 1973, is Stevie Wonder's best album to me. I first heard it in 1982, during a time when some songs from that album got some renewed interest. But some 23 years later, this album still is my favorite, its emotional, personal and even social themes very dominant. From Too High, where Stevie sings about a woman so very high on drugs and disillusioning everyone, to Visions and its moving lyrics to Living in the City and a person's quest for survival in it and Golden Lady, a special tribute to women, this album has it. It also has the funky Higher Ground, of which the Red Hot Chili Peppers made a nice remake of it. This is Stevie's best album to me. Not even Songs In the Key Of Life, Hotter Than July, In Square Circle, Talking Book, Conversation Peace, or Characters (which I also love) can top this wonderful piece of art.