STEVIE WONDER - Innervisions

STEVIE WONDER – Innervisions – Album Review

This, to me, is Stevie Wonder’s finest 44 minutes and one of the most stunning records ever written, on so many levels of both musicianship and songwriting.

It always blows me away to think that this chap was only 23 in 1973 when “Innervisions” was released.

I’ve been a longtime lover of the Fender Rhodes piano. Its rich, unique, and instantly recognisable chords can be found on at least five of the tracks on this album, including one of the most well-known songs, “Living For The City” This song tells the story of a young black man from Mississippi and his experiences of discrimination as he tries to find a job. Then, on moving to New York in the hope of better times, finds himself, shortly after stepping off the bus, being arrested and subsequently locked up for 10 years.

Probably the most popular song on the album is the uber-funky offering “Higher Ground,” which features the unusual, quirky sounds of the Clavinet as its main driving hook. The track was supposedly written about reincarnation.

Wonder himself said when asked about the song, “I would like to believe in reincarnation. I would like to believe that there is another life. I think that sometimes your consciousness can happen on this earth a second time around.”

This album, to me, has the maturity of an LP that was written by someone twice or more Stevie’s age. Everything within the beautifully organic structure just slots into place so perfectly, and there’s a wonderful air of soulful perfection in his young voice that Wonder makes sound effortless throughout its entirety.

The messages within songs such as “Living for the City” and “Jesus Children of America” are still highly relevant and very important, 50 years later.

The connection between musicianship, songwriting, and production throughout this entire album is just jaw-dropping for me. As with a lot of Wonder’s albums, the lyrics, composition, and production of Innervisions are almost entirely his own work.

Records like this stand the test of time. I urge you to listen to this album again at your earliest convenience, in its entirety.

One of the most spiritually uplifting records that I own and keep coming back to time after time.