Published on May 20, 2004
What did I miss having not been born in the 70’s? Well there was
Vietnam, Star Wars, Disco, massive amounts of drugs, Watergate, the
works. I can now add to that list, Stevie Wonder.
For a moment, pretend you have never heard a Stevie Wonder song.
Forget those insanely memorable hooks and riffs. Forget some of the
greatest vocal performances committed to record in the past 40
years. Just mull on this fact: The man was blind.
Every struggling musician out there has had it easy compared to
Stevie Wonder. Blind since birth, somehow he was able to master
numerous instruments, production techniques, skills all people in
the music industry would kill to have had. And instead of his music
containing anger or spite towards the world and God, the man
embraced them. Wonder’s albums are expressions of the man’s
feelings.
Fulfillingness’ First Finale was Wonder’s follow-up to his
brilliant album
Innervisions. A short while after the release of that album,
Stevie got into a car crash, and fell into a coma. He would awaken,
and
Fulfillingness’ First Finale was his take on what he had
experienced and learned.
As a result, the lyrics on
Fulfillingness’ First Finale are much more personal than
previous Wonder outings. At various points throughout the album,
Wonder acknowledges his search for “something”, in the abstract
sense. “Heaven Is 10 Zillion Light Years Away” deals with Wonder
finding his faith. “Smile Please,” a song in the vein of “You And
I” and “Don’t You Worry Bout A Thing”, is yet another of Stevie’s
optimistic lyrics. In his words, “don’t delay from
smiling…There’s brighter days ahead…” It has been
this characteristic of Wonder’s work that was a big factor in his
popularity. In the 70’s, there was enough bad news, people were
only too eager to hear some good things.
However,
Fulfillingness’ First Finale is not all about soul-searching
and finding happiness. Throughout his career, Wonder’s political
views have been expressed in many a song and the trend continues
here. “You Haven’t Done Nothin'” is an absolutely acidic rebuke of
President Nixon. In the course of listening to this song I almost
felt sorry for Tricky Dick. Almost.
I challenge any of you readers out there to find an artist who
used synthesizers as well and to as great an effect as Stevie
Wonder. The man practically single-handedly gave the instrument
legitimacy. On
Fulfillingness’ First Finale, Wonder uses them just as well
as on previous albums. “You Haven’t Done Nothin'” features quite
possibly his best synthesizer intro ever. It’s almost as if you are
listening to the musical equivalent of the sound of falling rain.
Just a brilliant opening. There is a whimsical feeling when Stevie
starts off “Heaven is 10 Zillion Light Years Away,” in a perfect
marriage of lyric and music. “Too Shy To Say” soars higher and
higher, matching Wonder’s falsetto. The album’s other big single,
“Boogie on Reggae Woman,” is a success because Wonder captures that
“reggae groove”, with a very catchy synth beat. And despite the
fact his records are thirty years old, they don’t feel outdated.
Why?
It wasn’t just the synthesizers that Wonder used to make his
albums work; he was a damn good vocalist, one of the greatest. The
mood and tone of his songs are perfectly represented in the vocals.
Wonder can go from the smoothest, silkiest vocals to straight out
rock. His array of vocal impersonations complements the fact. We
know exactly what he’s feeling. There is no doubt Wonder is singing
from the heart on songs like “Too Shy To Say,” or “Please Don’t
Go.” On the same note, his disgust on “You Haven’t Done Nothin’,”
is blatantly obvious. Wonder wore his emotions on his sleeves, and
that has made his music timeless. The technology may change, but
the feelings don’t.
Fulfillingness’ First Finale tends to be forgotten when
mentioned as one of the great Stevie Wonder albums. It’s “the album
between
Innervisions and
Songs In The Key Of Life.” While those are great records
notwithstanding,
Fulfillingness’ First Finale deserves better. Stevie Wonder
did not turn out one mediocre album in the 70’s, and he certainly
disappoint here.