Innervisions - Stevie Wonder (1973)

Ideated from: August is my birth month, so I’m listening through some records that were released in August

Part of a string of world-beating albums Wonder made in the 70s. He played all the instruments himself, which is pretty stunning considering that you wouldn’t really notice if you hadn’t read that.

A big part of his deal with Motown Records hinged on his creative freedom, and you can hear him stretching himself here. Political commentary and real talk about drugs, as well as the edgy synth sounds he works in with the horns. There maybe wasn’t another artist in the pre-digital-workstation era who could so completely impose his will on a song and create exactly what he wanted to hear.

Tracks I Liked

Living For The City - this often gets bowdlerized into a song about big optimism. I remember an early American Idol cast collaborating on it. They skipped the verse about the guy fresh off the bus getting arrested and jailed for no good reason. Please listen to the whole thing before you treat it like aspiration.

Higher Ground - the classic of classics

Jesus Children Of America - a reasonable indictment of people who aren’t really serious about their faith that still resonates