I can feel it all over. And according to Stevie Wonder, you can too! The feeling of joy that comes over you when a singer hits a certain note or the bass strikes up a groove so smooth that you can’t help but put a glide in yo stride, a dip in yo hip, an oogie in yo boogie, and an unk in yo funk is what makes music so fascinating. And the best part about it? It’s for everyone! It translates the world over! Basically, I’m just reiterating the first verse of Mr. Wonder’s masterpiece “Sir Duke.” It goes a little something like this…
“Music is a world within itself,
With a language we all understand,
With an equal opportunity,
For all to sing, dance and clap their hands”
With those four lines, he hits it out of the park, and with the entire album Songs in the Key of Life (1976), he blasts a grand slam. Upon discovering this album in a stack of my dad’s old records, I knew it was going to be special. Hearing those notes and Stevie’s iconic voice coming through the speakers for the first time was like hearing pure music magic. I got giggly inside, and the record craze began.
Before I even heard a single song, I was just as excited about the album cover and the psychedelic, Hendrix-esque inspired artwork. It’s such a nice change of pace from scrolling through iTunes to physically holding the album and it’s contents in your hands. Having a tangible cover and record adds character to the music, helping bring the album to life.
Stevie Wonder sings and composes music in such a beautiful style that it will have any real woman shakin’ at the knees. He may be blind, but he sure as hell knows and appreciates a beautiful, wholehearted woman just as well, if not better, than the rest of us. He displays this talent right from the beginning with the album’s opening track “Love’s in Need of Love Today.” When I hear this song, I can’t help but picture Stevie as a preacher bustin’ out into a love anthem during the middle of his sermon and the crowd going wild!
Then there’s “Have a Talk with God”, a song with gospel roots and a kick of 1970’s funk. It’s amazing how many different genres are covered in this album from jazz to classical to R&B, but they are blended together with so much soul that it ties them all together with complete mastery.
Now, back to “Sir Duke”, a personal Stevie Wonder favorite of mine. I’ve never felt so adamant about an instrument or group of instruments adding to the overall spirit of song as I do with the saxophone and trumpet parts of “Sir Duke.” The horn section bursts with New Orleans’ jazz flare and plays a vital character in the overall joyous entertainment that is one of the most fun 3 minutes and 45 seconds I’ve ever heard. Enough of me telling you about it. Go play the song and let it put a smile on your face.
The best added bonus to this album is that I can listen to it with my mom. Put on “Isn’t She Lovely” and she’ll be up on her feet, singing and dancing away like she’s 21 years old again. I told you Stevie knows how to work the ladies, and there ain’t a better one out there than my momma.
This album is so good that Will Smith sampled “I Wish” for “Wild, Wild, West” and Coolio did the same with “Pastime Paradise” for his ghetto anthem “Gangsta’s Paradise.” Michael Jackson may be the King of Pop, but Stevie blazed the trail for him.
Songs in the Key of Life is an album for life, but it’s not the only album for life. I needed more so off to Monster Music I went to get my fix and make my next purchase. Hello, The Clash and London Calling.