Innervisions

by Stevie Wonder

Overview

When Stevie Wonder applied his tremendous songwriting talents to the unsettled social morass that was the early '70s, he produced one of his greatest, most important works, a rich panoply of songs addressing drugs, spirituality, political ethics, the unnecessary perils of urban life, and what looked to be the failure of the '60s dream -- all set within a collection of charts as funky and catchy as any he'd written before. Two of the highlights, "Living for the City" and "Too High," make an especially deep impression thanks to Stevie's narrative talents; on the first, an eight-minute mini-epic, he brings a hard-scrabble Mississippi black youth to the city and illustrates, via a brilliant dramatic interlude, what lies in wait for innocents. (He also uses his variety of voice impersonations to stunning effect.) "Too High" is just as stunning, a cautionary tale about drugs driven by a dizzying chorus of scat vocals and a springing bassline. "Higher Ground," a funky follow-up to the previous album's big hit ("Superstition"), and "Jesus Children of America" both introduced Wonder's interest in Eastern religion. It's a tribute to his genius that he could broach topics like reincarnation and transcendental meditation in a pop context with minimal interference to the rest of the album. Wonder also made no secret of the fact that "He's Misstra Know-It-All" was directed at Tricky Dick, aka Richard Milhouse Nixon, then making headlines (and destroying America's faith in the highest office) with the biggest political scandal of the century. Putting all these differing themes and topics into perspective was the front cover, a striking piece by Efram Wolff portraying Stevie Wonder as the blind visionary, an artist seeing far better than those around him what was going on in the early '70s, and using his astonishing musical gifts to make this commentary one of the most effective and entertaining ever heard. ~ John Bush

Product Details

Release Date:	01/01/1991
Label:	Island / Motown
UPC:	0050109032617

Tracks

1. Too High
2. Visions
3. Living For The City
4. Golden Lady
5. Higher Ground
6. Jesus Children Of America
7. All In Love Is Fair
8. Don't You Worry 'Bout A Thing
9. He's Misstra Know-It-All

Album Credits

Performance Credits

Stevie Wonder   Primary Artist,Bass,Drums,Piano,Congas,Vocals,Clavinet,Harmonica,Keyboards,Moog Bass,Tambourine,Lead Vocals,Synthesizer,Handclapping,Fender Rhodes,Moog Synthesizer,Multi Instruments,Vocals (Background)
Austin Godsey   Primary Artist,Recorder
Dan Barbiero   Primary Artist,Recorder
Sheila Wilkerson   Bongos,Gourd,Percussion
Ralph Hammer   Guitar (Acoustic),Guitar,Guitar (Acoustic)
Clarence Bell   Organ,Organ (Hammond)
Larry Latimer   Congas,Vocals,Percussion
Tasha Thomas   Vocals,Vocals (Background)
Scott Edwards   Bass,Bass (Electric)
Lani Groves   Vocals,Vocals (Background)
David T. Walker   Guitar,Guitar (Electric)
Dean Parks   Guitar,Guitar (Acoustic)
Robert Margouleff   ARP Synthesizer,Moog Synthesizer
Malcolm Cecil   Bass,Bass (Upright)
Jim Gilstrap   Vocals,Vocals (Background)
Willie Weeks   Bass,Bass (Electric)
Yusuf Roahman   Shaker,Percussion

Technical Credits

Austin Godsey   Audio Engineer
Stevie Wonder   Audio Production,Writer,Arranger,Composer,Producer,Instrumentation
Dan Barbiero   Audio Engineer
Kevin Reeves   Remastering
Gary Olazabal   Tape Operator
John Harris   Coordination
Robert Margouleff   Engineer,Producer,Electrician,Programming,Associate Producer
Malcolm Cecil   Engineer,Producer,Associate Producer
Paul Bollenback   Composer
Margaret Goldfarb   Production Coordination
Mathieu Bitton   Package Design
Efram Wolff   Illustrations
Rick Collins   Mastering