Stevie Wonder - Fulfillingness' First Finale
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Free Music Notes for Fulfillingness' First Finale
Free Music Review: More prime & fulfilling Stevie
Hit: 5 Stars
By 1974 Stevie Wonder was on an awesome run of form with three classic albums preceding `Fulfillingness' First Finale'. The guy had a unique sound & style all of his own and was combining his political and social observations with some seriously funky music.`You Haven't Done Nothin' is probably the most famous cut on here and still funks hard (With back up by none other than the Jackson boys), but the equally classic `Creepin', that dreamy dedication to a certain someone who manages to creep each night into his sleeping mind, is also present. `Boogie On Reggae Woman' is a fun experiment, and cuts like `It Ain't No Use' and `They Wont Go When I Go' are powerful and atmospheric. The overall vibe here is slick and you really have to admire how this guy was able to keep crafting such consistent and varied albums each time out back in the day. Another essential piece of work.
Free Music Review: Fulfillingness First Finale
Hit: 5 Stars
Another master class from stevie. his song writing and production is unmistakeable. A living geniousFree Music Review: Fulfillingness Indeed
Hit: 5 Stars
Of all the amazing albums Stevie released in the 70's, this is definetely the weakest but it still warrants 5 stars. That alone says something about the WonderMan. As I usually do in my reviews, let's go song by song.
Smile Please: Stevie is first and foremost the visionary and optimist. Which can unfortunately make his music sometimes seem corny. This is one of those times. It is a beautiful song and it has one of the best lines of any of his work, "Love's not competing, it's on your side. You're in life's picture so why must you cry?" It's a weak opening for the album but again, it's Stevie so it's still better than half the stuff that passes for music today. Heaven Is Ten Zillion Light Years Away: One of the most spiritual songs he's ever written, and one of the best. Paul Anka, of all people, gives a soulful background vocal on this one. In it, Stevie tells us to realize that God lives inside of us all. Therefore be careful how you treat others. And, if you wonder where heaven is, we make our own. Too Shy to Say: The third example of what has become known as the Classic Stevie Wonder ballad (primarily piano, voice and bass). This is a heartfelt song of the lonliness of someone that sees their true love but for whatever reason, can't have them. A very country sounding slide guitar is added as an eerie, heart tugging effect. The song literally melts in love. Boogie On Reggae Woman: A funk based, semi-Reggae masterpiece. His drum playing snaps but the sound is almost tinny. His harmonica playing is funky and rough but yet exquiste. The vocals, barely understandable and funky. It's one of the roughest, playfulest songs he's ever done (in the same league as Don't You Worry 'Bout a Thing). And, most importantly...you can shake your tailfeathers to it! Creepin': Another great love song. It's about someone so in love They dream about it. It also harps back to Too Shy To Say because it seems that the person again is being ignored by or not known at all by the other lover. Minnie Riperton helps with the vocals on this one and her squeaky sweet voice is perfect for the song. The song also features another great harmonica solo. You Havne't Done Nothing: More funk coming your way in this one. Great piercing horn section, a great lead vocal and the funkiest synth riff since Superstition from the man himself AND great doo-wop from The Jackson Five in the middle of their hayday. How can you go wrong here? The song is a knock on Richard Nixon and his lies specifically but in reality, he's referring to all dishonest politicians. You can also shake your tailfeathers on this one but it's more of a militant march instead of a disco dance. One of his best political songs. It Ain't No Use: Another layered classic. This a great sing-along song with some good background vocal arrangements. They Won't Go When I Go: I look at it this way, if you ever decide to seriously study music and songwriting, there are 4 Stevie Wonder songs that will teach you about half of what you need to know. They are, Girl Blue from Music of My Mind, Living for The City from Innervisions, Lately from Hotter Than July, and They Won't go When I Go. With these songs you get lessons about timing, chord progression, key change, melody, harmony, major and minor keys, poly rhythms and the like. When you think of They Won't Go When I Go, don't think funky low down blues, think of a Bach requiem instead. This is a mournful song where Stevie is saying that no one will keep him from his goal of going to heaven. And when you think of it, if that was the goal for all of us, the world would be a better place. Beautiful harmony and keyboard arrangements backed by some pretty incredible background vocals (and of course another great lead vocal by The Man) takes this song to another level. A level not reached by many artist either before or after Stevie. It is the best song on the album by far. Bird of Beauty: This is another low point for the disc and unfortunately it follows the best song. Stevie sings about hey, if you're tired and stuff, don't take drugs, take a vacation! Yeah right. Again its the optimist Stevie winning over the logical Stevie. It's the equivelent of "Just Say NO", easy to do unless you're in the projects and have to walk through drug dealing territory everyday. A good message but not well thought out. Please Don't Go: Another great album finale. It's funk, blues and rock all mixed together as only Stevie could do. It's not the highlight of the album but it's way better then the song that proceeded it. It also featres another great vocal by The Man of course. So after everything is said and done, even though this album is the weakest of his 70's classics, it was still good enough to win the album of the year Grammy. Is that genius or what? Buy this album, you won't be disappointed.
Free Music Review: New Remastering Is a fullfillment in itself
Hit: 5 Stars
For an album that a)was a Billboard #1 hit b)won tons of Grammies including album of the year,FFF was released on CD in 1988 with not only a shoddy sound but the insert wasn't even a booklet,but a sheet with liner notes but no lyrics on one side and the cover reduced and surrounded with a "Florida Evans" orange border on the other.Now FFF has been remastered with a brighter,crisper sound whereas before it sounded like it was being channeled through an AM radio.Boogie On Reggae Woman staccato synth bassline no longer sounds like a scratched record,while Heaven..sound as transcending as its title promises.Bird Of Beauty benefits the most with its Latin-esque elements sonically at the forefront.Creepin' is more seductive than ever and no longer like a Classic IV clone.FFF's remastering,along with that of his other "Power 70s Albums" is a godsend for us Stevie fans who've had to put up with chopped up album sleeves,lost lyrics and fourth generation master sound.Free Music Review: Remastered Version
Hit: 5 Stars
I don't have anything to say in terms of the musical content of this album that hasn't already been stated below -- it's a splendid work. I do, however, want to chime in on the remastered disc in case you own the original CD and are wondering if it's worth shelling out the cash for yet another version. In short: it's definitely worth it. I'm usually underwhelmed by remasterings, but in the case of this album, remastering was long overdue. The original CD sounded flat and muffled. The remastered version is a major improvement -- it's nicely balanced and brings out all sorts of rich musical detail lost in the mush of the first CD pressing.