Most Helpful Customer Reviews
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13 of 13 people found the following review helpful:
4.0 out of 5 stars
"Didn't know you would be jammin' until the break of dawn??", January 10, 2005
I'll be the first to admit that it took me a solid 4 or 5 times of listening too it before I really liked it. This album is very much "80's" and is quite different from Wonder's previous masterpieces. It took me a while to get used to this new style Stevie was using, but after that it stands in my mind as a truly great album.
One thing about any of his albums is that they do not lack any depth lyrically, Hotter than July is no exception. He's on point as ever with "Rocket Love" & "Cash In Your Face". Musically this album is more fast paced and jams more so than his previous efforts. "Did I Hear You Say You Love Me", is a great groove and "I Ain't Gonna Stand For It" is a quite impressive track with the inclusion of country elements. "Do Like You" is a solid track, and perhaps the only one I skip is "As if You Read My Mind" (You might not though). What makes this album work more than any other factor is musical gems found on here. "All I Do" & "Master Blaster" are both classics in his catalogue & of course "Lately" is one of his finest (both musically and lyrically). "Happy Birthday" is also essential if only because of its historical value. Despite the strength of some individual tracks it does lack the overall as an album that we've previously come to expect with Wonder. But, what you have is a 45 min run time album that is just full of solid tracks. It's truly a testament to Stevie Wonder that, while many great artists of the 70's collapsed when they tried to adapt to the 80's style (look no further than Led Zeppelin), he was able to still convey his musical genius.
This album is definitely not a masterpiece, nor close to touching the genius of his previous albums. Perhaps it's not his best, but does that take away from it? Are we just too spoiled by his previous efforts? Bottom line: It's still simply a great album and only further adds on to Wonder's legacy. One of the best albums released from the 80's era.
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9 of 9 people found the following review helpful:
4.0 out of 5 stars
An impulse buy that paid off for this 24 year-old..., April 11, 2001
I saw 'Hotter Than July' at a record store being sold at a decent price, and noted that it included songs that I recognized by name: "Rocket Love", "Happy Birthday", "Lately", and "Master Blaster (Jammin)". On impulse, I bought it.I'm glad I did. You see, "All I Do" has been remade into a dance/techno song by a British group called the Cleptomaniacs this year; so when I heard the original - it just made me feel so enlightened. For the record I prefer Mr. Wonder's version, but both versions of "All I Do" are enjoyable. "Lately" was immortalized by an R&B group named Jodeci in the spring/summer of 1992; and they actually performed the song with Stevie on the Arsenio Hall show - and it was great. "Lately" (for me) is a sad and moving song that is also very beautiful. It scares me to think that as late as 1980 we still didn't celebrate Dr. Martin Luther King's birthday as a national holiday; but hey, at least now I know the words to the whole song besides the chorus. "Happy Birthday" serves as a wonderful finale to the album. But my favorite song on here would have to be "Rocket Love". My favorite Stevie Wonder songs are the slower, or midtempo songs that seem to just float, and take you on majestic, magic carpet rides. "Send One Your Love", "Superwoman" and "Ribbon In The Sky" do this for me. But something tells me this isn't his absolute best album (assuming they can be ranked)...and from what I've been able to gather, 'Innervisions' and 'Songs In The Key Of Life' seem to be the top two. At any rate, just know that this disc is a good investment. I'm listening to it right now as I type this. It's on "Lately"... Thanks for reading.
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7 of 7 people found the following review helpful:
4.0 out of 5 stars
An overlooked classic, September 4, 2003
To start, the only reason I'm giving this album 4 stars is becuase the review only goes as high as 5 stars. This is not in the same league as Stevie's 70's masterpieces but I still feel that it's one of the best albums of the 80's. The title is basically talking about the world of music being hotter than July. In other words, there's a lot going on in regards to musical taste. At the time of the album release, rock was still going strong, country was becoming more popular, Bob Marley had brought Reggae to the masses, and the world was waiting for a new Stevie Wonder album after the confusing, at least to most of the public, Secret Life OF Plants album. This was it. The album sold quickly and had a top 10 hit with Masterblaster and Happy Birthday. I usually do my reviews by going song by song but this album boast a song so amazing that I have to give it it's due. That song is Lately. First off though, I will mention the other 2 songs that should be given their due too.
Ain't Gonna Stand For It.: Stevie goes country, in a playful way. This song is another romp in the same league as Say it 'Cause I Love Having You Around and Don't You Worry 'Bout A Thing. It's a great dance song and in the middle section Stevie really rocks out. Don't take this song seriously. Just have fun with it.
Happy Birthday: This is basically a sing-a-long. Nothing really special musically going on in it. So why am I including it as one of 3 significant songs on the album? Mainly because of the public importance of the song. Can music actually make laws? This one did. Stevie wrote this in honor of Rev. Dr. Martin Luthur King, Jr. and it was the theme song throughout the efforts to make his birthday a national holiday, which Stevie spearheaded. Within one year of campaigning, President Reagan signed the bill to bring the holiday to life. This song will live on as the soundtrack to the campaign and also as the new way we all sing happy birthday at birthday parties around the world.Lately: To me, there are 5 songs that made the 80's. I Still Haven't Found What I'm Looking For by U2, Every Breath You Take by the Police, Billy Jean by Michael Jackson, When Doves Cry by Prince and Lately. Of the 5 Lately is the least known, although in the past few years more and more people have come to know it's greatness. Stevie has always been ahead of his time and Lately is just anothe examlpe of that. Let's look at it on two different levels.
Musically: The song is in a major key but yet 90% of the chords heard are minor 7ths. Something never done before in popular music.When this song originally came out in 1980, these chords were so strange I remember my friends asking, what happened to Stevie? Did he go tone deaf because this whole song is out of tune! Twenty-three years later we hear it and it doesn't sound strange at all. Because of this song, these types of chord arrangements have become common when referring to some of the better artist of the last decade. These minor 7ths help the atmosphere of mystery and confusion in the song. Another interesting thing Stevie does, on the piano part, he continually plays these two 8th notes in the bass section. This represents the thoughts that go through our mind when we suspect that we're losing our lover. With these 8th notes he plays with dissonance. He plays the same note even though the chord has changed. The chorus of the song includes a clash if you will, of huge minor 7th chords that climb to a major. For the climax, he holds down the pedal on the piano that makes the note linger as he plays these chords again. This make for even more dissonance. Why so much? How do you feel when you think you're going to lose your lover? Not too happy and in tune I bet. That's why so much dissonance. At the end of the song Stevie changes keys but not the way it's normally done in popular music. He climbs to three keys higher than the original key of the song. The song finally ends in yet another key that could represent either the end of the relationship or a new beginning. You make the choice. Quincy Jones uses this same technique less than a year later on his classic "The Dude album on the song Just Once. Not to mention a number of other songs throughout the 80's and 90's that have used the "key change, you make the call" trick.
Lyrically: The song is about losing a lover to someone else. In other words, it's about cheatin'. Stevie says he has a feeling that something is going on but doesn't have a really vivid reason to suspect anything. In the chorus, he sings "Well I'm a man of many wishes, hope my premonition misses". Stevie is the optimist you know. But in this song he speaks for all of us. We don't want to admit the truth. But, as he says, "But what I really feel, my eyes won't let me hide. 'Cause they always start to cry. 'Cause this time could mean goodbye". A line so simple and yet so powerful. The second verse starts with Stevie wondering why he is with this person, "Lately I've been staring in the mirror, very slowly picking me apart. Trying to tell myself I have no reason with your heart". The "picking me apart" line is really interesting. When you're in a predicament like that, how often have you sat there wondering about yourself? You think, what's wrong with me instead of thinking, why is he/she doing this to me?
Lately is a masterpiece of songwriting. It is an art song in the same league as anything Chopin or Liszt has done. Yet it deals with something that everyone has felt. Whether their rich, poor, educated or not. You will feel this song in your bones. Listen to it again and again. Hotter Than July is a very good album with some good songs on it. Lately brings it up to another level.
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~ Stevie Wonder
~ Stevie Wonder
~ Stevie Wonder
~ Stevie Wonder
~ Stevie Wonder
by Stevie Wonder 
