Innervisions [Vinyl]

Stevie Wonder | Format: Vinyl

Product Details

• Vinyl (April 1, 2008)
• Number of Discs: 1
• Label: Vinyl Lovers
• ASIN: B0015I2UAO
• Also Available in: Audio CD  |  Audio Cassette  |  Vinyl  |  MP3 Download
• Average Customer Review: 5.0 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (54 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #251,867 in Music (See Top 100 in Music)

Track Listings

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

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

18 of 18 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars STEVIE PROVES HIS VISION IS LIMITLESS., December 7, 1999

By A Customer

This review is from: Innervisions (Audio CD)

Listening to the sheer breadth of the music presented here, it's hard to believe Stevie Wonder was all of 23 when he released this masterpiece. Continuing a very fruitful collaboration with synth wizards Bob Marguleouff and Malcolm Cecil, Wonder made what is, in my opinion, his most accomplished album ever. Avoiding the artistic excesses that would threaten to topple his later works (1976's "Songs In The Key Of Life" being the most notable example), Stevie perfected his sound, production and vocal delivery on these 9 flawless numbers. "Too High" opens with a bouncing, funky bass/synth line that remains the focal point throughout this jazzy, bracing track which also features superb backing vocals by Lani Groves and Jim Gilstrap. Stevie's cymbal-accented drumming and keyboard work are also miracles unto themselves. This knockout opener segues directly into "Visions" a heartbreakingly beautiful acoustic number envisioning a perfect, "milk and honey land, where hate is a dream, and love forever stands". Sung with an almost childlike innocence, Stevie concludes each verse with the longing question "is this a vision in my mind?" Positively breathtaking. (Special Note: Before the final verse, after a brief pause in the music as the vibes and guitars fade momentarily into silence, listen as Stevie takes a deep breath before continuing the vocal passage, it almost breaks your heart.) This vision of utopia is abruptly interrupted by the looming, deep, almost ominous sounding synthesizer intro to the timeless "Living For The City" (remember Spike Lee's brilliant use of this in "Jungle Fever", and how it blew away every other song in the movie?)From the insistent, pounding rhythm of this song, Stevie's astoundingly detailed lyrics,(you can truly see all of the people he describes in this piece) to the still terrifying vision of the boy from Mississippi arriving in New York City and quickly being set up for arrest and imprisonment, this song has lost none of it's impact almost 27 years after being recorded. Stevie's vocals on this track are extremely impressive, alternating between high-pitched on the choruses to low and (literally) growling on the final verse, perfectly matching the hard and gritty reality of New York faced by the songs protagonist. Still his scariest song ever, and one of his funkiest. "Living"... gives way to the beautiful piano intro and breezy, effortless balladry of the underrated "Golden Lady". Sporting one of his loveliest melodies ever, this song closes side one on a romantic, hopeful note with Stevie repeating the chorus several times into the fade, letting the euphoric feeling wash over the listener. Side Two opens with the outstanding, one man band effort "Higher Ground" Everything Stevie does well is presented here, searing vocals, social commentary in the lyrics, driving drums, funky bass and even funkier clavinet, this was the album's biggest radio hit and still gets your head nodding to the bounding rhythm everytime. Witness his vocal whoooo! after the last chorus and you can tell he knows this one is a smoker too! Fading directly into "Jesus Children of America" another bass synth heavy mid-tempo number that touches on quite a few topics lyrically, from the homeless, religion, trancendental meditation, and drug use that sounds like a warning signal to each of us to awaken from our spiritual and moral complacency. "Al In Love Is Fair" follows and slowly works it's way into your subconcious, with it's simple, straightforward arrangement and passionate vocal delivery, another perfect song on an album chock-full of creativity. The somber mood is lifted immediately by the playful piano figure and playful foreign language come-on at the intro to "Don't You Worry 'Bout A Thing". The Latin-flavored arrangement and percussive textures make this another ear pleaser. Stevie's double-tracked vocals on the bridge are also spine tingling, you simply can't resist smiling when you hear him harmonize with himself! The largely acoustic "He's Misstra Know It All" closes out the proceedings on a relaxed yet uplifting note with the background repeating the smooth chorus over and over as the tunes drifts along on a bed of piano, laid back bass and drums bringing the track to it's gospel-tinged crescendo. A perfect close to a perfect album. R&B, pop, rock or whatever you choose to call it, this album has stood, and will continue to stand the test of time. This is indispensible and belongs in any comprehensive music collection.

12 of 12 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars What else to say ... a classic, May 26, 2000

By 

Thomas Aikin (San Diego, CA) - See all my reviews
(REAL NAME)   

This review is from: Innervisions (Numbered, Limited Edition Digi-Pak) (Audio CD)

Growing up my musical interest was primarily classic rock and classical. In college I finally started endeavoring to understand jazz. Now I have favorites from about every stlye out there. Inexplicably, "Innervisions" didn't make it into my collection until a couple of months ago and I must say I've been missing out. Sure I was familiar with Stevie Wonder, but the album quickly rose to being ranked among my personal favorites and comparable to albums like "Abbey Road" and "Dark Side of the Moon" as genre-transcendent masterpieces. "Innversions" perhaps even more than the aforementioned titles is an absolute amalgam of genres and styles, seamlessly blended. From the funky standards "Higher Ground" and "Living for the City" to the gorgeous ballads "Visions" and "All in Love is Fair" Stevie doesn't pen a single dud. My personal favorite would probably have to be the album-closing "He's Missta Know-it-all". A song that confounds with its sentimental story of a fairly despicable character. The kicker is the excellent remastering on this disc. I never owned the original and can't compare, but have to say this is one of the best sounding, clearest, and deepest CDs out of my collection of more than 800. On top of that it is a limited edition offering. So what are you waiting for? This is an album that can truly appeal to just about any music fan. Even pretentious indie-rock types can't say anything negative. Truly a timeless masterpiece.

8 of 8 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Hard not to be redundant, November 2, 2000

By 

Eric V. Moye (New York, by way of Dallas) - See all my reviews
(REAL NAME)   

This review is from: Innervisions (Numbered, Limited Edition Digi-Pak) (Audio CD)

Why they made five stars.

Stevie's best work to that time. Wonderful storytelling, in "Living For The City". Inspiration in "Higher Ground" and especially "Jesus Children of America". Love songs (of course) in "All In Love Is Fair". The reproduction on this disc is positively stunning. After not listening to this for more than a decade, the CD knocked me out.

Eddie Murphy was correct: STEVIE WONDER IS A MUSICAL GENIUS