By shelz.

There is nothing I can say about Songs In the Key Of Life that would do it the justice it deserves.  The album’s critical accolades went far beyond simple wordy praise into the realm of jaw dropping looks of astonishment and uncontrollable sighs, shivers and tears.  The word wow might work… Flava Flav style. Yup, that’s about it.

So I’m not going to bore you with a lengthy explanation of Stevie’s genius or his take on racial issues, socio-economic problems or his ability to communicate the most intimate feelings of love and connection in song.  We knew he was a genius long before his 18^th album dropped, and we had reveled in his ability to create a masterpiece for decades.  Songs In the Key of Life was just another confirmation that Stevie Wonder was better than…well.. almost everything.

There are artists who rest on the laurels of that one classic piece of music they created and you can’t hate them for it because most artists never get around to creating anything near classic.  But know while Ron Browz still manages to get away with calling himself Ether Boy or people continue to rave about The Miseducation of Lauryn Hill, classic territory is a place Stevie found himself in over and over again.  (Innervisions came a mere three years prior to Songs…)

Think about it this way.  “Pastime Paradise” (Coolio didn’t change much did he?) and “Village Ghetto Land” (remember when Warren G sampled it?) weren’t  singles and “Saturn” wasn’t even included on the main LP; it was tossed in on an accompanying EP. Every song was a classic in itself.  There was no filler, no sub-par beat, no suspect lyricism and that’s an amazing feat considering the album weighed in at 21 songs.

It isn’t often that towering ambition is accompanied by precise execution.  Artists able to make that happen can probably be counted on two hands and possibly a couple of toes.  Stevie Wonder is one of those artists and he cemented that status with Songs In the Key of Life; an album that keenly sees through all of our ups and down and hurls them back at us with a brilliant force known only to Mr. Wonder.  It doesn’t get any better than this and it never will.

Happy Birthday to ya.

I’d say that the tracks below are the highlights of the album, but they aren’t.  Every song is a highlight, these are just my personal favorites.  Enjoy.

[wpaudio url=”http://planetill.com/wp-content/uploads/2011/09/Pastime-Paradise.mp3″ dl=”0″]

[wpaudio url=” http://planetill.com/wp-content/uploads/2011/09/As.mp3″ dl=”0″]

[wpaudio url=”http://planetill.com/wp-content/uploads/2011/09/Saturn.mp3″ dl=”0″]

[wpaudio url=”http://planetill.com/wp-content/uploads/2011/09/Sir-Duke1.mp3″ dl=”0″]

[wpaudio url=”http://planetill.com/wp-content/uploads/2011/09/Knocks-Me-Off-My-Feet1.mp3″ dl=”0″]

[wpaudio url=”http://planetill.com/wp-content/uploads/2011/09/I-Wish.mp3″ dl=”0″]

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