Quintessence

In 1976, and although he has only twenty-six, Stevie Wonder released his seventeenth album "Songs in the Key of Life." It must be said that the composer-singer-songwriter-multi-instrumentalist had released his first album at the age of twelve. From there to speak of genius there is a step, that we will avoid jumping because the term is perhaps a bit overused ...

Stevie Wonder, is above all a very original musical creator and exceptional songwriter, capable of laying a memorable and catchy melodies by humming a simple "lalala". The absolute class and the magic of simplicity.
In 1972 he realized an album entitled Music Of My Mind, considered one of his best and on which he wrote, composed, sang and played all the instruments completely alone! Not bad for a blind artist since early childhood!

"Songs in the Key of Life" is his first double album and includes a total of twenty-one titles, among the best of his work. The replay hindsight is impressive if we measure the number of songs that were included (and some know only as these occasions, too!), Since many years now.
For a long time I have heard say that this is then a concept album (which is true) turned to the world of jazz-rock (which is false). In short, one of the first albums, "fusion" of modern variety. I do not know if it is the first album "fusion", but in any case it is inhabited by a multitude of musical influences, that's for sure.
It still remains a pure album of soul music, with most of the songs directly from the musical world (not least the magnificent "Love's In Need Of Love Today", which opens the first disc). The largest share of the titles are simply songs from Stevie Wonder, such that he wrote in tens at the time, carried by an impressive creative intensity and inhabited by existential and spiritual themes that are reflected in the album title.

The arrangement of each piece is particularly careful and ambitious and Stevie does not hesitate to call with orchestras including the "Village Ghetto Land" (third title of the album), entirely played by conventional instruments.
The jazz-rock statement above is indeed present but interferes in all on some tracks, like "Contusion" (Fourth beach, fully instrumental).
The tubes are legions, with "Sir Duke" (fifth title), "I Wish" (Sixth), "Pastime Paradise" (eighth title with a rhythmic hip-hop so before the time that the song will obviously be taken up later by rappers!), "Is not She Lovely" (eleventh, for six minutes of declaration of love to a girl with harmonica solo and endless laughter toddler and his mom!), "As" ( sixteenth. Perhaps one of the most beautiful songs of the album), "Another Star" (seventeenth, with eight minutes Latin rhythm to dance an iceberg), all coated by the inimitable signature and innate sense of melody, unique to the artist.
The ballads are of course waiting for you, with some securities to fall on the pillow, like "Knocks Me Off My Feet" (Seventh beach), "Summer Soft" (ninth), "Joy Inside My Tears" (twelfth ) "If It's Magic" (fifteenth, only worn by a harp arpeggio!) and "Easy Goin 'Evening (My Mama's Call)," the twenty-first and last title of the album.
Some songs are simply the order of pop music, including "Ebony Eyes" (nineteenth beach).
Some titles are rather unclassifiable kind of mixture between soul, pop and jazz, as beautiful and haunting "Ordinary Pain" (tenth beach, which completed the first disk), with its core loop and its multitude of instruments , "Saturn" (eighteenth title rather conceptual and fairly "new-age"), "All Day Sucker" (twentieth title rock'n'roll guitar solo or hard rock!), and the very impressive " Black Man "and his groove mixture (copper side) and jazz (low side with a" tapping "of hell).

To accompany him on this adventure, Stevie Wonder has enlisted the participation of forty musicians (we speak here of musicians, not to mention the band!) And no less than ninety singers, with guests prestigious as George Benson and Herbie Hancock! In short, "Songs in the Key of Life" is the album of superlatives from all the ambitions of all follies, and incidentally the masterpiece of one of the major authors of black music. ..