Artist:Stevie Wonder
Song:Another Star
Album:Songs In The Key Of Life
Stevie Wonder was already an extraordinary talent as a teenager but adulthood allowed him to take more control of his music. This revealed him to be more talented than anyone knew. His music became more sophisticated and had a deeper meaning. His 1972 album Talking Book was a huge success and eventually he decided to record an even more ambitious album. The result is 1976's Songs In The Key Of Life. The only problem was it took forever for him to record it. Motown got on his case and it was finally released as a 2LP set with an extra single. It has some of Stevie's best songs including Another Star but in retrospect one can see some self indulgence. Maybe he could have cut some songs or split it into two albums. It's still great and is available on two CDs now. Stevie's self indulgence would become more apparent with the mostly instrumental The Secret Life Of Plants and then he lost his edge in the 80s and became sappy and sentimental. It's only with his 2005 CD A Time To Love that he seems to be returning to form. So Stevie Wonder is a genius but a flawed genius just the same. Here is Stevie Wonder performing Another Star in Madrid, Spain Apr. 17, 1995.
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