Review Retrospective: Stevie Wonder

I first reviewed Stevie Wonder in February 2017. He was among the artists reviewed for Black History Month that year:

https://sporkful.blogspot.com/2017/02/band-review-stevie-wonder.html

Wonder was definitely releasing songs during my youth, though he'd had a long career before that. Even now a lot of the songs that I respond to most are from about 1985 to 1995, but an important part of listening to everything was finding out how much more there was.

In that first review, I mentioned about twenty songs. I knew I would have to do more.

The next step was spotlighting him with the daily songs. Starting with "Happy Birthday" on Martin Luther King Day 2019, I gave him all of the slots through Valentine's Day, for a total of of 25 songs.

I knew that eventually I would need to listen more, and started to realize that what I really needed was a playlist. That way I could easily periodically refresh my memory on how many songs I liked, and which.

So, even though he has had many song of the day, it was clear that he needed his own post on the retrospective.

Getting here was a lengthy process. I had listened to the whole catalog -- or at least thought I had -- back in 2017. When I went back to do it again, I started with The Complete Stevie Wonder, over 39 hours, and containing 579 songs.

I was sure that I had not heard some of it before, especially some of the live tracks. What I remember most was that I had no memories of "Tomorrow Robins Will Sing", even though I had definitely listened to that album. Maybe I just needed it more later. I played it on election day 2020, with hope.

Then I went through the studio albums again, taking notes. This week I have been going through the notes.

One thing I find is that there are songs that I want to highlight that are not necessarily my favorite, but I still feel their importance. Maybe I don't even want them in the playlist, but I want to remember they exist, because there will be situations that they fit. Perhaps listening to all of Stevie Wonder every few years is just a necessity for me.

Listening this round built on to the earlier review, expanding my understanding from before. 

It struck me in 2017 that "Sir Duke" was a tribute that came after death prevented them from collaborating. That should feel mournful, but it is such a joyful song. Putting that with "Happy Birthday" for Dr. Martin Luther King Jr., maybe a part of Stevie Wonder's genius is to face a loss and be able to celebrate what was gained from that presence. Sometimes I have a hard time not focusing on the loss, so I can learn from that.

Another thought was that once again listening to "Don't Drive Drunk", that is a weird song and feels like completely the wrong tone. I wondered if it were a misfire, but it is on the soundtrack to The Woman in Red, which I suspect would be a very annoying movie. Is the song a misfire if the things that are weird about it work with the movie it was supposed to?

I probably should watch at least one of the movies he composed for, to better appreciate that aspect. 

The daily songs for this week will not include a lot of my favorite songs, but they have already been songs of the day, in 2017 and 2019, and it felt right to focus on some of his message songs.

Daily songs:

”Happy Birthday” by Stevie Wonder -- It would make so much sense to pair this with "Sir Duke", but it also makes sense to pair it with these historical songs, even though the next one was not yet about history when it came out.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=RcVZfJO01NI

“It's Wrong (Apartheid)” by Stevie Wonder -- Released in 1985, nine years before it would end, Wonder was also arrested that year for protesting at the South African embassy.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=wbG3zIs4Q4E

“Black Man” by Stevie Wonder -- There are still so many people who will try and erase history, and then complain about history being erased.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=XCX2o7zOzg8

Then, there is kind of a shift from the past to the future, with songs focusing on hope and love. But not "Positivity"; I thought that might be over the top.

“Take Up A Course In Happiness” by Stevie Wonder -- I didn't think this one was going to stick, but it kept coming back to me.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=doUSykutK1w

“Tomorrow Robins Will Sing” by Stevie Wonder, featuring Edley Shine -- Using it for an election again, this time for local school boards. Speaking of people who want to erase history!
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=OzgP0xlycz0

“Conversation Peace” by Stevie Wonder -- Preparation for war does not bring peace.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=GNzCj5ZiU14

“A Time To Love” by Stevie Wonder featuring India.Arie -- Is it time yet? Are we ready for this?
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-WtI2kcywM4