songs in the key of life (stevie wonder)
A very impressive, versatile pop album. As far as I can tell there are three clusters of lyrical themes- songs about love, songs about lost love, and a surprisingly high number of songs about social consciousness.
The album varies between softer, slower numbers and upbeat, hook-laden, funky pop. The first song that startled me was "Village Ghetto Land," because the melody is very tender and elegant, all strings; and then the lyrics are a very stark social/political lament. "All Day Sucker" is a great song and it sounds like a definite influence on more recent pop- I can absolutely picture this song covered by N'Sync (I mean it as a compliment.)
I liked a whole lot of the songs, particularly "Sir Duke," a classic single which evokes the spirit of 1920s jazz clubs; "I Wish," an especially brilliant, upbeat single; "Contusion" is a fun instrumental, and I might be using the term incorrectly but it made me think of 'jazz fusion'; "Pastime Paradise" (I did not know that Coolio was sampling this song); "If It's Magic," based entirely around his vocals and a harp, is particularly sad and pretty among his sad and pretty 'lost love' songs; and "Black Man" is exhilarating, both as an uplifting, funky work of pop and as a defiant, proud social statement.
The only thing I found tiresome about the music is that, more than one track gets a little repetitive or dragged-out near the end. But altogether this is a masterful collection of exciting melodies and interesting themes.
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