Track Listing

1. Too High
2. Visions
3. Living For The City
4. Golden Lady
5. Higher Ground
6. Jesus Children Of America
7. All In Love Is Fair
8. Don't You Worry About A Thing
9. He's Misstra Know It All

Product Details

• Amazon Sales Rank: #55421 in Music
• Released on: 2000-04-14
• Number of discs: 1
• Formats: Limited Edition, Original recording remastered

Amazon.co.uk Review
One of Stevie Wonder's best albums, and the one where his more fanciful, free-form moments gel perfectly with his knack for irresistible pop singles, 1973's Innervisions swings between delicate and airy ballads, Latin-influenced rhythms (the hit "Don't Worry 'Bout A Thing"), and his own synth-heavy versions of gut-bucket soul (the determined spiritual questing of "Higher Ground"). The striking juxtaposition between "Vision", a barely breathed hope that a world of peace might be upon us, and the great "Living For The City", a funky, pulsing tale of racism is powerful, haunting and still all too relevant. --David Cantwell

CD Description
After breaking away from the Motown singles mode, Wonder began creating albums that were visionary in concept, sound, and construction. The greatest of these is 1973's INNERVISIONS (1976's SONG IN THE KEY OF LIFE was also an indisputable masterpiece, yet it lacks the economy and focus of INNERVISIONS). Moving largely away from romantic themes (the beautiful"Golden Lady" is the exception), Wonder tackles the socio-cultural landscape of 1970s America, including drugs, urban life, and crooked politicians, in addition to questions of identity, faith, and idealism.
The album is also more musically ambitious than anything Wonder had attempted before. "Too High", the album's opener, has a buoyant, jazzy feel witha subtly complex interaction between instruments and vocals. "Livin' for the City" is a story-song with a stomping beat, gospel flavour, and a dramatic interlude and outro. The churning "Higher Ground" segues into the fierce, slinky grooveof "Jesus Children of America" (complete with burbling Arp and Moog synthesizers). The intensity of these songs is not mitigated by the slower songs, which are equally stirring, but by the exuberant, Latin-esque "Don't You Worry 'Bout A Thing", one of the album's highlights. From beginning to end, INNERVISIONS is a work of genius--a powerful, complex, yet accessible pop masterpiece.

Customer Reviews

Stevie's best album
While the conventional wisdom has "Songs in the Key of Life" as SWs best album, I found it to be a little long winded, with too many tracks running out of ideas/steam long before their end,

On Inner Visions IMHO, we find him with a collection of songs which hang together beautifully, which is perfectly paced, and without a duff track. The familiar hits need no introduction, and those which never made a single release are as strong.

When this album was released, Stevie was pushing the boundaries , developing the synthesiser sound he had pioneered on Music of my Mind" and "Talking Book", taking Soul music (and music in general in fact) to new places.

If you are in any way a fan of modern R & B, you need this album to find out where the sound came from, if you are a fan of Soul or Funk, it is indispensible.

The best and most thematic Stevie Wonder album
Stevie Wonder once explained that "Talking Book" was a collection of better songs, but that "Innervisions" was a better overall statement, especially in terms of his sense of spirituality. Certainly this 1973 album is more coherent thematically. "Higher Ground" and "Living For The City" represent the pinnacle of his songwriter, working on such a different level. "Superstition" might be my favorite Stevie Wonder song, but it is not his best song, if that makes any sense. The ballads "Golden Lady" and "All in Love is Fair," along with "Doncha Worry Bout a Thing," and "Jesus Children of America," are the non-hits that more than justify picking up "Innvervisions" instead of stopping with the latest Stevie Wonder hit collection (e.g., "The Definitive Collection"). Add "Talking Book" to the mix and that would be the minimum essential requirements for the Stevie Wonder section of your music library.

Wonder's best - sweetest soul ballads to latin jazz-funk
Can a Moog be made to serenade? You bet it can. Stevie is blasting on all cylinders here - the album's moody, moralistic, funky, emotionally soulful.
There's the warning of being swept away by drug-induced euphoria in "Too High" but you will be carried off even higher by the "Golden Lady". "Livin' just enough for the city" and "Misstra know-it-all" will sadden - it's easy to identify with the victims.
Heart-rendering stuff.