Month: May 2024
Stevie Wonder – Music Of My Mind (1972)
Music Of My Mind was a turning point in Stevie Wonder’s career. After several Motown hits in the 60s, he was given full creative control for the first time with this album. That meant he was able to bring in electronic music pioneers, Malcolm Cecil and Robert Margouleff along with their TONTO synthesizer. The results are immediate on the dirty funk synths and bass of “Love Having You Around”, a groovy track about a partner with the mantra “everyday I want to fly my kite”.
The first single was an edited version of the heartfelt 8 minute album version “Superwoman”. The first half of the song, Wonder sings of a partner who wants to be a movie star then the second he sings of not having her around. With the first couple of tracks coming in at extended times, there is still room for pop songs. The hard to believe it was not a single, “I Love Every Little Thing About You” is joyous soulful pop confection.
Second single “Keep on Running” is excitement from the get go. An underlying piano noise keeps the tension until the funky chorus appears. It’s an exhilarating soul track to get people moving. Album closer “Evil” has an epic sound, like a Sunday morning gospel song put through synthesizers. On Music Of My Mind, It’s not only remarkable that Wonder plays most of the instruments but that these warm, joyful, and beautiful songs rarely appear on Greatest Hits albums. They are instead mostly confined to this 1972 album that kicked off his run of classic albums.
9/10
Vampire Weekend – Only God Was Above Us (2024)
“F**ck the world” are the first lyrics heard on Vampire Weekend’s fifth album, Only God Was Above Us. Even with that lyric, the song starts off slow then really picks up with a galloping beat and furious strings a stringing. Like several songs on the album, “Classical” has a rap beat at it’s heart then adds some jazzy horns. The Surfer, cowritten with former band member Rostam Badmanglig, also has a hip hop feel though this time it’s more of a lazy, hazy beat. Koenig’s art school lyrics reach their heights on Mary Boone, the New York art dealer and collector on a track that also incorporates Soul II Soul’s smash “Back to Life”.
Where the album really shines on Ezra Koenig’s songs is the instrumentation of the main trio, including drummer Chris Thomson and bassist Chris Baio. The piano break on first single “Capricorn”, the jazzy bass of “Connect”, the excellent drumming of “Hope” is what really stands out on the 10 track album. While the second half drags slightly, the album never really falls off the tracks and there are plenty of terrific moments like the ones mentioned. The preppy New York aesthetic is still there but they also travel downtown to add excellent jazz and rap elements as the band expands their sound.
8/10
The Light Appears 