In celebration of the album’s 50th anniversary, I decided to take on the grand task of reviewing not only one of the greatest R&B albums of all time, but one of the most influential bodies of work in the history of music, Songs In The Key of Life by Stevie Wonder. For starters, Stevie Wonder can easily be described as a once in a generation talent. Despite not having his sight, he can play multiple instruments such as the piano and the harmonica like nobody’s business, and his vocal ability is undeniable. Before the R&B legend dropped Songs In The Key of Life in 1976, he was already setting Motown Records on fire with timeless projects that still hold up to this day including Music of My Mind, Talking Book, Innervisions, Fulfillingness’ First Finale, and many others. (Fun Fact: Music of My Mind contains one of my favorite songs of all time, Superwoman (Where Were You When I Needed You). One of the first songs I ever heard so masterfully execute a multi-part song structure.) Each one of these albums showcased Stevie Wonder’s musical skill not just through his song structure and instrumentation, but also through his thought provoking lyricism that ranged between subject matters of love and the human condition. Songs In The Key of Life is arguably the artist’s magnum opus in which all of these aspects are at their most prominent. As the title of the album implies, Stevie is not only singing about his personal experiences, but also taking listeners on a journey through life itself. This album had a runtime of over 90 minutes, and usually I shy away from albums of this length, but when the themes are this deep and the music is this good, a longer runtime is more than necessary. The themes that this album tackles range from love and spirituality to family and race relations. The album quite literally begins with a call to action, encouraging listeners to spread love to one another instead of hate. Whether Wonder is singing about his spiritual faith on a track like Have a Talk With God, utilizing tracks such as Village Ghetto Land or Pastime Paradise as pieces of social commentary addressing poverty or being stuck in the past, using tracks such as Knocks Me Off My Feet, Summer Soft, or Ordinary Pain to address the euphoric bliss and also the searing heartbreak that comes with love and relationships, using tracks such as Sir Duke and Black Man to emphasize that importance of African Americans’ contributions to music and culture throughout history, addressing how the fleeting nature of life can be the very thing that makes it beautiful on tracks such as If It’s Magic, or even singing about the joys of being a father on legendary tracks such as Isn’t She Lovely, Songs In The Key of Life is a beautiful kaleidoscope of all of the emotions that make up life as a whole. Keep in mind, I didn’t even mention the production yet. Alongside Wonder’s incredible vocals are self-produced arrangements and instrumentation that can only be described as sound that is uniquely his. The use of different musical styles such as funk and jazz, accompanied by the use of a variety of instruments used to convey different emotions (horns being some of my favorites on this album), made tracks such as As and I Wish sound just like the love and nostalgia they were trying to convey to listeners. I could talk about this masterpiece of an album for hours, but there is good reason why it has stood the test of time for so long. Many of the tracks of this album are already hits that have been heard on almost every single radio station, but I strongly recommend putting on some headphones and listening to this entire project from beginning to end. You’ll be so glad you did, and the way you listen to or appreciate the medium of music could possibly change for the better. Favorite Tracks: Love’s In Need of Love Today, Sir Duke, I Wish, Knocks Me Off My Feet, Summer Soft, Isn’t She Lovely, As
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