Innervisions  

From The Art and Popular Culture Encyclopedia

Related e

Wikipedia Wiktionary Shop Featured: Rhombicuboctahedron by Leonardo da Vinci

Innervisions is the sixteenth album by American musician Stevie Wonder, released August 3, 1973 on Motown Records; a landmark recording of his "classic period". The nine tracks of Innervisions encompass a wide range of themes and issues: from drug abuse in "Too High," through social anger in "Living for the City," to love in the ballads "All in Love is Fair" and "Golden Lady."

As with many of Stevie Wonder's albums the lyrics, composition and production are almost entirely his own work, with the ARP synthesizer used prominently throughout the album. This instrument was a common motif among musicians of the time because of its ability to construct a complete sound environment. Wonder was the first black artist to experiment with this technology on a mass scale, and Innervisions was hugely influential on the subsequent future of commercial black music. He also played all or virtually all instruments on six of the album's nine tracks, making most of Innervisions a representative one-man band.

Track listing

All songs written, produced, and arranged by Stevie Wonder.

Side one

1. "Too High" – 4:36
   • Stevie Wonder – lead vocal, Fender Rhodes, harmonica, drums, Moog bass
   • Lani Groves – background vocal
   • Tasha Thomas – background vocal
   • Jim Gilstrap – background vocal
2. "Visions" – 5:23
   • Stevie Wonder – lead vocal, Fender Rhodes
   • Malcolm Cecil – upright bass
   • Dean Parks – acoustic guitar
   • David "T" Walker – electric guitar
3. "Living for the City" – 7:22
   • Stevie Wonder – lead vocal, background vocals, Fender Rhodes, drums, Moog bass, T.O.N.T.O. synthesizer, handclaps
4. "Golden Lady" – 4:58
   • Stevie Wonder – lead vocal, piano, drums, Moog bass, T.O.N.T.O. synthesizer
   • Clarence Bell – Hammond organ
   • Ralph Hammer – acoustic guitar
   • Larry "Nastyee" Latimer – congas

Side two

1. "Higher Ground" – 3:42
   • Stevie Wonder – lead vocal, Hohner clavinet, drums, Moog bass
2. "Jesus Children of America" – 4:10
   • Stevie Wonder – lead vocal, background vocal, Fender rhodes, Hohner clavinet, handclaps, drums, Moog bass
3. "All in Love Is Fair" – 3:41
   • Stevie Wonder – lead vocal, piano, Fender Rhodes, drums
   • Scott Edwards – electric bass
4. "Don't You Worry 'bout a Thing" – 4:44
   • Stevie Wonder – lead vocal, background vocal, piano, drums, Moog bass
   • Yusuf Roahman – shaker
   • Sheila Wilkerson – bongos, Latin gourd
5. "He's Misstra Know-It-All" – 5:35
   • Stevie Wonder – lead vocal, background vocal, piano, drums, handclaps, T.O.N.T.O. synthesizer, congas
   • Willie Weeks – electric bass

Personnel

• Recordist – Dan Barbiero, Austin Godsey
• Tape operator – Gary Olazabal
• Mastering – George Marino
• Recording coordinators – John Harris, Ira Tucker Jr.
• Synthesizer programming – Robert Margouleff, Malcolm Cecil
• Album art – Efram Wolff

Charts

See also

• List of number-one R&B albums of 1973 (U.S.)