“Songs in the Key of Life” by Stevie Wonder
70s week concludes with one of the greatest albums of all time, period.
Programming note: This week, I'm spotlighting some of my favorite records released between 1970 and 1979. I've selected albums that cover multiple genres and deliberately avoided the well-worn titles that top all "best of" lists for this decade. In other words, this week's theme isn't an excuse to restate tired talking points on the likes of Dark Side of the Moon and Rumors.
Hope you enjoy it!
Hello! 😊👋
Welcome to a new edition of the Daily Music Picks newsletter!
Today’s 70s music pick is among the decade’s most towering achievements, a virtuoso double album from one of music’s true geniuses.
Genre: Funk, Soul
Label: Motown
Release Date: September 28, 1976
Vibe: 💯
I’m happy to say I have at least one thing in common with Elton John, Prince, and Mariah Carey: all of us consider Stevie Wonder’s Songs in the Key of Life as one of the greatest, most awe-inspiring albums of all time. It came hot on the heels of R&B’s most influential voice winning Grammys for Album of the Year for Innervisions and Fulfillingness’ First Finale, respectively, with the trio of releases making up the bulk of his “classic period.” At the time, Wonder was supposedly so disenfranchised with the state of American life that he was on the verge of quitting the music business completely. Remarkably, Songs is not only his strongest album to date but also his most ambitious. The resulting statement of how unconditional love for oneself and others can triumph over dystopic discrimination hasn’t lost an ounce of its power in nearly 50 years of existence.
The hits like “Sir Duke,” “I Wish,” and “Isn’t She Lovely” are rightfully lauded, so I won’t spend a ton of time on them here. But, with each fresh listen, it’s the more experimental moments that take my breath away. Consider “Village Ghetto Land,” a song that frames Wonder’s unflinching lyrics about how the wealthy view marginalized, impoverished communities with a synthesizer backdrop that sounds like a Bach concerto. It’s a striking sonic metaphor that, in lesser hands, would come off as clumsy at best. In the hands of the genre’s ultimate maestro, however, it’s nothing short of haunting. Other highlights include the Coolio launching pad “Pastime Paradise,” As,” featuring Herbie Hancock on the Rhodes, and “Contusion,” a jazz-fusion jam piece led by a teenage Greg Phillinganes.
It’s nearly two hours of masterful songwriting and production, led by a mercurial talent. There’s literally no better way to cap off the first edition of 70s appreciation week.
👉 Don’t forget to click the album image to stream the album on your favorite platform 👈