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In the winter of 1999 I was waiting for two mates to come out of a swish New York swing bar in Manhattan's Chelsea district. As I waited for them a tramp, if you want to use that term, came up to us and asked us for some spare change. Once he realised that we weren't going to have him arrested for unspeakable crime of talking to waged people, he relaxed and asked us whether the Mets had won their World Series semi-final. We didn't know. Anyway, we got talking to him about New York, the cold, where we'd been (it was our first trip) and then onto music. "Do you know what the greatest album of all time is?" he asked. I looked him up and down. He looked like Huggy Bear's young cousin who had fallen on hard times and kept a dog called Boogie. I hazarded a guess. "You're going to say "Songs in the Key of Life" aren't you? "Damn right!" Sometimes you get lucky.
I knew this would be in his top ten. People who grew up in the arse end of the seventies funk, pre-disco and post Blaxploitation flicks often put it amongst their favourites. Actually, I'd never heard it. I don't know why. Maybe because the two singles on it ("Sir Duke" and "Isn't She Lovely") have been over-played and I was too attached to his version of "Sunny" and his many great singles before getting around to his albums. Maybe I subconsciously still can't forgive him for THAT song in 1983. Maybe it was because "Songs" is a double album which means there's bound to be the odd turd in there. Maybe it was the price and I'm too tight. That was probably it.
Well, I bought it a few months ago and it's a doozy. A beauty. A snorter. Let's get to the facts. Obviously it's political and serves as a voice for the poverty stricken blacks of America ("Families buying dog food/Starvation roams the streets"), not just to remind them of their plight but to remind them of their dignity and pride ("Black Man"). His skill in doing this is unmatched. It must have been pretty easy to make this sound patronising, I don't suppose he bought much dog food for his own palate too often, but he verses it in such a way that you believe he knows people who have lived that sort of life. In 1976 he had his own problems. Despite generally being regarded as one of the indomitable sixties Motown performers he was still trying to lose the "Little" from his moniker and address stronger issues than Shoo-Be-Doo-Be-Doo-Da-Day. He manages it here. Stevie grew up and took the lead from Marvin Gaye's "What's Going On?"
Are there bad songs on it? Well, it's all subjective I suppose but even the greatest albums have an Octopus' Garden on it. I don't get on with "Have A Talk With God" for example and never had much time with "Isn't She Lovely" until I heard the full-length version (included here). The fadeout contains a home recording of him talking to his infant daughter (I presume) and a harmonica solo which will have your nostrils pointing heavenwards throughout the duration. In all its glory it makes sense and seems less preachy. As for the gold, I can recommend "If It's Magic", "Joy Inside My Tears", "Pastime Paradise" (cruelly nicked by Coolio for Gangster's Paradise) and the stark lyrics of "Village Ghetto Land".
Is the greatest album of all time? Well, sorry Mr Bear Jr but no. I still prefer the Velvet's third album and the Stone Roses debut but this is up there and is well worth handing over the necessary notes. If your new to Stevie then feel free to risk the greatest hits albums if you're prepared to skip the eighties disasters and "My Cherie Amour" but I bet you'll eventually allow curiosity to win you over. You'd do well to.
I knew this would be in his top ten. People who grew up in the arse end of the seventies funk, pre-disco and post Blaxploitation flicks often put it amongst their favourites. Actually, I'd never heard it. I don't know why. Maybe because the two singles on it ("Sir Duke" and "Isn't She Lovely") have been over-played and I was too attached to his version of "Sunny" and his many great singles before getting around to his albums. Maybe I subconsciously still can't forgive him for THAT song in 1983. Maybe it was because "Songs" is a double album which means there's bound to be the odd turd in there. Maybe it was the price and I'm too tight. That was probably it.
Well, I bought it a few months ago and it's a doozy. A beauty. A snorter. Let's get to the facts. Obviously it's political and serves as a voice for the poverty stricken blacks of America ("Families buying dog food/Starvation roams the streets"), not just to remind them of their plight but to remind them of their dignity and pride ("Black Man"). His skill in doing this is unmatched. It must have been pretty easy to make this sound patronising, I don't suppose he bought much dog food for his own palate too often, but he verses it in such a way that you believe he knows people who have lived that sort of life. In 1976 he had his own problems. Despite generally being regarded as one of the indomitable sixties Motown performers he was still trying to lose the "Little" from his moniker and address stronger issues than Shoo-Be-Doo-Be-Doo-Da-Day. He manages it here. Stevie grew up and took the lead from Marvin Gaye's "What's Going On?"
Are there bad songs on it? Well, it's all subjective I suppose but even the greatest albums have an Octopus' Garden on it. I don't get on with "Have A Talk With God" for example and never had much time with "Isn't She Lovely" until I heard the full-length version (included here). The fadeout contains a home recording of him talking to his infant daughter (I presume) and a harmonica solo which will have your nostrils pointing heavenwards throughout the duration. In all its glory it makes sense and seems less preachy. As for the gold, I can recommend "If It's Magic", "Joy Inside My Tears", "Pastime Paradise" (cruelly nicked by Coolio for Gangster's Paradise) and the stark lyrics of "Village Ghetto Land".
Is the greatest album of all time? Well, sorry Mr Bear Jr but no. I still prefer the Velvet's third album and the Stone Roses debut but this is up there and is well worth handing over the necessary notes. If your new to Stevie then feel free to risk the greatest hits albums if you're prepared to skip the eighties disasters and "My Cherie Amour" but I bet you'll eventually allow curiosity to win you over. You'd do well to.
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