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Innervisions | 
| Artist: Stevie Wonder
Label: Universal / Island
Category: Music
List Price: £8.99
Buy New: £7.98
You Save: £1.01 (11%)
New (54) Used (15) from £3.19
Rating:  25 reviews
Sales Rank: 2958
Format: Original Recording Remastered, Import
Media: Audio CD
Running Time: 44
Discs: 1
Shipping Weight (lbs): 0.2
Dimensions (in): 5.4 x 4.9 x 0.4
MPN: 157355
UPC: 601215735529
EAN: 0601215735529
ASIN: B00004S363
Release Date: May 1, 2000
Shipping: Eligible for Super Saver Shipping
Availability: Usually dispatched within 24 hours
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| Tracks:
| • | Too High | | • | Visions | | • | Living For The City | | • | Golden Lady | | • | Higher Ground | | • | Jesus Children Of America | | • | All In Love Is Fair | | • | Don't You Worry 'Bout A Thing | | • | He's Misstra Know It All |
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| Editorial Reviews:
Amazon.co.uk Review
One of Stevie Wonder's best albums, and the one where his more fanciful, free-form moments gel perfectly with his knack for irresistible pop singles. 1973's Innervisions swings between delicate and airy ballads, Latin-influenced rhythms (the hit "Don't Worry 'Bout a Thing"), and his own synth-heavy versions of gut-bucket soul (the determined spiritual questing of "Higher Ground"). The striking juxtaposition between "Vision", a barely breathed hope that a world of peace might be upon us, and the great "Living for the City", a funky, pulsing tale of racism, is powerful, haunting, and still all too relevant. --David Cantwell
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| Customer Reviews: Read 20 more reviews...
Masterpiece. End of story. September 30, 2008
I am not one to use the word 'MASTERPIECE' freely. This is because these days, i feel most people overuse the word 'masterpiece' and i find this to be rather irritating. You know what i mean? Too many albums, films, etc are refered to as masterpieces when they are just ok or good. This album, however is NOT ok or good. It IS a masterpiece.
Firstly, let me say, i am a rock fan. I was brought up on Heavy metal and punk. I'd lived in complete ignorence of Stevie Wonder until a friend recommended this album to me. At first, as you can probably guess, i was hesitant. Its not rock, i thought, why would i like it? Eventually i yielded and got a copy, expecting to give away after i'd heard it once. How wrong i was. This album is a genuine work of genius. Stevie pours his heart and soul into every song. He doesn't just perform the songs, he LIVES them. Songs like 'Living for the city' say more about black rights than most hip-hop acts do and 'Higher Ground' make the RHCP cover look downright amatuerish. Every track is special though, you'll find no filler on this album.
Yes, i'm still a rock, punk and metal fan and always will be. But the MASTERPIECE that is INNERVISIONS has made me realise that i need to broaden my horizons. Put simply, it doesn't matter what your musical tastes are, true masterpieces, if you're brave enough to diversify, can be enjoyed by all. This is one of those examples. Go on, take the chance.
Classic September 23, 2008
I got this album only because I wanted to hear the original 'higher ground' which I'd heard covered by the Red Hot Chili Peppers, and found what has become my favorite album of all time!
From the funky opening bars of 'Too high' to the closing genius of 'misstra know it all', Wonder creates an unforgettable journey. There's a good variety of music on offer, with the slower piano ballad 'all in love is fair' contrasting sharply with more upbeat (and often comedic) songs like 'don't you worry bout a thing' and 'living for the city'. The latter is a funky tale of a young black man moving to NYC, and provides an insight into the racial attitudes and prejudices at the time.
Wonder's vocals are also a pleasure to listen to - his yearning voice on the beautiful acoustic track 'visions' complements the theme of the song perfectly. However, never a one trick pony, on the faster songs he shows just how strong and energetic he can be.
The remastering is also very well done - it's easy to forget that it was released in the late 70s.
With such an eclectic mix of music on offer, this really is an album that everyone should have, and provides a great starting point into the world of Stevie Wonder!
Flawless Soul June 18, 2008
If you like some classic soul eg Marvin, Curtis, Aretha, Al Green etc then this is an essential purchase. Also if you like the quality end of modern RnB like Alicia Keys or John Legend then this is also essential. There are no bad tracks here. 'Living For The City' is probably the greatest of Stevie's social commentaries. Alot of listeners today don't appreciate how amazing Stevie Wonder was in his prime, I'm too young to have heard him during the 70s and if I hadn't just trusted all the platitudes I probably would never have discovered him!. I just thought of Stevie Wonder as being the guy who did 'I just Called To Say I Love You' but that was the end of the creative period. He's not that visible these days and hopefully his first European tour in over 10 years this Autumn will enable people like me to enjoy the classics we missed first time. This album is up there with 'Blonde On Blonde', 'Revolver' 'London Calling', a classic of the album format. Get it today, you won't be disappointed!.
Innervisions is a visionary wonder April 18, 2008
2 out of 2 found this review helpful
For much of my adult life i lived in complete ignorance of the glories of artists like Stevie Wonder, too mired in my prosaic parochial little existence of indie bands , spiky agit rock , and historically relevant classic rock groups. Then by happy accident i heard Innervisions. Till then the only Stevie Wonder songs that orbited my universe were "Master Blaster" which i liked because it reminded me of the great West Indian batsman Viv Richards. ( For the cricket ignorant that was his nickname) though it is a great song "Happy Birthday", "Ebony And Ivory" .and, "I Just Called To Say I Love You" which is a pleasant enough pop song but has the irritation factor of a swarm of midges.
Innervisions though is a masterpiece. I,ll leave the arguments about whether it,s Stevie Wonders best album (For the record i think it is) for others . Released in August 1973 Innervisions is considered to be the third album of the five albums considered to encapsulate his classic period. The 1972 album "Talking Book" vies with Innervisions for most people as his finest album. Conceptually and musically Innervisions is powerful and innovative. If put in cinematic terms Innervisions is the work of an auteur. The lyrics , arrangements , and production (Though Robert Margouleff and Malcolm Cecil also helped produce) are all down to Wonder , with the synthesizer, then a novel instrument, being utilised extensively .
The songs cover a range of social issues with only "Golden Lady" and "All In Love Is Fair"serving as a straight forward love songs."Don,t Worry About A Thing" sounds like a joyous plea for hedonistic freedom but is actually about drugs as is the slightly more querulous "Too High". There is palpable anger at social disintegration in the song "Higher Ground" and the magnificent "Living For The City" while the melodically splendid "He,s Misstra Know It All" is a scathing attack on the then President Richard Nixon."Visions" has a terrific vocal though of course all the songs do, and is the most graceful track on the album while "Jesus Children Of America"is a harder edged funk slice of funk.
Black artists singing about their status in society really exploded with bands like Public Enemy and NWA in the 1980,s yet artists like Stevie Wonder, Curtis Mayfield and Marvin Gaye were eloquently documenting the deprivation encountered by black people through their music much earlier. In the case of Innervisions Wonder was achieving this with a brilliant ground breaking fusion of soul funk and pop.Put simply Innervisions is a visionary wonder.
Stevie's so much more than 'I Just Called To Say I Love You' February 25, 2008
1 out of 1 found this review helpful
Everyone who has reviewed this album has rated it 5 stars and I feel that says it all and I'm definitely not going to go against the grain. This is, in my opinion, Stevie Wonder's greatest album and in an ideal world every household would own a copy. In the real world however he is remembered by the masses for the dreadful 'I Just Called To Say I Love You'. Like someone else stated, this is a great place to start if you are looking to buy your first Stevie Wonder album (Talking Book was my first Stevie album and this is another great album to start). Forget the Greatest Hits, there is so much more to Stevie than the singles and I feel it's better to hear the songs as they were meant to be. A great mixture of songs and sounds - my favourites have to be 'Golden Lady' and 'Living for the City'. I'm predominantly a fan of alternative/indie/ avant garde music and another reviewer was a 'Prog Rock' fan, so this shows how great the songs on Stevie's albums of the 70's are, that they appeal to such a wide range of listeners. For your sake, please buy this album - you won't regret it.
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