Should Stevie Wonder’s INNERVISIONS be Considered a Classic Rock Album? #steviewonder
Hey everybody!
My new Poll will be out immediately after I upload this video folks!
Tonight I plea my case before you, and you can agree with me, or vote me down!
What’s the question? Is Stevie Wonder’s INNERVISIONS album a Classic Rock album? Hmm… Let the debate begin!
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-Michael Noland-
-The Bottom Line-
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Oh, yeeah! This is "just my opinion". — I can't make a distinction in the musicI love –that whichmkoves me, musically, lyrically… this is a great tecord, one of several SW amd Marvin and Temps, etc.. as rock'n'roll as anything that ever moved me so. Thanks, Michael–I knew you'd have a similar POV. Rock on, Chieftain!
classic album !!! yes it should be
I don't know when EVERYTHING became so filtered and tribal – probably in the 80s when the media started to be gobbled up by just a few giant companies. Back in the 70s, I guess I mostly listened to "Top 40" AM radio in the car, and at home, a few really good FM stations (KSAN in SF!). An FM radio or tape player was not common in cars back then, so AM was what we had.
Most radio stations played just about anything that was good (or sometimes just popular – there were some real "one hit wonder" turkeys that were hits). "Innervisions" is a GREAT album regardless of how it is classified or how old it is. There were many songs and albums from just about every genre that I enjoyed. I just like good music.
Paul Simon at the 1976 Grammy's: " I'd like to thank Stevie Wonder for not making an album this year. "
You really nailed it Michael. I can count on one hand the number of albums that I listen to today as much as I did when they were first released. Innervisions is one of those albums. It's brilliant, it defies categorization, and in my opinion is one of the greatest recordings of the 20th century.
Michael, a very good album indeed!! "Higher Ground" & "Living For The City" are my faves – and both got a lot of airplay here!!
Funk & Blues are more up my alley than soul, since on Royce's live the hosts were making the distinction. I realized the selections steered me there, but I respect it all. When Chris, I believe, brought up The Blues Bro's soundtrack, it really wasn't off base. There are some solid tracks on there. Stevie's another who fell victim to the yuk 80's sound.
Stevie wonder is excellent, but it's not classic rock
Although I've been buying albums in the 60s this was my first Stevie Wonder album that I bought in 73 and I couldn't stop playing it. In my opinion this is a masterpiece no doubt. From beginning to end what a hell of an album.
Stevie Wonder assumed creative control on his 1972 "Music Of My Mind" album. And you could argue his previous album, "Talking Book", was the start of his universal appeal. And that could be considered even more of a rock album, due to appearances by rock guitarist Jeff Beck. I think "Innervisions" is Stevie's masterpiece. Some would say it's 1976's "Songs In The Key Of Life", but I think "Innervisions" works better as a concise album statement.
I'm a rocker through and through but just like a lot of people in the 1970's I was a big fan of Stevie Wonder. No harm in admitting that either. Do I consider Innervisions a classic rock album? Of course.
Hey brother Michael,
Innervisions is a masterpiece, just like this show!
Glad to hear you decided to bring this album to all our classic rock tribe members!
Fine work once again.
Peace my friend,
DrRick🎉
I have to add, the production on this LP has that gloss you always refer to, and the album was surely relevant to the ties and still is.
One of the greatest masterpieces ever made. I would call it "progressive soul"
Agree 100% …I sometimes wonder if his run of albums from music of my mind to hotter than july isn't the greatest ever…as a songwriter…his genius is immense and timeless…
Sir Duke was required study be our 3rd grade music teacher, inc lyric sheet for every pupil!
Starting with Talking Book though Songs In The Key Of Life that was Stevie's classic period. Sure he made good music after that but his classic period was so special.
Must be some telepathic thing going on, cause I've never owned a Stevie Wonder album but just ordered a compilation cd last week !! There were always some of his songs, especially 70's that had a great funky/blusey beat that drew me in. Classic Rock? debatable! I'd say funk, soul, boogie, r'n'b.
TONTO also had a few albums of its own – check out TONTO'S Expanding Head Band!
Yes I suppose that Stevie Wonder should be labeled as Classic Rock and other artists and bands too
Back in the early 70s when I was in junior high and high school, we listened to all kinds of music and didn’t really try to classify it. Whether it was classic rock, hard rock, funk, soul, R&B, pop, easy listening, it was all great music. I’m going to have to go back and listen to this album because I haven’t listened to it all the way through in a long time. But I will put up ‘living for the city’ and ‘superstition’ as two of the greatest songs of all time by any artist and, for a reference point, my top three bands of all time are in order, the Beatles, Led Zeppelin, and Pink Floyd. Sound familiar?
Innervisions as is works from the late 1960s and early 1970s by The Temptations (Papa Was A Rolling Stone), Marvin Gaye (What's Going On?), and later reaching a peak with the sound of Earth Wind & Fire are "Progressive Soul." These guys were innovators on the level of your Mount Olympus of Rock!
Anyway, that's my opinion.
I remember Stevie Wonder, Herbie Hancock, Thomas Dolby, and Howard Jones performing together on their keyboards at the 1985 Grammys.
I'm tired of labels, classic music is classic music and Stevie's 70's album run is classic music.
Dear Michael,
I enjoyed this video. During my college years, I had friends who didn’t listen to Motown until Innervisions was released. My roommate bought the album and we invited a number of our friends to come over and listen to the album. We were blown away and impressed. Your thoughts about the album were similar to our initial reactions which after repeated listening to the album became deeper. Yes, this album is classic rock because it blends many different genres of rock and evolved into something beautiful, relevant, and emotional. Thanks for your thoughts.
Favorite song … Living For The City… with a slowed down Satisfaction riff.
Stevie on tour with Stones in 1972 https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=JI3k7al0b2o
I love what I’ve heard on this album. Yes, there is rock on this album. I don’t care what anybody categorizes it personally. And I’m putting this on my list of albums to listen to from start to finish.
Living For The City is one of the greatest story songs ever! You feel sorry for the guy who gets roped into the deal which costs him his freedom. But it’s also a lesson to be careful around strangers.
I still listen to this on a regular basis. Once every three weeks at least. I also still purchase this on vinyl. The first pressings sound so good and it’s nice how each song goes right into the next one seamless.
From Music of my Mind to Key of Life are perfection.
I Think you’ll get a kick out of this. I’m legally blind myself, and if I had half the ability Stevie wonder had when it came to his abilities not only to write, sing, but play so many instruments and somehow arrange them in a way that absolutely rocked, I’d certainly be much better off than I’ve ended up. But there’s no question Inner Visions is one of my all time favorite albums of any kind, and yes it certainly is a classic rock album. IF Higher Ground isn’t an example of your statement, I don’t know what is. So naturally when a school bully thought he was insulting me by calling me Stevie Wonder, he was not smart enough to realize what a genius I’d be if I was. But there can be only one wonder called Stevie, can’t there.
Awesome album but misspelled on the background display 😂
Thanks for your great review of Stevie Wonder's Inner Vision. Despite me having his albums before like ' Music Of My Mind' and Talking Book as well as those after I find Inner Vision' close to perfection. A little note is that both Stevie and the late Gil Scott Heron were the two artists at that time using the TONTO, and they were also the two artists most responsible for the Martin Luther King holiday in January. In definition Stevie was more rock than soul than the other Motown artists. At that time in addition to Stevie, Gil Scott Heron, and Bill withers, I also enjoyed and had records by KIng Crimson, Deep Purple, Pink Floyd, The Who, Guess Who, and The Wailers among others.Thanks for your continued insight and great reviews and views. Be safe and keep up the good work.
It's a classic but I wouldn't categorize his music as Rock. More Pop IMO.
"Innervisions" is beyond category…which means it fits in many genres – including Rock! "Songs In The Key Of Life" is the same for me.
Great album! Bought it new in 73;I’d call it a classic,great listening! Cheers Micheal 🍺
This is the kind of thinking that gets Dolly F'n Parton in the Rock & Roll Hall of Fame. Not cool.
I consider Stevie Wonder a Rock musician and other genres. I would challenge someone to define Rock to me other than Rhythm and Blues sped up. If that's the case, what do you call Stevie Wonder?
This was excellent, Michael. I've been a fan of Stevie Wonder since the 60s. Stevie's music crossed over the genre lines. It was just that good! Inervisions is a masterpiece, as is other albums by Stevie.
One of the greatest albums ever. I would agree that this is classic rock in its concept, emotion, musicality, and impact. I just love it. What a sound on this album. Everything I love about `70s production is here
No, to me, R&B was never rock, nor was soul. It was strictly black music for the the exploding Disco era of The Village People and musical dance programs like "Soul Train." Hard rock, progressive concepts and the rise of heavy metal changed the game in the seventies and eighties. White musicians were creative and took rock to new heights never before imagined. It took Prince's "Purple Rain" for him to be the eighties Jimi Hendrix, only because it was one of the first biopics filmed that actually starred the person it was supposed to be about. Stevie Wonder is most famous for the sappiest song ever released, his dreadful duet with Paul McCartney, "Ebony and Ivory." He then sang such ditties as "I Just Called To Say I Love You" and "Part Time Lover." Stevie Wonder was a puppet of the music industry, mainly because of his obvious disability.