Stevie Wonder

I've been on a bit of a music binge recently and have been exploring some musicians that I've never really been into and trying come to them with fresh ears. First up was Stevie Wonder. I've been listening an album of his early stuff and three of what are widely regarded as his 'classic period' albums; Music of My Mind, Talking Book and the double album Songs in the Key of Life. His upbeat, positive stuff is great. He can take something as seemingly cheesy as a paean to his new-born child -Isn't She Lovely- and make it work where for anybody else it would collapse under the weight of it's own schmaltz. Other songs like I Love Every Little Thing Thing About You and Sir Duke are similarly upbeat and effective. And of course he can do proto P-funk stuff like Keep On Running with his eyes closed (so to speak). Where it all goes a bit pear-shaped is when he tries to 'educate' us and it all gets a bit pompous and bogged down in tracks like Love's In Need Of Love Today, where Stevie reveals that he has discovered that love is a good thing and is really much better than evil, which I'm sure comes as a revelation to us all..