Retro Spins: Stevie Wonder - Hotter Than July

 

Motown entered the 80's with the February release of Smokey Robinson's Warm Thoughts, but before the year would warp up, Michael Jackson, Rick James, Diana Ross, Teena Marie, DeBarge, Black Russian, and today's Retro Spin, Stevie Wonder. Now admittedly, I don't have all that much knowledge of this particular singer, nor his discography as a whole. In fact, I know so little about him, that I didn't even know about this album before stumbling upon his Top Forty hit, Master Blaster (Jammin'), while rummaging through said charts for tracks I had forgotten.

When I came across this one, I added the respective album, Hotter Than July, to my want list. However, something happened over the course of the next few days. It kept nagging on me that I needed this one sooner than later, and ended up purchasing much faster than I typically do most "new" albums added to my list.

The seller delivered it with little to no haste, and with it in hand, I jumped immediately into it. Also something I rarely do.

Well, if you've put two and two together, today I'm listening to Hotter Than July by Stevie Wonder.

While I wouldn't by any means call myself a fan of his music, something interesting happened when I fired up the disc. I found myself immediately invested, digging the title track, Did I Hear You Say You Love Me. This took off on a voyage of a lot of highs, and very little lows. I found myself enjoying, and adding quite a few tracks to my shuffle list.

If I had one complaint about the album, it was how several tracks just seemed to stop, and jump immediately into the next. Though intentional, it felt sloppy. Almost as if the CD was broken. It was jarringly abrupt.

Overall, this didn't impede my enjoyment, and like I said, I added quite a few new tracks to my shuffle. This lead me to one of my favorite things about Retro Spins, too look into other albums from the era from said artist. Doing so lead to another surprise. With this one now in my collection, I actually own Stevie Wonder's complete 80's discography. Neat!

And on that happy note, that wraps up this Retro Spins.

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Retro Spins: Stevie Wonder - Characters

The saving grace to your album shouldn't be a duet with another, more popular, artist. But, that's exactly where we are with Stevie Wonder's 1987 album, Characters.

Now, admittedly, R&B isn't exactly my genre. It's because of this that the songs on this album don't necessarily appeal to me. However, Stevie Wonder has definitely produced songs in the past which I really enjoy.

I guess the biggest problem for me with Characters, was I that I was expecting to hear peppy hits, such as, Part Time Lover and I Just Called To Say I Love You. Instead, what I got was heavy funk, R&B, with a mixture of ballads. The only standout track, for me, was the duet with Michael Jackson, Get It. Mind you, even for Michael Jackson, it's not mind blowing. It's just okay.

Look, there's no doubt he's put in the work to build a long career, and with his handicap, that was probably no small feat. I'm sure he has fans worldwide who would climb over each other to see him perform. Unfortunately, I'm not going to be one of those people. Stevie Wonder is a pass on my part.

I suppose what disappoints me the most here, is when you hear a name that has been in the music industry for decades, you expect to be blow away with their work - Regardless of who they are or what their music style is. Or, perhaps better stated, at least I do. Maybe this is an unrealistic expectation to have.

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