Music of My Mind

From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

Music of My Mind
Music of My Mind cover
Studio album by Stevie Wonder
Released March 3, 1972
Recorded Media Sound, N.Y.,
Electric Lady, N.Y.,
Crystal Industries, L.A.
Genre R&B
Length 47:53
Label Motown
Producer(s) Stevie Wonder, Robert Margouleff and Malcolm Cecil
Professional reviews
Stevie Wonder chronology
Where I'm Coming From
(1971)
Music of My Mind
(1972)
Talking Book
(1972)


Music of My Mind is a landmark album by Stevie Wonder, released on March 3, 1972 (see 1972 in music). It was the first of five consecutive albums widely hailed as his "classic period", along with Talking Book, Innervisions, Fulfillingness' First Finale, and Songs in the Key of Life. Music of My Mind showcases Wonder's earlier experiments with the synthesizer, and is a more assured recording than Where I'm Coming From (his first effort while holding the majority of artistic control). Also on display were his increasing musical ambitions, with him leveraging different genres of music and utilizing longer song forms.

The texture of the album was different from anything he had released on the Motown label to that point, and while parts of the record truly shine overall it still sounds somewhat unrefined when compared to his next effort, Talking Book. It is that album where the technical experimentation (in conjunction with his increasingly masterful songwriting) pays off by initiating his unprecedented multi-year string of Grammy Award recognition unmatched to this day. Standout tracks include "Superwoman (Where Were You When I Needed You)", "Happier Than The Morning Sun" and the jazzy ballad, "I Love Everything About You".

In 2003, the album was ranked number 284 on Rolling Stone magazine's list of the 500 greatest albums of all time.

Contents

[edit] Track listing

  1. "Love Having You Around" (Wonder, S. Wright) – 7:23
  2. "Superwoman (Where Were You When I Needed You)" (Wonder) – 8:07
  3. "I Love Every Little Thing About You" (Wonder) – 3:55
  4. "Sweet Little Girl" (Wonder) – 4:59
  5. "Happier Than the Morning Sun" (Wonder) – 5:18
  6. "Girl Blue" (Wonder, Y. Wright) – 3:36
  7. "Seems So Long" (Wonder) – 4:22
  8. "Keep on Running" (Wonder) – 6:40
  9. "Evil" (Wonder, Y. Wright) – 3:33

[edit] Personnel

  • Art Baron - Trombone ("Love Having You Around")
  • Howard "Buzz" Feiten - Guitar solo ("Superwoman")
  • Stevie Wonder - Vocals and all additional instrumentation

[edit] Cover Versions

  • "Superwoman (Where Were You When I Needed You)" - Later recorded by The Main Ingredient, Quincy Jones, Donny Hathaway and Ramsey Lewis. Also sampled by Kanye West for the song "We Major" on his sophmore album "Late Registration."
  • "Happier Than the Morning Sun" - Later recorded by B.J. Thomas.
  • "Girl Blue" - Later recorded by The Main Ingredient.

[edit] Charting singles

  • 1972: "Keep On Running" (Black Singles) - No. 36
  • 1972: "Keep On Running" (Pop Singles) - No. 90
  • 1972: "Superwoman (Where Were You When I Needed You)" (Black Singles) - No. 13
  • 1972: "Superwoman (Where Were You When I Needed You)" (Pop Singles) - No. 33

[edit] Album Charts

  • 1974: Black Albums Chart - No. 6
  • 1974: Pop Albums Chart - No. 21

Chart information by Billboard ©VNU eMedia

In other languages