Stevie Wonder Presents: Syreeta

Stevie Wonder Presents: Syreeta
Studio album by Syreeta
Released	June 19, 1974
Recorded	1973-1974, The Record Plant, Los Angeles, California
Genre	Soul, R&B, funk, pop, reggae, psychedelic soul
Length	39:37
Label	Motown M 808
Producer	Stevie Wonder
Syreeta chronology
Syreeta (1972) Stevie Wonder Presents: Syreeta (1974) One to One (1977)

Stevie Wonder Presents: Syreeta is the second full-length release by Motown recording artist Syreeta Wright, issued on the Motown label, in June 1974.

Reception

Professional ratings
Review scores
Source	Rating
Allmusic	[1]

Coming two years after Wright's acclaimed but commercially maligned debut album, Syreeta, the album was produced around the same time its producer Stevie Wonder was also providing albums by Minnie Riperton (Perfect Angel) and his own Fulfillingness' First Finale. For this album, members of Wonder's female background singing group Wonderlove (Lani Groves, Shirley Brewer and Deniece Williams) helped alongside Wright in songs such as the political rant "I'm Goin' Left", the funky "Come and Get This Stuff" (originally written by Wonder for the group Rufus and Chaka Khan) and the ballads "Heavy Day", "'Cause We've Ended as Lovers" and "Just a Little Piece of You". Wright handled her own background vocals for the psychedelic soul-driven "Spinnin' and Spinnin'" before being assisted by Wonderlove and Wonder at the end, while both Wright and Wonder sung background on the reggae-flavored "Your Kiss Is Sweet". The soulful ballad "I Wanna Be By Your Side" was a duet between Wright and former Spinners lead vocalist G.C. Cameron while the ending of the song "Universal Sound of the World", featured Wright and Wonder flirting with each other emulating the sounds of little children. Minnie Riperton herself provided her trademark whistle register vocal near the end of "Heavy Day". The album became a hit in the UK with the songs "I'm Goin' Left", "Spinnin And Spinnin'" and "Your Kiss Is Sweet" finding success in the UK, with the latter song reaching number 12 there in that country while the album failed to generate success in Wright's homeland in the US. It is noted that the second side montage starting with "Cause We Ended as Lovers" was a chronicle of their lead-up to divorce in the early 1970s when she helped write some lyrics on 'Music of My Mind' and 'Talking Book'. A condition of said divorce was believed to be his willingness to help her with this album. It is a tour de force much like 'Abbey Road' where the first side is made of songs and the second like an opera.

Syreeta did her one and only solo tour for this album winning praises for her performance in places like the now defunct, Boarding House in San Francisco. She toured 8-10 major markets with soldout dates in many of them. It was a rare treat for her fans because she did songs from her solo album, "Syreeta and a large portion of songs from her then current release, "Stevie Wonder Presents: Syreeta.

Track listing

All songs written and composed by Stevie Wonder and Syreeta Wright unless otherwise noted.

1. "I'm Goin' Left" (3:36)
2. "Spinnin' And Spinnin'" (4:21)
3. "Your Kiss Is Sweet" (4:31)
4. "Come And Get This Stuff" (Wonder) (3:38)
5. "Heavy Day" (4:00)
6. "Cause We've Ended As Lovers" (Wonder) (4:30)
7. "Just A Little Piece of You" (4:01)
8. "Waitin' For The Postman" (Wonder) (1:47)
9. "When Your Daddy's Not Around" (Wonder) (1:03)¹
10. "I Wanna Be By Your Side" (Wonder) (with G.C. Cameron) (4:04)
11. "Universal Sound of the World" (4:06)

• ¹ - Lead vocals handled by Dennis Morrison and Stevie Wonder

Credits

• Produced by Stevie Wonder for Black Bull Productions
• Lead vocals by Syreeta Wright, Stevie Wonder, Dennis Morrison and G.C. Cameron
• Background vocals by Wonderlove (Anita Sherman, Lani Groves, Deniece Williams and Shirley Brewer), Minnie Riperton, Stevie Wonder, G.C. Cameron and Syreeta Wright
• Instrumentation by Stevie Wonder, Reggie McBride, Ollie Brown, Marlo Henderson, Mike Sembello, Dennis Morouse and Steven Madaio

Charts

Trivia

Four artists who performed on this album (Stevie Wonder, Deniece Williams, Michael Sembello, and Ollie Brown [of Ollie & Jerry]) would all find themselves sharing space on the pop singles charts within a year of each other, a decade after this album's release.

Syreeta fans got a rare opportunity to see her live as she embarked on an exclusive tour of 8-10 markets including venues like The Boarding House in San Francisco, The Roxy in Los Angeles and The Bitter End in New York. She perform a sizeable amount of songs from her first two albums. The reviews were strong and remain a unique opportunity for her fervent fanbase.

The song "Come And Get This Stuff" was originally intended for Rufus but lead singer Chaka Khan refused to do the song. So Stevie instead wrote "Tell Me Something Good" for them which did appear on their album Rags to Rufus.

External links

• Syreeta-Stevie Wonder Presents Syreeta at Discogs

References