The phrase "long-awaited album" might well have been coined for this one, Wonder's first LP in 26 months. It is a phenomenal undertaking, two disks and a four-song EP bonus record, a 24-page booklet of lyrics and Wondermessages. But what of the music itself? The songs, all 22 of them, are as warm and sunny as a beautiful dawn in some unspoiled forest. The album is a gorgeous communication from a genius soul at peace with itself. This is Wonder at his smoothest and most romantic, with excitingly pounding multi-keyboard solos that give way to sky-soaring melodies and the most expressive singing ever put on record by Wonder. Best cuts: "I Am Singing," "Isn't She Lovely," "Love Is In Need Of Love Today," "Sir Duke," "I Wish," "Black Man," "Ebony Eyes," "Another Star."

- Billboard, 1976.

Bonus Reviews!

It's no accident that the rich, hortatory one-man music of "Love's in Need of Love Today" is counterposed against the more intimately devotional one-man music of "Have a Talk with God," or that when the theme turns sociopolitical in "Village Ghetto Land" Stevie's synthesizer turns from African sounds to an ironic (though elegant) string-quartet minuet -- the calm detachment of which is rudely interrupted by a jazz-funk tribute from Stevie's Wonderlove band, which then moves into the danceable black-music tribute "Sir Duke." And in themselves the words are much funnier and trickier than the sociospiritual bullshit of Maurice White or Kenny Gamble, as validated by the wit, pace, and variety of the music, they come close to redeeming the whole genre. A

- Robert Christgau, Christgau's Record Guide, 1981.

This double got off to the most successful start in the history of the US album chart. It debuted at number one, a feat previously achieved only by Elton John's Captain Fantastic and the Brown Dirt Cowboy and Rock of the Westies. It stayed there for fourteen weeks, a longer time than those two precedent-setters combined.

Songs in the Key of Life spun off two number one singles, "I Wish" and "Sir Duke." The latter, a tribute to Duke Ellington, also gave name checks to Count Basie, Glenn Miller and "Satchmo" (Louis Armstrong).

One outstanding track that did not become a single was "Isn't She Lovely." This song honoured the birth of Wonder's daughter and featured her early cries. The artist maintained that to edit such a work for single release would be to compromise both purpose and effect, and he resisted public demand for a 45. In Britain a cover version by David Parton reached the top five, but Stevie's remains the requested version.

Prior to the release of Songs, Wonder had signed his fourth recording contract with Tamla. It was at the time the most expensive deal in history. Perhaps more importantly, it allowed Stevie to determine his own release schedule. After having issued six albums in thirty-nine months, nearly one every half year, the artist went silent for two years. The lyric sheet on Songs, a volume in itself, acknowledged public anxiety for new Wonder product with the words, "Thank you everyone for being so patient." No one could have been disappointed: there is more music in this set than in any of the other Top 100 LPs in our survey, and much of it outstanding.

One track, "Village Ghetto Land," was co-written by Stevie and Gary Byrd, who himself later had a Motown success with "The Crown."

In 1987, Songs in the Key of Life was chosen by a panel of rock critics and music broadcasters as the #14 rock album of all time.

- Paul Gambaccini, The Top 100 Rock 'n' Roll Albums of All Time, Harmony Books, 1987.

As the title suggests, Wonder gets down to the political, religious and philosophical here. But where other artists would have turned out cliché Wonder manages to divert naïvety into real sincerity. Melodically the album is much more daring though never letting slip or losing sight of its basic rhythmic beat.

Bettering even his previous albums, Wonder received Album of the Year (1976), Best Pop Vocal (Male) and Producer of the Year (1976) Grammy awards for this double album, which also held the US No. 1 slot for 12 weeks. It marked a creative peak for Wonder as producer, songwriter and performer; a peak which he has shown little inclination to leave over a decade on!

Musically the flavours and colours have changed little but now are under the stronger jazz influence from the likes of contributing musicians Herbie Hancock and George Benson.

The individually packed CDs, each with its own booklet, sound more refined than the earlier albums on CD but once or twice there are occasions when the sound closes up into distortion, especially in harmony vocals.

In general the sound is both vivid and strong, though bass in tracks like "I Wish" does not have the muscle and fluidity that one could hope for and associates with the Compact Disc medium.

- David Prakel, Rock 'n' Roll on Compact Disc, 1987.

Wonder the auteur began to get out of hand with this sprawling double album plus four-song-EP set. Much is maudlin, cloying, and pretentious; yet great songs, such as "Sir Duke," rear their heads at various junctures throughout the set. * * * *

- Rob Bowman, Musichound Rock: The Essential Album Guide, 1996.

A lot of folks thought Wonder had gone off the deep end when the double album Songs in the Key of Life came out with its blend of funk and jazz influences, but it yielded hits such as "Sir Duke" and "Isn't She Lovely" to turn minds around. * * * * *

- Gary Graff, Musichound Rock: The Essential Album Guide, 1996.

Pop and soul meld perfectly on a sprawling, indulgent and utterly brilliant double explosion of inspiring songs that stand as a testament to the hope and dreams of the '70s. Jazz big guns Herbie Hancock, George Benson and Eddie "Bongo" Brown lay down a stylistic cornucopia of Latin-tinged grooves for one of the best writers in the biz to sing powerfully yet soothingly about Duke Ellington, political issues, the miracle of birth and everything else. It'll blow you away. * * * * *

- Zagat Survey Music Guide - 1,000 Top Albums of All Time, 2003.

Making this record, Wonder would often stay in the studio forty-eight hours straight, not eating or sleeping, while everyone around him struggled to keep up. "If my flow is goin', I keep on until I peak," he said. The flow went so well, Wonder released twenty-one songs, packaged as a double album and a bonus EP. The highlights are the joyful "Isn't She Lovely" and "Sir Duke," but Wonder also displays his effortless mastery of funk, jazz, balladry, Afrobeat and even a string-quartet minuet. Nineteen years later, Coolio turned the haunting groove of the quiet "Pastime Paradise" into the Number One single "Gangster's Paradise."

Songs in the Key of Life was chosen as the 56th greatest album of all time by the editors of Rolling Stone magazine in Dec. 2003.

- Rolling Stone, 12/11/03.

Originally released as two LPs with a bonus seven-inch EP, Stevie Wonder's 106-minute 1976 opus, Songs in the Key of Life, is the crowning achievement of Seventies pop's grand aspirations. Early in the decade, Wonder demanded creative control from his label, Motown, and the result was a string of smash LPs -- 1972's Talking Book, 1973's Innervisions and 1974's Fulfillingness' First Finale. Only twenty-six years old, Wonder slowed his flow of hits to negotiate a $13 million contract and then made good on the deal with Songs, his most ambitious and successful album ever.

While engaging a slew of overdubbed instruments, Wonder nurtured his ongoing synthesizer affair, mimicking a sophisticated string quartet to highlight the horrors of "Village Ghetto Land" or laying down a warm bed of spongy keys for his baby-celebrating "Isn't She Lovely." Satisfying a disco-fueled hunger for lengthy dance cuts, he also jammed with George Benson, Herbie Hancock and other jazz A-listers on gospel-funk tracks like "Another Star" and "As." Veering from Duke Ellington ("Sir Duke") to childhood ("I Wish") to multicultural history lessons ("Black Man"), nostalgia addicts ("Pastime Paradise") and beyond, Wonder created a musical galaxy that encompassed the personal, the political and the spiritual. Songs did all this and posted Backstreet Boys-like sales numbers: Blockbuster albums would follow, but none could match Wonder's combination of commercial success, critical praise and musical scope. * * * * *

- Barry Walters, Rolling Stone, 6/2/05.

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