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Wonder is adamant that his heyday of exploratory music-making is not over, despite the fact that his last album, A Time to Love,only his fourth LP proper in three decades, was issued in 2005. And if his recordings since have been patchily received, there is consensus among music lovers that his golden age lasted longer than anyone's, Bob Dylan and the Beatles included.
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He overreached himself on 1979's Journey Through The Secret Life Of Plants, a double concept album full of new age noodling, but he redeemed himself, critically and commercially, with 1980's Hotter Than July. With their dazzling melodies and blend of gritty politicised funk and elegant ballads, these albums appealed to rock and soul fans alike. His purple streak continued with 1972's Music of My Mind and Talking Book, 1973's Innervisions, 1974's Fulfillingness' First Finale, culminating in 1976's double-LP (plus additional EP) treasure trove Songs In The Key Of Life. Hooking up with Malcolm Cecil and Robert Margouleff of electronic duo Tonto's Expanding Headband, Wonder pursued a radical synthesised context for his new soul vision. I think it's really ridiculous.' I said: 'I don't give a "uh" what you think, or what anyone thinks!' That was my growing-up moment at Motown." "I got a call from Smokey and he says: 'I didn't like your choice of material.
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Fellow Motown songwriter Smokey Robinson, however, was unimpressed with his new direction after he saw Wonder on comedian Flip Wilson's TV show. He recalls writing the song If You Really Love Me at the apartment of Laura Nyro, no stranger herself to the startling chord sequence. "I had fun doing that album with Syreeta," he says. It was a brave departure from the Motown sound, with forays into psychedelia, baroque pop and folk-inflected soul. In 1971, he released the transitional Where I'm Coming From, which along with Marvin Gaye's What's Going On was the first serious album from a label accustomed to singles. In Where Did Our Love Go?, a history of Motown, Nelson George noted the jealousy among staffers towards the 12-year-old-genius, even if detractors were soon silenced by his fabulous run of mainly self-penned hits: Uptight (Everything's Alright), For Once In My Life, My Cherie Amour and Signed, Sealed, Delivered.
The feeling is mutual: reviews of Ocean's 2012 album, Channel Orange, drew comparisons with Wonder's music at its most expansive.Īfter being consigned to MOR-soul hell following the likes of I Just Called To Say I Loved You, Wonder – who next week headlines Bestival – is hip again. "Yeah, I like Frank," says Wonder, who sang the hook from Ocean's No Church In The Wild to the Odd Future sensation when he met him at a party recently. They have exerted a tremendous influence on musicians, from Michael Jackson and Prince in the 80s to rapper Drake and this year's most lauded new R&B star, Frank Ocean.
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Principal among these was the electrification of modern soul that he effected on his extraordinary series of 70s albums. God gave me life to continue to do things that I would never have done." "It is significant," he replies, and it's a typical Wonder response, "but I was blessed to come out of it. Life is funny."ĭoes the crash remain the signal event of his life? "It was also on 6 August – 1988 – that my son Kwame was born. "It was on 6 August that I almost died in that car accident," he recalls. It was 1973, and the sedan in which he was travelling careened into a truck. Before long, he is vividly remembering the car crash in which he nearly lost his life. Nor does it prevent him from talking at length about his 50-year career, and the events that shaped it. He is tired, hardly surprising given it is 2.30am where he lives in California, but that doesn't stop him from acting his usual playful self. 'A ll right, mate?" chirrups Stevie Wonder in a mockney accent last tried by Dick Van Dyke.
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