Fulfillingness' First Finale
| Fulfillingness' First Finale | ||||
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| Studio album by Stevie Wonder | ||||
| Released | July 22, 1974 | |||
| Recorded | Record Plant Studios and Westlake Recording Studios in Los Angeles; Media Sound and Electric Lady Studios in New York City | |||
| Genre | Soul[1] | |||
| Length | 42:33 | |||
| Label | Tamla | |||
| Producer | Stevie Wonder, Robert Margouleff and Malcolm Cecil | |||
| Stevie Wonder chronology | ||||
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| Singles from Fulfillingness' First Finale | ||||
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Fulfillingness' First Finale is a 1974 album by Stevie Wonder; widely considered one of the albums from his "classic period".[2][3][4] Released on July 22, 1974 on the Tamla label, it is Wonder's nineteenth album overall, and seventeenth studio album. According to Billboard magazine, it was Wonder's first studio album to top the Pop Albums chart where it remained for two weeks, while it was his third album to top the R&B/Black Albums chart where it spent nine non-consecutive weeks.[5]
Subsequent to the epic sweep and social consciousness of Innervisions, this set projected a reflective, decidedly somber tone.[according to whom?] The musical arrangements used in several songs while masterly could be considered sparse in comparison to others among his 1970s masterworks, evident especially in the bleak "They Won't Go When I Go" and understated "Creepin'".[according to whom?] While largely a stripped down, more personal sounding record, Wonder had not completely foregone social commentary on the world around him.[according to whom?] The No. 1 hit "You Haven't Done Nothin'" launched a pointed criticism of the Nixon administration[citation needed] bolstered by funky clavinet, drum machine, and a Jackson 5 cameo.[citation needed]
The album received three Grammy Awards, including Album of the Year, in 1974.
Contents
Reception
| Professional ratings | |
|---|---|
| Review scores | |
| Source | Rating |
| AllMusic |   [6] |
| The Austin Chronicle |  [7] |
| Christgau's Record Guide | A–[8] |
| Encyclopedia of Popular Music | [9] |
| The Great Rock Discography | 7/10[9] |
| Los Angeles Times | [10] |
| MusicHound | 4/5[9] |
| Q | [11] |
| The Rolling Stone Album Guide | [12] |
| The Village Voice | B+[13] |
Fulfillingness' First Finale won Grammy Awards for Best Male Pop Vocal, Best Male Rhythm and Blues Vocal Performance (for "Boogie On Reggae Woman"), and Album of the Year in 1974.
Track listing
| No. | Title | Writer(s) | Length |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1. | "Smile Please" | Wonder | 3:28 |
| 2. | "Heaven Is 10 Zillion Light Years Away" | Wonder | 5:02 |
| 3. | "Too Shy to Say" | Wonder | 3:29 |
| 4. | "Boogie On Reggae Woman" | Wonder | 4:56 |
| 5. | "Creepin'" | Wonder | 4:23 |
| 6. | "You Haven't Done Nothin'" | Wonder | 3:29 |
| 7. | "It Ain't No Use" | Wonder | 4:01 |
| 8. | "They Won't Go When I Go" | Wonder, Yvonne Wright | 5:59 |
| 9. | "Bird of Beauty" | Wonder | 3:48 |
| 10. | "Please Don't Go" | Wonder | 4:07 |
|
Total length:
|
42:33 | ||
- Side One
- "Smile Please" – 3:28
- Stevie Wonder – lead vocal, background vocal, Fender Rhodes, drums
- Michael Sembello – electric guitar
- Reggie McBride – electric bass
- Bobbye Hall – congas, bongos
- Jim Gilstrap – background vocals
- Deniece Williams (credited as Denise) – background vocals
- "Heaven Is 10 Zillion Light Years Away" – 5:02
- Stevie Wonder – lead vocal, background vocal, Hohner clavinet, drums, Moog bass
- Paul Anka – background vocal
- Syreeta Wright – background vocal
- Shirley Brewer – background vocal
- Larry "Nastyee" Latimer – background vocal
- "Too Shy to Say" – 3:29
- Stevie Wonder – lead vocal, piano
- James Jamerson – acoustic bass
- Sneaky Pete Kleinow – pedal steel guitar
- "Boogie On Reggae Woman" – 4:56
- Stevie Wonder – lead vocal, Fender Rhodes, piano, harmonica, drums, Moog bass
- Rocky Dzidzornu – congas
- "Creepin'" – 4:22
- Stevie Wonder – lead vocal, background vocal, Fender Rhodes, harmonica, drums, Moog bass, T.O.N.T.O. synthesizer
- Minnie Riperton – background vocal
- Side Two
- "You Haven't Done Nothin'" – 3:29
- Stevie Wonder – lead vocal, Hohner clavinet, bass drum, hi-hat, cymbal
- Reggie McBride – electric bass
- The Jackson 5 – background vocals
- Robert Margouleff and Malcolm Cecil – synthesizers
- Horns, drum machine – uncredited
- "It Ain't No Use" – 4:01
- Stevie Wonder – lead vocal, background vocal, Fender Rhodes, drums, Moog bass
- Lani Groves – background vocal
- Minnie Riperton – background vocal
- Deniece Williams – background vocal
- "They Won't Go When I Go" (Wonder, Yvonne Wright) – 5:58
- Stevie Wonder – lead vocal, background vocal, piano, T.O.N.T.O. synthesizer
- Bob and Malcolm - programming Moog
- "Bird of Beauty" – 3:48
- "Please Don't Go" – 4:07
- Stevie Wonder – lead vocal, piano, Fender Rhodes, harmonica, handclaps, drums, hi-hat, Moog bass
- Michael Sembello – acoustic guitar
- The Persuasions – background vocal
- Shirley Brewer – background vocal
- Deniece Williams – background vocal
Cover versions
- "Too Shy to Say" - Later recorded by Diana Ross in 1978.
- "Too Shy to Say" - George Michael performed the song in his Faith Tour.
- "Creepin'" - Later recorded by Luther Vandross for The Night I Fell in Love in 1985.
- "They Won't Go When I Go" - Later recorded by George Michael for Listen Without Prejudice, Vol 1 in 1990.
- "They Won't Go When I Go" - Later recorded by Kevin Max for The Blood in 2007.
- "Boogie On Reggae Woman" - Later regularly performed live by Phish and featured on Hampton Comes Alive among other live releases.
2007.
- "Boogie On Reggae Woman" - Later recorded by Marcus Miller for Silver Rain in 2005
- "You Haven't Done Nothing" - Later recorded by Curumin for "Achados e Perdidos", in 2005
Chart positions
Billboard Chart information by Billboard VNU eMedia
- Album
| Year | Chart | Position |
|---|---|---|
| 1974 | Soul Albums | 1 |
| Top LP's & Tape |
- Singles
| Year | Single | Billboard Hot 100 |
Billboard Hot Soul Singles |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1974 | "You Haven't Done Nothin'" | 1 | 1 |
| "Boogie on Reggae Woman" | 3 | 1 |
See also
References
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- ↑ Allmusic review
- ↑ Moser, Margaret. Review: Innervisions. The Austin Chronicle. Retrieved 2010-05-08.
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- ↑ 9.0 9.1 9.2 Lua error in package.lua at line 80: module 'strict' not found.
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- ↑ Q review
- ↑ Rolling Stone review
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- ↑ "Bird of Beauty" partial Portuguese lyrics provided by Sergio Mendes
External links
- Hughes, Tim. Extensive musicological analysis of "You Haven't Done Nothing" in Groove and Flow: Six Analytical Essays On The Music Of Stevie Wonder (University of Washington PhD dissertation, 2003)
- Stevie Wonder interview by Pete Lewis, 'Blues & Soul' March 1995
| Preceded by | Billboard 200 number-one album September 14–27, 1974 |
Succeeded by Bad Company by Bad Company |
- Music infoboxes with deprecated parameters
- All articles with specifically marked weasel-worded phrases
- Articles with specifically marked weasel-worded phrases from February 2015
- Articles with unsourced statements from February 2012
- Stevie Wonder albums
- 1974 albums
- Grammy Award winners for Album of the Year
- Tamla Records albums
- Albums recorded at Electric Lady Studios
- Albums produced by Stevie Wonder
- Albums produced by Malcolm Cecil
