Fulfillingness' First Finale
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Fulfillingness' First Finale is a landmark album by Stevie Wonder, released on July 22, 1974; one of the albums from his "classic period".[1] It is his seventeenth studio album overall. Subsequent to the epic sweep and social consciousness of Innervisions, this set projected a reflective, decidedly somber tone. The musical arrangements used in several songs while masterful could be considered sparse in comparison to others among his 70s masterworks, evident especially in the bleak "They Won't Go When I Go" and understated "Creepin'". While largely a stripped down, more personal sounding record, Wonder had not completely foregone commentary on the world around him. The No. 1 hit "You Haven't Done Nothin'" launched a pointed criticism of the Nixon administration bolstered by funky Clavinet, drum machine, and a Jackson 5 cameo.
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 1975. When Wonder took two years to record his follow-up album (Songs), this broke his consecutive Grammy streak and led to Paul Simon's famous quote thanking him for not releasing an album in 1975 (when Simon won the Album of the Year award for Still Crazy After All These Years).
Track listing
All songs written by Stevie Wonder except where noted.
| No. | Title | Writer(s) | Length |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1. | "Smile Please" | Stevie 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 | 3:23 |
| 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'" – 3:22
- Stevie Wonder – lead vocal, Hohner clavinet, hi-hat, cymbal
- Reggie McBride – electric bass
- The Jackson 5 – background vocals
- Horns – uncredited
- Drum machine
- "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
- "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.
- "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 | Top R&B/Hip-Hop Albums, (formerly listed as Black Albums) by Billboard magazine charts | 1 |
| Pop Albums | 1 |
Singles
| Year | Single | Chart | Position |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1974 | "You Haven't Done Nothin'" | Pop Singles | 1 |
| "Boogie on Reggae Woman" | 3 | ||
| "You Haven't Done Nothin'" | Hot R&B/Hip-Hop Songs + | 1 | |
| "Boogie on Reggae Woman" | 1 |
References
- ^ Some observers count six classic albums, some count five and others count four.
Bogdanov, Vladimir; Woodstra, Chris; Erlewine, Stephen Thomas (2001). All music guide: the definitive guide to popular music (4 ed.). Hal Leonard Corporation. pp. 447–448. ISBN 0879306270.
Cramer, Alfred William (2009). Musicians and composers of the 20th century. Vol. 5. Salem Press. p. 1645. ISBN 1587655179.
Brown, Jeremy K. (2010). Stevie Wonder: Musician. Black Americans of Achievement. Infobase Publishing. p. 57. ISBN 1604136855. - ^ "Bird of Beauty" partial Portuguese lyrics provided by Sergio Mendes. [1]
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
