As the master prepares to celebrate the 50th anniversary of this landmark album on Thursday, October 15 at the Accor Arena, we revisited it and were once again dazzled by its freshness and its density.
In April 1971, Stevie Wonder freed himself from Motown and its big boss, Berry Gordy — who opposed political or social allusions on his records — and signed his declaration of independence with Where I’m Coming From, entirely written with his wife Syreeta Wright and of which he is the sole producer. Thus he opens a vertiginous five-year span where he will string together masterpieces and classics: Music of My Mind (March 1972), Talking Book (October 1972), Innervisions (August 1973), Fulfillingness’ First Finale (July 1974) and therefore Songs in the Key of Life.
It was in September 1976 that Songs in the Key of Life materialized, a monstrous album, an indescribable double album by a man at the peak of his craft. It contains the perfect Sir Duke, a buoyant tribute to Duke Ellington, the untouchable Pastime Paradise and As that Coolio (for the former) and Mary J. Blige feat. George Michael (for the latter) would perform again with equal success in the nineties. It also includes the astonishing Brazilian-disco suite Another Star, which would be woven into an incredible medley with others in Get Lucky and Le Freak, thanks to the reverent collaboration of Daft Punk, Nile Rodgers and Pharrell Williams during a memorable live performance at the Grammy Awards in 2014.
An inexhaustible album
In short, it holds as many jewels as there are tracks on Songs in the Key of Life (the tender Isn’t She Lovely, the kaleidoscopic Black Man, or I Wish, for example) while also featuring collaborations with esteemed names such as George Benson, Herbie Hancock and Minnie Riperton. As if that weren’t enough, the album, at its release, was augmented with a four-track bonus EP and, on September 28, another EP, Songs in the Key of Life 50: The EP, arrived to complete its legend. An inexhaustible album, a gateway to eternity that will miraculously reopen this Thursday, October 15, at the Accor Arena, albeit without Prince who had honored the venue with his presence sixteen years earlier during the maestro’s previous performance.
Songs in the Key of Life 50: The EP (Motown Records/Universal). Out since September 28. In concert at the Accor Arena, Paris, on October 15.
