Welcome to All Things Stevie

I’ve finally begun researching Songs in the Keys of Life (1976).  For those who may not know, this album stands as Stevie Wonder‘s signature work.  It’s also his only double-studio album.  So I anticipate that by the time all is said and done, it will represent the lengthiest page in this encyclopedia as far as albums/songs go.

Above is an embed of a YouTube page that features the entirety of Songs in the Keys of Life, which is 21 tracks’ long.   The cool thing about said page is that it has timestamped hyperlinks to each individual song.  Those of us who are already familiar with this work, we undoubtedly have personal favorites.  But as for others who may be listening to it for the first time, I strongly recommend enjoying it in its entirety, from beginning to end.

Personally, this is the first Stevie Wonder album I ever heard and the one that made me realize how outstanding and versatile he actually is.  That’s arguably the greatest thing about Songs in the Keys of Life – its versality.  Off the top of my head, I can’t think of any other studio album that touches on as many diverse subjects and sounds as this one does.

This album was dropped relatively early in Wonder’s life, while he was still in his mid-20s.  But in a sense, it marks the midway point of his career.  None of his subsequent works came near to replicating its overall success.  And after the release of Songs in the Keys of Life, Stevie became more known for his singles and humanitarian efforts than albums per se, with his “classic era”, concluding with this project, being considered his heyday.