26×26 – S is for Stevie Wonder

Today’s album is Hotter Than July by Stevie Wonder

No, no, no – surely you meant to do ‘Songs In The Key Of Life’?

Well, no. Despite public opinion, I don’t think Songs In The Key Of Life was Stevie’s best album. It might have been if they’d cut some of it and made it a single album, but as a double, there’s too many fillers for my liking (I know some people say the same about The Beatles White Album).

I had a pretty large selection of S’s to choose from for this. I browsed over Suede, The Strokes, The Stone Roses, The Specials and many more, but I settled on Stevie Wonder, because I’ve always hugely admired his music, and I had the pleasure of seeing him perform live a couple of times.

I had to choose from the ‘golden era’ Wonder albums in my collection. I could have chosen ‘Talking Book’, ‘Innervisions’ or ‘Songs In The Key Of Life’ – but I chose ‘Hotter Then July’. Why? Well although  they are all considered classics (which they are), Hotter Than July is the only one that I love every second of! It’s more ‘commercial’ than the others, but hey – I’m writing about albums I love, not the critic’s choice!

This is the last great Stevie Wonder album (I suppose I should say ‘so far’).

We have Soul, Funk, Latin, Calypso and Reggae on here. Some of the tracks were big hits (Happy Birthday, Master Blaster(Jammin’), Lately), but I think any track on this album could have a been a hit single. I have memories of being in my early teens around the time Thriller came out, and it sat alongside Hotter Than July in our house – I think there are similarities between the two albums. They just go from one great track to the next, each one bringing a smile to your face as it starts.

Summer’s coming, and there’s no better album to play in the sunshine than this. Perfect soul-pop! Give it a try..

Standout track: ‘I Ain’t Gonna Stand For It‘

Other ‘S’s who didn’t quite make it: Strokes, Supergrass, Stone Roses, Specials, Smiths, Small Faces, Saint Etienne, Suede. Strong Category!