Fulfillingness' First Finale

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Editorial reviews

Amazon.co.uk Review
Stevie Wonder was in the middle of a multi-album roll when he put out this funk and soul collection, clunky title and all, in 1974. As usual, he adds depth and unexpected touches to even the most straightforward love song--the moving piano ballad "Too Shy to Say" has a spooky feeling, as if "I want to fly away with you, until there's nothing more to do" is the saddest line he ever sang. The harder songs, such as the fuzzy funk of "Boogie On Reggae Woman" and the angry "doo-de-wop" attack on then-US President Richard Nixon in "You Haven't Done Nothin'", add urgency without sacrificing the album's cohesiveness. --Steve Knopper

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Customer reviews

review by: date: 2008-08-15 rating:
Give it time, it's a bit of a sleeper.
This album won't grab you at first. I had it a while before it got under my skin. Just be patient, you will be richly rewarded.

Strongly recommended.

..oh and check the sound quality. This album is nearly 35 years old and it gives plenty of modern recordings a complete pasting.

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review by: staxasoul date: 2008-05-31 rating:
Often overlooked
Stevie Wonder had begun his metamorphosis from the teen star to a major and serious artist back in 1971 with "Music of my Mind", where he stretched beyond the boundaries Motown wanted to impose and began to explore the amazing creativity he had. There followed 3 of the most innovative and influential albums of the 70's - Talking Book, Inner Visions and Songs in the Key of Life, each of which could be considered a classic.

Little surprise then that "Fullfillingness...." (which came between Visions and Songs..) has been largely disregarded when critics choose their favourite Stevie Wonder album. That's a shame though, because there are some excellent tracks on display here.

The albums from this phase of Wonder's career always had plenty of variety of mood, with the uptempo and positive rubbing shoulders with the militant and regretful. FFF is no different, opening with "Smile Please" (no prizes for guessing the mood on this one), and a jaunty "Heaven is 10 Zillion Light Years Away", before the wistful "Too Shy..." brings things down tempo. We're back up again with "Boogie On..." , before the mellow "Creepin'" and the funky and angry "You Haven't Done Nothin'", which has a scorching lyric.

"It Ain't No Use" finds Stevie in regretful mood as he says goodbye to his love (would this be the hymn to the end of his marriage to Syreeta?), before "They Won't Go...", which almost comes to a full stop in places, such is the slow tempo. But Stevie Wonder always came across as a positive individual and this reasserts itself at the end of the set, with "Birds Of Beauty", a funky, Latin tinged number, stressing the virtues of a natural high.

You may have heard some of the tracks here, but Wonder's albums always rewarded listening as a whole and this is no exception - Inner Visions remains my favourite, but this runs it close

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review by: RONNIE date: 2008-02-09 rating:
superb album
This Album is full of surprise, the songs grow on you.
Ten Zillion is a very clever song the backing vocals are excellent. Very good to listen to if you need cheering up. The other gem for me is "They won't go when i go" The vocals are amazing, very emotional and powerful.
I recommend fans to buy this and play it a few times and watch the growth.

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review by: Gary Wobby date: 2007-05-13 rating:
One of Stevie's greatest
"Innervisions" has the funkiest tunes on it and is also a great album but this is well up there with Stevie's classic moments, "They won't go when I go" is an absolutely fantastic song and this whole album is full of gems, all i've got left to say is .............. BUY IT!!!!!!!!!!!!!!


review by: date: 2005-02-15 rating:
Stevie at his best
I find it difficult to proclaim anything SW did as 'my favorite' as there is so much to like about most of the stuff he did (particularly during the '70s). However, I must say that this particular album is the one I find myself coming back to time and time again. For me it is the peak of his partnership with Bob Margouleff & Malcolm Cecil, with the depth and intricity of the arranging greater than any of the previous 3 albums they had made together. It was also their final collaberation.

The way he has 2 'mini' Stevies responding to the main vocal line in 'Heaven is 10 Zillion Light Years Away' is absolutely amazing, particularly the way that they continuosly build in volume and intensity until the full gospel choir take over to join Stevie for the chorus. This inovative use in backing vocals continues in 'It Ain't No Use' and 'They Won't Go When I Go'.

In other tunes, he simply has one line of vocals throughout and uses the other instruments to create the interest, particularly (as always) the synthesisers. My favorite use of these artificial sounds is the bass line'Boogie On Reggae Woman', which is constantly in action, playing a very busy part but without interfering. This tune also contains one of Stevie's best harmonica solo - he creates a sound on that thing that just pierces right through your ears - Amazing!

It's very tempting to go through every song in detail, as there's so much to talk about, but my suggestion is that you buy this album and give it several listens, as it might not appeal to you straight away. But once you get it, you can listen to it as many times as you like and you won't ever get bored (and that goes for all of his '70s albums).

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