Hotter Than July

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Editorial reviews

Amazon.co.uk Review
By the time Hotter Than July was released, in 1980, Stevie Wonder's most fertile period was already over. The smash run that began 1972 (Music of My Mind and Talking Book) and ran through Innervisions (1973), Fulfullingness' First Finale (1974) and 1976's Songs in the Key of Life was winding down. There was still enough magic left in Wonder for one last hurrah, however--and while July isn't its forerunner's equal in the heights it scales or consistency, it's still bears the marks of Wonder's best work: there's the regretful "I Ain't Gonna Stand For It", the reggae-crossover "Master Blaster (Jammin')", an oft-imitated classic (see Elvis Costello's "Watching the Detectives", for one); and the enormously successful paean to Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr., "Happy Birthday". --Randy Silver

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Customer reviews

review by: The music, book and film fanatic date: 2008-05-12 rating:
An important album from the singer-songwriter Stevie Wonder
Hotter than July, is never really acknowledged, in despite of the achievements that Wonder managed to do with it. The album was the best selling of his career to that point and Dr Martin Luther King Jr was granted a national holiday on 26th January 1986 after his plea in the song "Happy Birthday"

Wonder promotes diversity, peace (Master Jammin'-a tribute to Bob Marley's reggae style); anger ("I ain't gonna stand for it"); politics ("Cash in your hand"), love ("All i do" and "Rocket Love") and influence ("Happy Birthday"- the song now even appears in real birthday cards, despite being written as a tribute to the civic rights work by Dr Martin Luther King Jr.)

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review by: date: 2008-05-01 rating:
Fabulous album from Stevie!

This was Stevie's biggest selling album - peaking at number two in the album chart back in 1981, and opens with a great track that is lively, and melts beautifully into the lovely hypnotic disco/ballad: 'All I Do'.

Four massive hits on this; four top twenty singles - including no less than three top 3's! One of these having the very 'unoriginal' title of several hits out at about that time for some reason: 'Happy Birthday'. There's also a beautifully haunting song on this called 'Rocket Love', but this album will be remembered best for producing more chart hits for Stevie than any other in his career.

Stevie Wonder frustratingly would do very few 12" singles, but his style of music would often have been well marketed in this direction. The disco smash 'I Ain't Gonna Stand For It' would have been a great opportunity to utilise this aim in the market with an extended version, instead, he would record the full length version on the 7" release, which sound quality would have been much improved if an 'edited' version had been done and the extended left to the 12". This was of constant irritation to me - an overlong single where a 12" would have been more appropriate and interesting.

The classic 'Lately' is one of the finest songs on this album, and to have ever been released by Stevie Wonder, ironically though, a song that in my mother's opinion was a difficult song for him to sing - he appearing to have problems reaching those top notes - notes where he would seem to 'strain' somewhat. This would contrast, with 'I Ain't Gonna Stand For It', where the same, but in reverse would be apparent; where we he would appear to have difficulty in reaching the low keys which were done in a an extremely low pitch that would have been equally difficult for anyone to sing.

His least popular songs for me would tend to reach as high as position two in the charts, when his more appealing and 'catchier' songs would peak somewhat lower down the chart for some reason.

I never understood the silly kids voices included in the song 'Do like You' on this - a fabulous track that is spoilt somewhat by this pointless intro. and finale.

The strongest and weakest points on this album ironically are slap-bag next to each other; 'Lately' is by far the definite 'peak' here, that goes straight into 'Cash In Your Face' which has to be the 'weakest' track - if indeed it can be called that, since it is still a good song on what is a very wholly strong album.

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review by: date: 2002-08-07 rating:
Hotter than....er....'Characters'.
If you're looking for the evidence that somehow Stevie Wonder "lost" his genius that was so perspicuous during the 'Music of My Mind', 'Talking Book', 'Innervisions', 'FFF', and 'Songs in the Key of Life' era, then here it is manifested in 'Hotter Than July'. It was remastered in 2000 when Stevie's 'classic' motown albums were brought bang up to date so that you didn't have to crank up your volume knob just to hear a whisper of a sound. Now although this album contains the gorgeous 'Rocket Love', 'Master Blaster' and the down-right funky 'Ain't Gonna Stand For It', it's really a very hit and miss affair. His next album, excluding the soundtrack to 'Woman In Red' was 'In Square Circle' in 1985. It's a shame this didn't get remastered because, although at first sounds like a heavily synthesised, unfocused mess, reveals itself to be the album of songs that is more cohesive and satisfying than 'Hotter Than July'. Buy it by all means, but expect it to fall to the bottom of your Mr.Wonder collection. Still, I'd rather think that he just "misplaced" his genius and is desperately searching for it. God bless the guy.

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review by: date: 2002-06-29 rating:
Myriad
Rushed into production to quell the public's fears that Stevie had gone mad after releasing 'Secret Life Of Plants', 'Hotter Than July' delivers...just.

The songs are some of Wonder's best. From American-reggae ('Masterblaster') to a timeless ballad ('Lately') and the horribly overplayed 'Happy Birthday', the album is diverse as it is classic Wonder.

There are only two things wrong with the album. The first is the lack of cohesion which is very apparent - the songs just don't gel together as they do on, say, 'Songs In The Key Of Life'. The second, and maybe I'm being pedantic, the album packaging. The horrible cover would put anyone off!

However, this is not an album to be missed. The songs, standing alone, are of Wonder's usual high quality; the best of maybe being on a compilation album.


review by: date: 2001-06-18 rating:
It all went downhill after this!
From the opening bars of the cooooool "Did I hear you say you love me?" we are taken on a journey through the mind of a genius who was just preparing to give his talent away to an average bloke in the street. "All I Do", "Rocket Love" and "Lately" are all beautiful ballads that bring a tear to your eye but it is the five songs in the middle of the album that do it for me. They are upbeat and nearly as funky as his '70's stuff. Buy "Hotter than July" and think about the great albums that COULD'VE followed this but didn't.

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