Stevie – From 50 to 1

first, if you’re in Durham, there’s a party at Bomaniland tonight. If I forgot to tell you about it, my bad. Hit me up for details. We’ll be screening the MJ documentary here at the estate.
Also, if you’re on the mailing list, you’ll get two notifications from me today. The first will have been for this piece, but the second will come when my Page 3 piece goes up today.
Okay, I’ve learned my lesson. No more lists of 25 when I know a list of 50 is required. I’ll go ahead and do the extra work now rather than going back. It’s less fun reading from 26-50, ain’t it?
Either way, today is all about Stevie!
My favorite Stevie Story…my brother was 9 when Elvis died. He saw the massive outpouring of sympathy and said, “man, if it’s like that for Elvis, what’s it gonna be like when Stevie dies?”
I guarantee you folks won’t be flockin’ to Stevieland.
On to the list…albums are listed if I can remember off the top of the dome.

50.Isn’t She Lovely (Songs in the Key of Life). Easily the most overrated of all the Stevie songs. Plus, Stevie–how you know she’s lovely? Aren’t you blind?
49.Golden Lady (Innervisions). To me, this is the second most overrated cut in the Stevie catalog. It’s smooth, though.
48.Creepin’ (Fulfillingness’ First Finale). Luther’s version is better, I must say.
47.Boogie On (Reggae Woman) (FFF). Probably would be higher if I could understand what the hell he’s saying on here.
46.Too High (IV). “She’s a girl in a dream/she’s a four-eyed cartoon monster on the TV screen/takes another puff and says it’s a crazy scene/and red is green/and she’s a tangerine.” Great line, but those are a lotta visual references for a blind man.
45.I Was Made to Love Her (Pre-album era). I bet he was made to love her. Yeah, really. Great song, though.
44.We Can Work it Out (Pre). Should be higher, but you know how that goes. But is his better than the original from The Beatles???
43.Fingertips (Pre). Gotta peep it. Hard to describe with words.
42.They Won’t Go When I Go (FFF). I must admit that I like depressing Stevie.
41.Rocket Love (Hotter Than July). Should be higher, but I messed up. Check the version on Natural Wonder, an album Stevie did with a symphony. Metallica later did a great album with the same premise called “S&M.”
40.For Your Love (Conversation Peace, I think). The newest song on this list. Great vocal showcase.
39.All in Love is Fair (IV). Just dope.
38.Ebony Eyes (SKL). How you know what color her eyes are, Stevie? Huh?
37.Part Time Lover (In Square Circle). Stevie got game, man. Backup singer–Luther Vandross.
36.If You Really Love Me (Where I’m Coming From). For some reason whenever me and Jon would make a Stevie joke or impression, this would be the song we chose. Great arrangement, though.
35.Pasttime Paradise (SKL). Block Coolio out of your mind. And if you get the chance, peep the DVD on the making of Songs in the Key of Life. You’ll see that Stevie actually had Harry Krisners (sp?) come in to play the bells.
34.Lately (HTJ). He should have done this on a piano and not a synthesizer. In fact, bad decisions like that–those that found Stevie getting too caught up in using new technology–helped end his time on top. Even still, this bangs.
33.Overjoyed (ISQ). Revived in the public eye by, I believe, a camera commercial. Not too keen on the synthesizers, but the lyric is where it’s at.
32.Ribbon in the Sky (Original Musiquarium). Again, should be higher. How many of you had this song played at your wedding? If not yours, how ’bout those you’ve attended?
31.Heaven is Ten Zillion Light Years Away (FFF). My ex-girlfriend once asked how I could like a song about heaven when I’m not sure such a place exists. Apparently, she wasn’t listening to this very closely.
30.Love’s in Need of Love Today (SKL). The first track on Songs in the Key of Life. What a way to set the scene for what’s about to come on what is undeniably one of the greatest records ever made (even though it’s a wee bit overrated).
29.Sir Duke (SKL). Uh oh, I accidentally put this on twice. It’s really a list of 49. More on Sir Duke later.
28.Village Ghetto Land (SKL). “Now some folks say that we should be/glad for what we have/tell me, would you be happy?/village ghetto land.” Sobering portrait of poverty, complete with the thought of someone eating dog food. That line became the basis of an episode of “Good Times.”
27.Master Blaster (Jammin’) (HTJ). Stevie’s tribute to Bob Marley. And it bangs. It isn’t a straight reggae joint, but it doesn’t sound like cultural voyeurism. Stevie really is a genius.
26.Higher Ground (IV). Should be higher, but I can’t switch the list around without anguish. The RHCP cover is hot, too.
25.He’s Misstra Know It All (IV). I know about eight niggaz like the one in this song. Watch your back.
24.Do Yourself a Favor (WICF). Super-duper funky, and it comes before most people realize Stevie started doing funk. Check the review of another song later for more.
23.You Met Your Match (Pre). Hey man, Stevie got game. Lots of game. James Jamerson is also one of the greatest bass players ever.
22.These Three Words (Jungle Fever). This song helped get me through when Jon died. Yo, tell your folks you love them. Don’t be shy about it. And if me saying that doesn’t resonate with you, you should listen to Stevie tell it.
21.Until You Come Back to Me (Pre). Another one that’s become cliche because it’s been covered by everyone and they mama. Put it like this–neither Luther nor Aretha could touch Stevie on their covers, and they live(d) to blow original versions of songs away.
20.Please Don’t Go (FFF). Closes out the underrated Fulfillingness’ First Finale. I absolutely love the drumming.
19.Have a Talk With God (SKL). Crazy funky. “He’s the only free psychiatrist that’s known throughout the world…”
18.Don’t You Worry ‘Bout a Thang (IV). Is there anything funnier than listening to Stevie spit game in Spanish?
17.Superwoman (Where Were You When I Needed You (Music of My Mind). I’m big on songs that go in stanzas. This is one of those. However, never wonder where (s)he was when you need him/her. Just cut that sucka loose. Man, I’m jaded.
16.Sir Duke (SKL). Turn up the bass on this one. The bass line runs with the horn line, but it’s such a full bodied track. Man, what a groove.
15.I Love Every Little Thing About You (MoM). Different vocal style for Stevie on this one. So playfully serious. For real, this is the way you’d want to be able to express yourself to your (wo)man. With total relaxation, but the utmost sincerity.
14.Jesus Children of America (IV). “Tell me holy roller/are you standing like a soldier?/Are you standin’ for everything you talk about?” I wish I could just walk up and down the street playing that lyric on loop.
13.All I Do (HTJ). Boy, that Hotter Than July is the beginning of the end for Stevie, but the high moments on there are smokin’. This the highest of those.
12.You Are the Sunshine of My Life (Talking Book). Yeah, the kids think this one’s corny. Yeah, it’s played out. Oh yeah, it’s also flawlessly beautiful.
11.My Cherie Amour (Pre). You know, we talk about the failures of child stars, but has there ever been a greater child star than Stevie? Other than the J5, what music recorded by children has endured like Stevie’s?
10.Living for the City (IV). I’m partial to songs when Stevie just starts that gruntin’. This is wonderfully written, but Stevie messes up. “His sister’s black/but she is sho’nuff purdy.” How can a blind man have a color complex? Or can he see?? Hmmm….
9.Maybe Your Baby (TB). More funk. And this is real talk. Very akin to Johnnie Taylor’s “Who’s Makin Love.” Yanno, who’s makin’ love to your old lady while you were out makin’ love? You ain’t slick, niggaz.
8.You Haven’t Done Nothin’ (FFF). Man, Nixon was catchin’ a lotta bad ones around this era. Not far removed from Curtis’ “If There’s A Hell Below,” Stevie gives Tricky Dick the business over an incredibly funky track. Backup singers on this one–the Jackson 5.
7.For Once in My Life (Pre). Love that guitar riff at the start. The Motown House Band was vicious.
6.Heaven Help Us All (Pre). My favorite song from Stevie’s childhood. “Heaven help the boy that won’t make 21/heaven help the man that gave that boy a gun.” And people would have you believe cats didn’t start shootin’ until the early nineties.
5.Superstition (TB). Music historians like to point to this as the moment that Stevie embraced funk, but that’s not true. There are lots of funky moments before like “Do Yourself a Favor.” But this one is so sparce but absolutely flawless. Look, just throw “Superstition” on in your office and watch the old heads start to get crunk. It’s encoded in the old black person’s code to love this. Stuff like that is why I love old black people.
4.Knocks Me Off My Feet (SKL). Donnell Jones doesn’t exist, okay? This one could have easily been #1, especially after Motown remastered Stevie’s catalog. The new versions just jump out of the speakers and remind you of how dope Stevie is.
3.Never Dreamed You’d Leave in Summer (WICF). They be doin’ Stevie bad. I listened to this one a lot when I had one leave me in autumn. Works for all seasons, really. At least if she had left in summer, there would be plenty chances for good rebounds. When she leaves in winter, you’re in bad shape, jack. The options just ain’t as great.
2.As (SKL). The only good thing about the bougie black movie movement of the late ’90s was the moment in The Best Man when Taye Diggs throws this cut on. Why? Because this brought “As” back into the consciousness of those who say they like Stevie but don’t know the score. “Until the day that 8x8x8 is four…” Wow.
1.I Don’t Know Why (Pre). This is a personal choice if there’s ever been one. There’s something about this song and its instrumentation that wins, but it’s the sincerity of the lyric, the willingness to admit that he’s getting the okeydoke. It’s right up there with Bill Withers’ “Use Me” on the pantheon of songs that say, “it feels so good to do so bad!” But, it’s just dope as all get out. And oddly enough, it was a B-side.