Stevie Wonder - Fulfillingness' First Finale

Stevie's finest hour.

"Fulfillingness' First Finale" does not get the recognition it deserved. While "Innervisions" and "Songs In The Key of Life" were both brilliant 5-star worthy masterpieces, neither of them come close to the beauty that is "Fulfillingness' First Finale."

Of all the records Motown put out during its existence, none have the amount of soul that is found in this album. The songs range from moody and melancholy to cheerful and uplifting, although the tempo is relatively slow and soothing through the whole album.

"Smile Please," the album's first song, sets the tone for the whole album, and is one of the best openers of Wonder's career. The keyboarding and vocals are slow and smooth, with moody but uplifting lyrics. The song is a definite gem. And this is only the first song.

From the soft and gentle guitar riffs of "Heaven is 10 Zillion Light Years Away" to the spacey "Too Shy To Say," Wonder does not fail to entertain and inspire. "Creepin'," one of the most heart-wrenching songs about love (yet still an unfathomably beautiful song) is also one of the greatest existing smooth R&B songs (and was covered by Luther Vandross for that reason.)

"Boogie on Reggae Woman" is one of the more upbeat songs while still capturing the mood of the album, and is an enjoyable song. "You Haven't Done Nothin'" is a great example of funk music. Both stand out, but fit in with the flow of the album.

The album closes with "Bird of Beauty," a psychedelic-soul song, and "Please Don't Go," a simple, upbeat song which closes the album just as beautifully as "Smile Please" opens it.

Stevie Wonder's emotions passionately flow through each song, whether it be from his voice or his instruments. The album is absolutely flawless, from the vocals to the instrumental segments. While it is the least accessible of his albums, if you buy this album, you will not be disappointed in the least. If you are any bit interested, get this album - it is a must own. August 25, 2008

Fulfillingness' First Finale?

A phenomenal follow-up to 1973's classic release "Innervisions", tunes like "Creepin'", "Too Shy To Say", & "Boogie On Reggae Woman" expose Stevie's "carnal" side, while the tracks "Bird Of Beauty" & "Smile Please" explore the loving commonplaces of previous albums. One of Stevie's more.... "contemporary" albums. This truley unique composition will have you too wishing you had the powers of the "Wondrous" third eye.
August 21, 2008

Simply Beautiful

I just finished listening to this album again. Although I don't know every note by heart as with Songs In The Key Of Life, I love it just as much.
It starts rather slow with Smile Please, a beautiful call for people to put a smile on their faces, to stow away the frowns.
Heaven is 10 Zillion Light Years Away to me is Stevie's all time best song. Wonderful melodies with lyrics that go so deep and stay with you forever.
Like with a concept album Stevie has never built a better tension, constructed a better flow of his different melodies on a single album. A slow start, slowing down even more, then, with Boogie Down Reggae Woman changing pace, only to slow down again. But don't worry, never boring for a second. Of course there's the mid tempo stompin' You Haven't Done Nothing with the Jackson Five as background vocals (and a great horn section). Speaking of which, Stevie's list of guests is incredible: Denise Williams, Minnie Ripperton, Syreeta of course, Paul Anka, Michael Sembello.
A beautiful romantic album that will stay with you forever. December 8, 2007

Stevie's Most Romantic Album

Sanwiched between the masterpieces Innervisions and Songs in the Key of Life, the 1974 album "Fulfillingness' First Finale" is often less debated but it doesn't make it less wonderful. However, it's quite diffrent then both of them, While "Innervisions" was socio-conscious and "Key of Life" more autobiographical this one ends up being a collective of mostly romantic love songs with quite sparse arrangements compared to Wonder's most adventourous efforts with his patented futuristic syntheziers. But Wonder was at his creative peak during the classic period 1972-1976 and his albums started to sell better and better after the crossover smash Talking Book when people of all backrounds had realized how amazing he was. "Fulfillingness' First Finale" was no exception and reached the top of the album charts spawning two top 3 singles aswell and just like "Talking Book" it also features plenty of interesting guest appearences like Paul Anka, Minnie Ripperton and Jackson 5 (all singing backround vocals). The album is defenitely worth a second look if you haven't heard about it before.

It all starts with a slow ballad called "Smile Please", at first it may sound rather forgettable but after repeated listens it will find it's way to your heart. The song is about taking life for what it is and making the best out of what it has to offer. Stevie sings "Don't mess your face up with better tears/'Cause life is gonna be what it is/ It's okay, please don't delay from smiling.../There're brighter days ahead". And he is so right about that. The standout here in my oppinion is "Heaven Is 10 Zillion Light Years Away" a midtempo with gospel choirs about finding god. Stevie sings "Why can't they say that hate is 10 zillion light years away/ Why can't the light of good shine God's love in every soul/ Why must my color black make me a lesser man/I thought this world was made for every man/He loves us all, that's what my God tells me". "Too Shy To Say" is one of the slowest songs I ever heard him sing, it's basically only Stevie and a piano but it's still a very beautiful ballad. "Boogie On a Reggae Women" is Jazzy piano vs Funky bass. This song is a midtempo and reached a #3 on the pop charts. "Creepin" a slow ballad and among the alltime finest and most romantic. Backround vocals from Ripperton, I guess you recognize her unique voice?. The Jackson 5 joins in on the most funky song here "You haven't Done Nothing" which follows the same musical path as "Higher Ground" and "Superstition", the lyrics deal with the same thing as "He's Misstra Know It All" from his last album. It reached number 1!. "It Ain't No Use" another slow ballad with backround choirs, the song is about a relationship going wrong and once again Wonder makes the song better then it is with his performence. A sensitive but sad piano ballad with gospel called "They Won't Go When I Go", good song after repeated listens. One of the best songs is defenitely "Bird of Beauty" with it's exotic feeling and funky bass lines, Stevie also sings in Portuguese here so I guess he was inspired by Brazilian music at the time. Sergio Mendes maybe?. The album's last song is the soulish midtempo/ballad "Please Don't Go", yet another wonderful song.

Overall, "Fulfillingness' First Finale" may not be his most selling album nor most adventurous but song after song here is memorable on their own right. A few funky numbers but mostly romantically written and very beautiful love songs sets the tone for the 4th out of 5 albums from Stevie Wonder's most creative time. It may not be the first album to pick up but any ambitious Stevie Wonder fan should defenitely give it a chance. You won't regret it.






November 7, 2007

Not his best, but certainly not his worse....

Even a not so great Stevie Wonder album in comparison to other artist is a masterpiece. This isn't my favorite Stevie album maybe because of the last half of the album. "Too Shy to Say" and "Boogie on Reggae Woman" are great songs, as are others on here. But they all come during the first half. Again though, even a not so great Stevie album is a great album compared to other artists. So even the second half of the album isn't bad. I just tend to skip more of the last few songs than listen to them. I still say "Talking Book" is his best album or "Songs in the Key of Life" A lot of people love this one as much as the others, just not me though. It's just missing something. I still consider this in his top 4 best albums. With "Music of My Mind" fifth. September 17, 2007

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