Stevie Wonder - Hotter Than July

Below average for Stevie

This is not the album to buy if you're wanting to have only one SW recording.
Good, but not up to the standards of his other works.
Do any of the selections seem to have stood the test of time?
If so, which one? February 20, 2008

A light at his sunglasses . . .

The reason I wrote for this review is to bring the average rating star to the max. "Hotter Than July" (1980) is a masterpiece. After about three decades since it was first released, the album can still enthrall and excite new audience.

As many have mentioned, all songs create a complete and eclectic album experience that even Stevie could not (or did not intend to) repeat since. It doesn't sound as synthesized as 80s soul nor orchestrated as 70s funk tracks. It stands in between and that's why it's special.

We all knew "Lately" (heartfelt ballad) and "Happy Birthday" (uplifting ode to Martin Luther King) or to some extend "Master Blaster" (Stevie in his 'riddem' mode). They are beyond great. However, the lesser known songs, such as "Did I Hear You Say You Love Me", "All I Do" and "Rocket Love" are golden nuggets from a treasure chest. Treat the record as a 'concept' album if you will, Stevie sculpted these tunes to be enjoyed on a hot sunny day (look at his image on the cover).

The remastered version is the one to get. It retains its deep acoustic, spacey sound. The only drawback after absorbing yourself to "Hotter Than July" is that there are no other albums that sound quite like it.

January 11, 2008

Hottest Of the Year

After the timeless album Songs in the Key of Life ir would take wWonder as much as 4 years to make a suitable successor, in the meantime he had recorded the vastly underrated Journey Through the Secret Life of Plants soundtrack album that was mostly a collection of instrumentals. The album wasn't bad but it was ignored by mainstream fans who wanted another album simular to "Key Of Life". 1980 wonder would eventually release it's natural successor "Hotter Than July" but his classic period where his music was most challenging and creative ended with "Key of Life" in 1976. The time ahead was more commercial, both by sound and themes, And based on Wonder's recent popularity and the musical trends at the time it wasn't hard to see why he chose this direction. However, This album still maintains the edgyness of earlier releases with plenty of exciting expriments and engaging moments. I'd say this was Wonder's last masterpiece, as commercial as it may be compared to previous albums it's still fantastic with many memorable enough songs with intelligent lyrics.

The opener "Did I Hear You Say You Love Me" is as funky as it gets with a nice guitar riff that follow throughout the song, horns and backround choirs. "All I Do" capture the time with disco influences, but apart from alot of simular songs in 1980 this never sounds cheesy, instead Wonder makes a beautiful ballad which is just disco by sound. "Rocket Love" a beautiful disco ballad proves why he writes better then most people with lyrics "A female Shakespeare of your time/ With looks to blow Picasso's mind/ You were the best/ Your body moved with grace and song/ Like symphonies by Bach or Brahm". To my surprise no one covered it so far. More funk-pop with "I Ain't Gonna Stand For It" which is once again on point. A decent midtempo-ballad "As If You Read My Mind" where Wonder uses his harmonica and synthesizer sound is followed by this albums most famous soung "Master Blaster (Jammin)" which was a tribute to another pioneer, Bob Marley who was dying in cancer at the time. It's a reggae influenced uptempo song that I guess most people heard and it gives further evidence that Wonder can make success with any music style. "Do Like You" sounds alot like "I Wish", Wonder sings about his son Keita that loves to dance, even when he's suppost to be asleep and Wonder ask his son, "Show me how to do like you" In an uptempo funk rhythm that would make Michael Jackson proud. Another social themed song called "Cash in Your Face" that deals with housing discrimination where Wonder sings "You might have the cash but you Can...not cash in your face". The best song is however the poignant love ballad "Lately" that is one of Wonder's all time best. In 1993 Jodeci covered the song and scored their biggest hit when it reached #4 on the Billboard charts. As good as that was, I still like Wonder's song better. "Happy Birthday" is the closer, a song that celebrates that Martin Luther King Jr's birthday became a national holiday. A great song but with rather dated synth arrangements.

Overall, perhaps more commercial then previous albums but still full of rich and engaging moments and a great varity of sounds (reggae, disco, funk, ballads, pop). "Hotter then July" is Stevie Wonder when he's most popular and able to create radio friendly music with an intelligent message behind. This is his last masterpiece and should be bought by anyone who likes the man and his music.

November 30, 2007

"Hotter Than July"

Great mix of R & B from Stevie Wonder. Great for dancing and easy listening. September 2, 2007

(4.5 stars) Rastaman Stevie!

Stevie Wonder is the man. I mean, it's not like that isn't terribly obvious, but it's also true. And it took me a few spins to realize this, but this is one of my favorite Stevie Wonder albums. As usual, it's divided between funk and ballads, with one major exception: the classic reggae-funk song Master Blaster (Jammin'). You've probably heard it, and if you have you probably love it - I know I do. Not quite the best song on the album, but close. That goes to one of the ballads, Lately. Now Stevie's normally a happy guy, but there's no happiness to be found here. Totally bleak, totally hopeless. That's not why I like it, though: I like it because Stevie just belts it out, because I like the atmosphere, because I like the melody. And because it resonates, arguably more than any other Wonder song - and that really takes something, because as we all know, Stevie's got plenty of soul. Let's see... what else... oh yeah, can't forget All I Do and Rocket Love, two FANTASTIC mellow ballads with a ton of hooks, and snappy strings in the latter's case. Oh yeah, and All I Do has a cool sax solo, so it gets brownie points. Those four are the backbone of a very strong album. What else is good? Not I Ain't Gonna Stand for It, that's for sure. The only song with a Stevie Wonder vocal I don't like (not counting his awful cover of Light My Fire from his teenage years - let's just pretend that song never existed, and move on). Okay, the other dud track is Do Like You, which is just a pathetic sequel to Isn't She Lovely, which is MUCH better.
So right, no more negativity, becuase this is a cool album, you know? Outside of the four "backbone" songs, my favorite is probably Happy Birthday. Cheesy as all hell, but a TON of fun. That and it's about Martin Luther King Jr., so it gets even more brownie points (MLK being a personal hero of mine, see?) Oh, and the melody's good. Another strong song is the disco (yes, that's right, Stevie does disco - quite well, too) Did I Hear You Say You Loved Me. The angry political commentary Cash in Your Face took quite a long time to grow on me, but I like the song's lyrics and its piano/string riff. Good song, though not spectacular. Then there's As If You Read My Mind, another one that I thought was a total waste at first - now I enjoy it a lot. Very funky!!
So there you have it. A very respectable follow-up to Songs in the Key of Life. Not quite as good. A personal favorite, though. And I like the cover image, too. July 27, 2007

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