THE definition of a classic. This album was the culmination of Stevie's "classic period" in the 70s, which is considered one of the greatest album runs in history (Music of My Mind, Talking Book, Innervisions, Fulfillingness' First Finale, and this) . They're definitely all worth checking out, especially Innervisions. That record is mostly just Stevie playing and singing everything and its freaking awesome.
I would just like to second, ESPECIALLY Innervisions. I’ll concede that Songs In The Key of Life is probably his magnum opus, but Innervisions will always be my personal favorite.
@peytonwilliams3107 I honestly feel the same. Innervisions is probably the record I return to the most. It's 9 super tight songs all wrapped up in 45 minutes
Songs in the Key of Life is my favorite album of all time. I’ve loved this thing deeply for 20 years now. Anytime I’m able to see praise for this record, especially such authentic exuberance on someone’s first listen, it genuinely makes me really happy. Welcome to having this album be part of your life.
You commented that the last 4 songs were shorter than the ones before it. Those last 4 songs weren't on the original double album (it ended with Another Star), and those last 4 songs were on an extra EP called "A Something's Extra." It's incredible that even his B-sides are so incredible! This is the 5th and final album in his "classic" period from 1972-1976. All 5 of the albums (Music of My Mind, Talking Book, Innervisions, Fulfillingness' First Finale, and this one) are phenomenal and worth checking out.
Stevie’s run in the 70s is unbelievable, he had three consecutive albums win record of the year at the Grammys. I like Talking Book and Innervisions almost as much as Songs, but this is definitely his best album and undeniably the culmination of his whole career.
Susumu Hirasawa - 救済の技法 (Kyuusai no gihou) Susumu Hirasawa just has this otherwordly sound too his stuff, i cant explain it, his music is just very unique imo.
I got to see Stevie perform this whole album live a few years back and it was phenomenal! His track listing makes way more sense for the 4 extra tracks. “Saturn” and “Ebony Eyes” follow “Ordinary Pain” (ending disc 1) while “All Day Sucker” and “Easy Goin’ Evening” follow “Black Man.” That leaves the final four tracks in tact as intended: “I Am Singing,” “If It’s Magic,” “As,” and the closer, “Another Star.”
thank you for your videos a few recommendations: songs - Adrianne Lenker (folk, singer-songwriter) Ghosts of the Great Highway - Sun Kil Moon (folk rock, singer-songwriter, alt-country) SMILE :D - Porter Robinson (pop-punk, pop, electronic) Process - Sampha (experimental r&b, great production) Koi No Yokan - Deftones (very heavy, sexier and heavier radiohead imo) Hypochondriac - Brakence (very experimental emo rap, glitch pop) Reading Writing And Arithmetic - The Sundays (the smiths ish, with beautiful female vocals)
45:53 Man, you're gonna enjoy the ride of "Journey through the secret life of plants", the folow-up album of "Songs in the key of life"., especially for "Venus flytrap and the bug". And if you want more harp from the player of "If it's magic", check out Dorothy Ashby, a legendary jazz harpist.
As and Another Star are two of the greatest songs ever written. Just masterpieces. I play bass and just can’t get enough of playing those tunes. George Benson adds some vocals and guitar at the end of Another Star.
ANOTHER CLASSIC! Some Recs: Stevie Wonder - Innervisions Marvin Gaye - Lets Get it On Janet Jackson - The Velvet Rope Danny Brown - XXX J Dilla - Donuts Lil Ugly Mane - Mista Thug Isolation Nina Simone - Wild is The Wind
Songs In The Key of Life is the best double album of the 1970s. It is also the very apex of Wonder’s career. He was at his most creative and prolific and the musicianship was unparalleled at the time. The only other popular music double album to have such a massive impact was Bob Dylan’s Blonde on Blonde from 1966. Fun fact: the last 4 songs listed were from a bonus 7 inch extended play record Stevie included with the double album. They did not fit with the theme of the rest of the album but Stevie felt they were still relevant and high enough quality for release.
you gotta do a jeff rosenstock album at some point. HELLMODE is my personal fav (and one of my favorite albums of all time) but you really can't go wrong with his discography.
Also does a lot of the instruments on the album, And does everything except the brass on isn’t she lovely. You’re next Stevie if you’d like I would recommend Innervisions
Smags listen to Kyuusai no Gihou/Technique of Relief by Susumu Hirasawa, it's in Japanese but it's one of my favourite albums of all time and sounds like nothing else. He also did the Berserk anime and Paprika movie soundtracks
Hi Smags! A couple recs: Mr Bungle - Self Titled, and Primus - Sailing the seas of cheese. Both are very weird funky rock. Thanks for the videos as always
PLEASE react to some Emerson Lake & Palmer. It's a great prog band wich I'm curently revisiting after 2 years, and oh man this stuff is gonna blow your mind, especially Brain Salad Surgery.
React to LITTLE BUSTERS and Happy Bivouac by The Pillows next! They are both top tier j-rock/grunge albums that I think you will really enjoy. I recommend starting with LITTLE BUSTERS though
Though some of these songs are just Stevie with his synths/keyboards, vocals, etc. a lot of these featured band accompaniment which he hadn't used since 1971 before he got a new deal with Motown that got him total creative control (when he recorded in Detroit with the Funk Brothers like all the Motown artists did prior to the company's move to L.A. a year later). It gave the album a less unique sound but also a richer and more full sound that made the songs here more grandiose than prior. It's crazy too because after this, Stevie made some solid albums but nothing as masterful as this. He got so much creativity out before age 30 that it was hard after that to top what he had done. Songs in the Key Of Life is so startlingly consistent for a double LP and on the level of a classical composer for arrangements too. There were more classical elements here, whereas more of the focus of his prior 3 was on R&B/soul and jazz. Tour de force indeed.
recs: Polvo - Today's Active Lifestyles (Sick sounding early 90s math/indie rock, awesome guitar tone) Swirlies - Blonder Tongue Audio Baton (GORGEOUS unique sounding early 90s shoegaze, sounds like mbv, pavement, guided by voices with twee pop mixed in, so awesome, better than Loveless imo) Violent Femmes - Violent Femmes (Unique folk-punk, early 80s college/alt rock, very catchy) Teenage Fanclub - Bandwagonesque (Really catchy power pop, slightly shoegazey, same label as The Jesus and Mary Chain, My Bloody Valentine) Quasi - Featuring "Birds" (Awesome Built to Spill-esque/Pacific Northwest indie rock, same label as Modest Mouse, Built to Spill, Duster etc) The Breeders - Pod (Unique early 90s alt rock, Steve Albini prod, was in Kurt Cobain's top 3 albums of all time) Slint - Tweez (Sick late 80s post-hardcore/math rock, also Steve Albini prod) Pinback - Pinback (Very chill and creative late 90s indie rock) Modest Mouse - This Is a Long Drive for Someone with Nothing to Think About (Amazing album, basically as good as The Lonesome Crowded West) The Prodigy - The Fat Of The Land (badass big-beat dance music) Guided By Voices - Bee Thousand (lovely 90's lo-fi) Hella - Hold Your Horse Is (Math Rock with the drummer from Death Grips, before he was in Death Grips) Pavement - Crooked Rain, Crooked Rain (Absolutely perfect 90's indie rock album)
Day idk of suggesting: Tim Hecker - Virgins (Drone, Ambient) Clipping. - Visions of bodies being burned (Horrorcore, Industrial Hip Hop) Jane Remover - Frailty (Indietronica, Digicore, Hyperpop) Igorrr - Savage Sinusoid (Avant-Garde Metal, Breakcore, Baroque) Squarepusher - Hard Normal Daddy (Drill and Bass, Jazz Fusion) Oneohtrix Point Never - Garden of Delete (Electro-Industrial, Progressive Electronic) Machine Girl - WLFGRL (Hardcore Breaks, Footwork) 2814 - Birth of A New Day (Dreampunk, Basically Vaporwave without any samples)
Hey Smags, during your reaction of Beach House's Bloom, you said at 9:00 you would do a Minecraft lets-play if the video got 300 likes. The video has 882 likes, yet for some reason I can't seem to find your Minecraft let's play (I would also accept a reaction/review of Hot Fuss from the Killers
Highly cannot suggest enough Julia Holter - Have You In My Wilderness. I remember all that time ago when you listened to Titanic Rising it to me at least sounds like the yin to it's yang. An incredibly piece of baroque pop.
Funny story, when weird Al did his Amish Paradise parody, he asked Coolio for permission. Weird Al was given the okay but not by Coolio. Honestly he should have asked Stevie. Stevie would have been cool and Coolio would still have to get over it.
Incredible run of albums through the 70's, but his peak for me remains Innervisions (1973). Songs in the Key of Life suffers from double-album syndrome (with extra EP!): side three is the weak spot for me, songs are way too long, should have been edited down. But ok, i'm nitpicking.
![fellow fellow - พรุ่งนี้ไม่มีใครรู้ feat. INK WARUNTORN [OFFICIAL MV]](http://i.ytimg.com/vi/QP6JyjYx_W0/mqdefault.jpg)
soundtracks from the blind
he already did this brudder
@@moraine_view you really don’t get the joke?😅
@@QuietNDrive im autistic
@@moraine_view 😂
Terrible album. Unlistenable noise.
Stevie Wonder is a national freaking treasure
International*
THE definition of a classic.
This album was the culmination of Stevie's "classic period" in the 70s, which is considered one of the greatest album runs in history (Music of My Mind, Talking Book, Innervisions, Fulfillingness' First Finale, and this) . They're definitely all worth checking out, especially Innervisions. That record is mostly just Stevie playing and singing everything and its freaking awesome.
I would just like to second, ESPECIALLY Innervisions. I’ll concede that Songs In The Key of Life is probably his magnum opus, but Innervisions will always be my personal favorite.
@peytonwilliams3107 I honestly feel the same. Innervisions is probably the record I return to the most. It's 9 super tight songs all wrapped up in 45 minutes
@ Couldn’t have said it better myself. I also love his lyrics on that one, he’s a bit more scathing on it than any of the other albums in the run.
Songs in the Key of Life is my favorite album of all time. I’ve loved this thing deeply for 20 years now.
Anytime I’m able to see praise for this record, especially such authentic exuberance on someone’s first listen, it genuinely makes me really happy.
Welcome to having this album be part of your life.
SONGS IN THE PEAK OF LIFE? LETS GOOOOO
this is always my choice for the "you can only listen to one album for the rest of your life"
This or the Desintegration by Cure for me
i screamed at my mom when i saw this notification sorry mom
are you alr
@@lpdpynah man
It is perfect, the culmination of a creative career, using every musical idea he had. Just an incredible talent.
Stevie has a string of perfect albums from 1972-1980 please do them all.
Another star is one of the best songs of all time
I should listen to it
@birdshh1 definitely!! Wait omg oomf!!
@@maryfreegirl2029 The world truly is small
yooo my fav aoty reviewer
As and Another Star back to back. That is up there with any two piece combo on any album ever.
Depression curing album tbh
FR how can you be sad listening to an album that instantly makes you want to fuck
Fr
WE DID IT BELIEVERS ‼️‼️‼️‼️‼️🙏🙏🙏🙏🙏⛹️♂️⛹️♂️⛹️♂️⛹️♂️🔥🔥🔥🔥💯💯💯💯💯💯
Haven’t even watched this but already know it’s gonna be #1 in the next ranking
heard it recently and loved it, this is a gift fck yes
You commented that the last 4 songs were shorter than the ones before it. Those last 4 songs weren't on the original double album (it ended with Another Star), and those last 4 songs were on an extra EP called "A Something's Extra." It's incredible that even his B-sides are so incredible! This is the 5th and final album in his "classic" period from 1972-1976. All 5 of the albums (Music of My Mind, Talking Book, Innervisions, Fulfillingness' First Finale, and this one) are phenomenal and worth checking out.
You’re gonna love Innervisions
I almost shed a tear when I found this album on vinyl at goodwill for $2. Lives on my wall for the rest of time
Guitar work by Michael Sembello. Worked with Stevie a lot around this time, and had a #1 hit of his own in 1983 with "Maniac".
SITKOL is a fundament, modern mainstream music was built on
Stevie’s run in the 70s is unbelievable, he had three consecutive albums win record of the year at the Grammys. I like Talking Book and Innervisions almost as much as Songs, but this is definitely his best album and undeniably the culmination of his whole career.
Wasn't that when Paul Simon in his Grammy acceptance speech thanked Stevie Wonder... for not releasing an album that year.
Desert island album right here. As may be the most beautiful love song ever written.
Susumu Hirasawa - 救済の技法 (Kyuusai no gihou) Susumu Hirasawa just has this otherwordly sound too his stuff, i cant explain it, his music is just very unique imo.
I got to see Stevie perform this whole album live a few years back and it was phenomenal! His track listing makes way more sense for the 4 extra tracks. “Saturn” and “Ebony Eyes” follow “Ordinary Pain” (ending disc 1) while “All Day Sucker” and “Easy Goin’ Evening” follow “Black Man.” That leaves the final four tracks in tact as intended: “I Am Singing,” “If It’s Magic,” “As,” and the closer, “Another Star.”
thank you for your videos
a few recommendations:
songs - Adrianne Lenker (folk, singer-songwriter)
Ghosts of the Great Highway - Sun Kil Moon (folk rock, singer-songwriter, alt-country)
SMILE :D - Porter Robinson (pop-punk, pop, electronic)
Process - Sampha (experimental r&b, great production)
Koi No Yokan - Deftones (very heavy, sexier and heavier radiohead imo)
Hypochondriac - Brakence (very experimental emo rap, glitch pop)
Reading Writing And Arithmetic - The Sundays (the smiths ish, with beautiful female vocals)
45:53 Man, you're gonna enjoy the ride of "Journey through the secret life of plants", the folow-up album of "Songs in the key of life"., especially for "Venus flytrap and the bug".
And if you want more harp from the player of "If it's magic", check out Dorothy Ashby, a legendary jazz harpist.
As and Another Star are two of the greatest songs ever written. Just masterpieces. I play bass and just can’t get enough of playing those tunes.
George Benson adds some vocals and guitar at the end of Another Star.
Omgggggg had to click right away
ANOTHER CLASSIC!
Some Recs:
Stevie Wonder - Innervisions
Marvin Gaye - Lets Get it On
Janet Jackson - The Velvet Rope
Danny Brown - XXX
J Dilla - Donuts
Lil Ugly Mane - Mista Thug Isolation
Nina Simone - Wild is The Wind
Lil ugly mane is incredible, I prefer Volcanic Bird Enemy or Oblivion Access, but MTI is also fire.
Velvet rope!
@@PuLsarSevenMC He already reacted to Volcanic Bird
Been waiting for this vid for so long omg 🙏🙏🙏 ty smags 🙏🙏🙏
Thank you 🙏 very glad you enjoyed it
One of my all time favourites and easily one of the greatest if not THE greatest album of all time.
21:20 fun fact that's actually his ex-wife singing that vocal response on Ordinary Pain. She's actually worked a lot with him over the years.
Ccccclassic! Great reaction and a really good time listening along with you.
Innervisions has to be next ❤
it cannot be said enough that stevie would play, write, compose every instrument !!!! the original tame impala meme a whole 50 years ago
This is it right here. Love is in need of love today🫶
Joy inside my tears is an all time favorite, love this album
Songs In The Key of Life is the best double album of the 1970s. It is also the very apex of Wonder’s career. He was at his most creative and prolific and the musicianship was unparalleled at the time. The only other popular music double album to have such a massive impact was Bob Dylan’s Blonde on Blonde from 1966.
Fun fact: the last 4 songs listed were from a bonus 7 inch extended play record Stevie included with the double album. They did not fit with the theme of the rest of the album but Stevie felt they were still relevant and high enough quality for release.
Best EP ever!
Finally you react to a great album!
you gotta do a jeff rosenstock album at some point. HELLMODE is my personal fav (and one of my favorite albums of all time) but you really can't go wrong with his discography.
oh we eating good now, you needa check out more stevie, my favourite album of his is innervisions
What the hell I listened to this album for the first time this morning... we on the same wavelength fr
Also does a lot of the instruments on the album, And does everything except the brass on isn’t she lovely.
You’re next Stevie if you’d like I would recommend Innervisions
Smags listen to Kyuusai no Gihou/Technique of Relief by Susumu Hirasawa, it's in Japanese but it's one of my favourite albums of all time and sounds like nothing else. He also did the Berserk anime and Paprika movie soundtracks
Ahhhh, that Paprika soundtrack!! 😩
I feel like you’d absolutely adore Music of my Mind. I personally think it’s his best album, really cool talk box use on the project
PJ Harvey - Stories from the City, Stories from the Sea!
Hi Smags! A couple recs: Mr Bungle - Self Titled, and Primus - Sailing the seas of cheese. Both are very weird funky rock. Thanks for the videos as always
every track is good, 10/10 album, legitimately peak human music
Lyburnum Wits End Liberation Fly - Moss Icon
Oh yeaaaaaah.
"I Wish" and "Sir Duke" were the killer singles, but I believe "As" is the greatest song on this mammoth masterpiece.
PLEASE react to some Emerson Lake & Palmer. It's a great prog band wich I'm curently revisiting after 2 years, and oh man this stuff is gonna blow your mind, especially Brain Salad Surgery.
Innervisions! Talking Book!
The best to ever do it.
Here In The Pitch by Jessica Pratt will blow your mind
fire !!! im not gonna stop reccomending the lamb as effigy though ive wanted this for so long
Yayayayaya!!!! Thank you snags!!!!
BANGER ALBUM BRO YOU HAVE TO DO INNERVISIONS NOW… 🔥🔥🔥
BACK TO BACK?? you’re spoiling us
insta click easily one of the best albums ever
React to LITTLE BUSTERS and Happy Bivouac by The Pillows next! They are both top tier j-rock/grunge albums that I think you will really enjoy. I recommend starting with LITTLE BUSTERS though
Isn’t she lovely might be the best example of happy & sad at the same time
Goated
Stevie!!! Awesome!!!
love the video bro
Though some of these songs are just Stevie with his synths/keyboards, vocals, etc. a lot of these featured band accompaniment which he hadn't used since 1971 before he got a new deal with Motown that got him total creative control (when he recorded in Detroit with the Funk Brothers like all the Motown artists did prior to the company's move to L.A. a year later). It gave the album a less unique sound but also a richer and more full sound that made the songs here more grandiose than prior. It's crazy too because after this, Stevie made some solid albums but nothing as masterful as this. He got so much creativity out before age 30 that it was hard after that to top what he had done. Songs in the Key Of Life is so startlingly consistent for a double LP and on the level of a classical composer for arrangements too. There were more classical elements here, whereas more of the focus of his prior 3 was on R&B/soul and jazz. Tour de force indeed.
recs:
Polvo - Today's Active Lifestyles (Sick sounding early 90s math/indie rock, awesome guitar tone)
Swirlies - Blonder Tongue Audio Baton (GORGEOUS unique sounding early 90s shoegaze, sounds like mbv, pavement, guided by voices with twee pop mixed in, so awesome, better than Loveless imo)
Violent Femmes - Violent Femmes (Unique folk-punk, early 80s college/alt rock, very catchy)
Teenage Fanclub - Bandwagonesque (Really catchy power pop, slightly shoegazey, same label as The Jesus and Mary Chain, My Bloody Valentine)
Quasi - Featuring "Birds" (Awesome Built to Spill-esque/Pacific Northwest indie rock, same label as Modest Mouse, Built to Spill, Duster etc)
The Breeders - Pod (Unique early 90s alt rock, Steve Albini prod, was in Kurt Cobain's top 3 albums of all time)
Slint - Tweez (Sick late 80s post-hardcore/math rock, also Steve Albini prod)
Pinback - Pinback (Very chill and creative late 90s indie rock)
Modest Mouse - This Is a Long Drive for Someone with Nothing to Think About (Amazing album, basically as good as The Lonesome Crowded West)
The Prodigy - The Fat Of The Land (badass big-beat dance music)
Guided By Voices - Bee Thousand (lovely 90's lo-fi)
Hella - Hold Your Horse Is (Math Rock with the drummer from Death Grips, before he was in Death Grips)
Pavement - Crooked Rain, Crooked Rain (Absolutely perfect 90's indie rock album)
Day idk of suggesting:
Tim Hecker - Virgins (Drone, Ambient)
Clipping. - Visions of bodies being burned (Horrorcore, Industrial Hip Hop)
Jane Remover - Frailty (Indietronica, Digicore, Hyperpop)
Igorrr - Savage Sinusoid (Avant-Garde Metal, Breakcore, Baroque)
Squarepusher - Hard Normal Daddy (Drill and Bass, Jazz Fusion)
Oneohtrix Point Never - Garden of Delete (Electro-Industrial, Progressive Electronic)
Machine Girl - WLFGRL (Hardcore Breaks, Footwork)
2814 - Birth of A New Day (Dreampunk, Basically Vaporwave without any samples)
If I had to pick an """objective""" best album ever made it's probably this
Not suprirsed you loved it, Another Star is imo maybe the best song ever written.
oh shidd. one of my favorite albums.
Great reviews, just discover your channel! Can you do Homeshake - Midnight Snack or in the shower ? Thanks!
My grandma loves this album
Frances The Mute - The Mars Volta
FINALLY
thank you
summer soft is an insane song
AND ITS GOOOOOONEEEEE SUMMERS GOOONEEEEEE
I love this album
I hope you get around to Stevie Wonder’s album Hotter Than July.
Unrelated but you should really listen to Sheena Ringo's art pop masterpiece "Kalk samen kuri no hana", you'll probably enjoy it
A MOMENT IN HISTORY
Hey Smags, during your reaction of Beach House's Bloom, you said at 9:00 you would do a Minecraft lets-play if the video got 300 likes. The video has 882 likes, yet for some reason I can't seem to find your Minecraft let's play (I would also accept a reaction/review of Hot Fuss from the Killers
Eels - Beautiful Freak
Sounds like a greatest hits collection
No way you haven’t heard this Smags😭pizza and codeine by Chris Travis pls Smags OG cloud rap album
Highly cannot suggest enough Julia Holter - Have You In My Wilderness. I remember all that time ago when you listened to Titanic Rising it to me at least sounds like the yin to it's yang. An incredibly piece of baroque pop.
do innervisions too!
Please react to another Mitski album. I would recommend Puberty 2
I feel like smags is ready for more unique metal subgenres. I wanna see him react to some stoner metal or sludge
another star might be one of the greatest songs ever made tbh
I will recommend you listen to Over by Peter Hammill
Gonna keep recommending Ben Folds Five - The Unauthorized Biography of Reinhold Messner until it happens
@@comeasurotmg8387 You're a real one
wild is the wind - nina simone for some classic jazz based soul
PLEASE do more beach house❤❤
Funny story, when weird Al did his Amish Paradise parody, he asked Coolio for permission. Weird Al was given the okay but not by Coolio.
Honestly he should have asked Stevie. Stevie would have been cool and Coolio would still have to get over it.
Another long album rec: Soundgarden- Superunknown
The Rainbow Goblins by Masayoshi Takanaka pls king
another star is the greatest song of all time idc
Incredible run of albums through the 70's, but his peak for me remains Innervisions (1973). Songs in the Key of Life suffers from double-album syndrome (with extra EP!): side three is the weak spot for me, songs are way too long, should have been edited down. But ok, i'm nitpicking.
please react to the album Old Ramon by the band Red House Painters!!!
Listen to XTC's Skylarking! Masterpiece album, super lush and fun.
Onebof my favourites
Please react to Jane Remover - Frailty 🙌🏼🙌🏼
Bro do exuma the obeah man by exuma it’s a spiritual experience you’ll love it
you should check out low roar first album