Music of My Mind

Music of My Mind
Studio album by Stevie Wonder
Released	March 3, 1972
Recorded	Media Sound, Electric Lady (New York, New York) Crystal Industries (Los Angeles, California)
Genre	Soul, funk
Length	47:53
Label	Tamla T-314
Producer	Stevie Wonder Robert Margouleff Malcolm Cecil
Stevie Wonder chronology
Where I'm Coming From (1971) Music of My Mind (1972) Talking Book (1972)

Professional ratings
Review scores
Source	Rating
Allmusic	[1]
Robert Christgau	(B+)[2]
Q	[3]
Rhapsody	(favorable)[4]
Rolling Stone	(favorable)[5]
Rolling Stone	[6]
Sounds	(favorable)[7]
Sputnikmusic	[8]
Virgin Encyclopedia	[9]
Yahoo! Music	(favorable)[10]

Music of My Mind is a landmark album by Stevie Wonder, released on March 3, 1972 when Wonder was only 21 years old (see 1972 in music). Many observers count this album as the beginning of Wonder's "classic period", though others look to the previous one or the following one.^[11] It is his fourteenth studio release. Music of My Mind showcases Wonder's earlier experiments with the synthesizer, and is a more assured recording than Where I'm Coming From (his first effort while holding the majority of artistic control). Also on display were his increasing musical ambitions, with him leveraging different genres of music and utilizing longer song forms. Stevie used synthesizers for many musical parts on this album.^[12] He also played drums as he frequently does on all of his albums.

The texture of the album was different from anything he had released on the Motown label to that point. Standout tracks include "Superwoman (Where Were You When I Needed You)", "Happier Than The Morning Sun" and "I Love Every Little Thing About You". This is one of the earliest works in black music to include the use of synthesizers^{[citation needed]}, and was the first of a set of collaborations between Stevie and his co-producers Robert Margouleff and Malcolm Cecil.

In 2003, the album was ranked number 284 on Rolling Stone magazine's list of the 500 greatest albums of all time. Its enduring influence was confirmed with its UK re-release on September 22, 2008 to coincide with Wonder's autumn 2008 European tour.^[13]

Track listing

All songs written by Stevie Wonder except where indicated.

No.	Title	Writer(s)	Length
1.	"Love Having You Around"	Stevie Wonder, Syreeta Wright	7:24
2.	"Superwoman (Where Were You When I Needed You)"	Wonder	8:08
3.	"I Love Every Little Thing About You"	Wonder	3:56
4.	"Sweet Little Girl"	Wonder	4:59
5.	"Happier Than the Morning Sun"	Wonder	5:18
6.	"Girl Blue"	Wonder, Yvonne Wright	3:36
7.	"Seems So Long"	Wonder	4:22
8.	"Keep on Running"	Wonder	6:40
9.	"Evil"	Wonder, Yvonne Wright	3:34
Total length:			47:53

Side One

1. "Love Having You Around" (Wonder, Syreeta Wright) – 7:21
   • Stevie Wonder – lead vocal, background vocal, Fender Rhodes, talk box, drums, Moog bass
   • Art Baron – trombone
   • Background Singers – uncredited
2. "Superwoman (Where Were You When I Needed You)" – 8:04
   • Stevie Wonder – lead vocal, background vocal, Fender Rhodes, drums, Moog bass, T.O.N.T.O. synthesizer
   • Buzz Feiten – electric guitar
3. "I Love Every Little Thing About You" – 3:46
   • Stevie Wonder – lead vocal, background vocal, Fender Rhodes, drums, bongos, Moog bass
4. "Sweet Little Girl" – 4:54
   • Stevie Wonder – lead vocal, background vocal, keyboard, piano, harmonica, drums, Moog bass

Side Two

1. "Happier Than the Morning Sun" – 5:18
   • Stevie Wonder – lead vocal, background vocal, Hohner clavinet, Moog bass
2. "Girl Blue" (Wonder, Yvonne Wright) – 3:36
   • Stevie Wonder – lead vocal, Hohner clavinet, drums, talk box, harmonica, Moog bass, T.O.N.T.O. synthesizer, percussion
3. "Seems So Long" – 4:22
   • Stevie Wonder – lead vocal, keyboards, drums, Moog bass, T.O.N.T.O. synthesizer
4. "Keep On Running" – 6:40
   • Stevie Wonder – lead vocal, background vocal, piano, Hohner clavinet, handclaps, drums, Moog bass
   • Background Singers – uncredited
5. "Evil" (Wonder, Y. Wright) – 3:33
   • Stevie Wonder – lead vocal, piano, drums, Moog bass, T.O.N.T.O. synthesizer
   • Choir – uncredited

Cover versions

• "Superwoman (Where Were You When I Needed You)" – Later recorded by The Main Ingredient, Quincy Jones, Donny Hathaway and Ramsey Lewis. Sampled by Janet Jackson for the song "New Agenda (with Chuck D)" on the album janet.
• "Happier Than the Morning Sun" – Later recorded by B.J. Thomas, Jon Gibson, Ansari, Halie Loren, and Dave Pietro
• "Girl Blue" – Later recorded by The Main Ingredient.
• "Keep On Running" Recorded by F.B.I. in 1976 on their self titled Lp
• "Keep On Running" Recorded by Snafu on their 1975 Final Lp, "All Funked Up"
• "Seems So Long" Recorded by Les McCann on his 1975 Lp "Talk To The People"
• "I Love Every Little Thing About You" Recorded by Syreeta on her 1972 LP "Syreeta"

Charting singles

• 1972: "Keep On Running" (Black Singles) – No. 36
• 1972: "Keep On Running" (Pop Singles) – No. 90
• 1972: "Superwoman (Where Were You When I Needed You)" (Black Singles) – No. 13
• 1972: "Superwoman (Where Were You When I Needed You)" (Pop Singles) – No. 33

Album charts

• 1972: Black Albums Chart – No. 6
• 1972: Pop Albums Chart – No. 21

Chart information by Billboard ©VNU eMedia

References

1. ^ Allmusic review
2. ^ Robert Christgau review
3. ^ Q review
4. ^ Rhapsody review
5. ^ Rolling Stone review
6. ^ Rolling Stone review
7. ^ Sounds review
8. ^ Sputnikmusic review
9. ^ Virgin Encyclopedia review
10. ^ Yahoo! Music review
11. ^ Some observers count six classic albums, some count five, and others count four.
    Bogdanov, Vladimir; Woodstra, Chris; Erlewine, Stephen Thomas (2001). All music guide: the definitive guide to popular music (4 ed.). Hal Leonard Corporation. pp. 447–448. ISBN 0879306270. http://books.google.com/books?id=xR7MdpuSlAEC&pg=PT420. 
    Cramer, Alfred William (2009). Musicians and composers of the 20th century. 5. Salem Press. pp. 1645. ISBN 1587655179. 
    Brown, Jeremy K. (2010). Stevie Wonder: Musician. Black Americans of Achievement. Infobase Publishing. p. 57. ISBN 1604136855. 
12. ^ Hogan, Ed. "Hogan, Ed at". Allmusic.com. http://www.allmusic.com/song/t3491462. Retrieved 2009-08-21. 
13. ^ Stevie Wonder interview by Pete Lewis, 'Blues & Soul' March 1995