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
Professional reviews
Allmusic link Robert Christgau (B+) link Q link Rhapsody (favorable) link Rolling Stone (favorable) 1972 2003 Rolling Stone 2004 Sounds (favorable) link Sputnikmusic link Virgin Encyclopedia link Yahoo! Music (favorable) link
Stevie Wonder chronology
Where I'm Coming From (1971) Music of My Mind (1972) Talking Book (1972)

Music of My Mind is a landmark album by Stevie Wonder, released on March 3, 1972 (see 1972 in music). It was the first of five consecutive albums widely hailed as his "classic period", along with Talking Book, Innervisions, Fulfillingness' First Finale, and Songs in the Key of Life. 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.^[1] 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 Everything About You". This is one of the earliest works in black music to include the use of synthesizers, 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.

Track listing

Side One

1. "Love Having You Around" (Wonder, Syreeta Wright) – 7:23
2. "Superwoman (Where Were You When I Needed You)" (Wonder) – 8:07
3. "I Love Every Little Thing About You" (Wonder) – 3:55
4. "Sweet Little Girl" (Wonder) – 4:59

Side Two

1. "Happier Than the Morning Sun" (Wonder) – 5:18
2. "Girl Blue" (Wonder, Yvonne Wright) – 3:36
3. "Seems So Long" (Wonder) – 4:22
4. "Keep on Running" (Wonder) – 6:40
5. "Evil" (Wonder, Y. Wright) – 3:33

Personnel

• Stevie Wonder - Vocals and all additional instrumentation (including talk box). Guitar solo on "Superwoman" by Buzz Feiten. Trombone solo on "Love Having You Around" by Art Baron.

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. Also sampled by Kanye West for the song "We Major" on his second album Late Registration.
• "Happier Than the Morning Sun" - Later recorded by B.J. Thomas.
• "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"

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