Stevie's cautionary tale about drugs. The genius of Stevie is the groove, the relevancy, the arrangement, the musicianship, and that voice. America's greatest modern music maker in the R&R era.
Kind of feel the same. Even though the ‘vision’ is deep, production wasn’t as heavy as Songs in Key, like more organic. To be hittin like this, back THEN? It’s like 50 yrs ago. 😳
There just aren't enough words to describe how hip this song is...and that's Stevie on every instrument lol! Great insights on the harmonica solos too!
Songs and albums like this are why at the 1976 Grammy Awards Paul Simon, who won Album of the Year for "Still Crazy After All These Years," thanked Stevie Wonder during is acceptance speech for not making an album that year! (1975 lol ) That was the gap between Fulfillingness' First Finale and Songs in the Key of Life.
This song is a masterpiece, this whole albums great. Note how on this tune here there's no bass guitar, but actually keyboard bass, played by Stevie himself. If I am not mistaken he played all the instrument on this cut, drums, keys, keyboard bass, all the vocals.
@@SightAfterDark ru-vid.com/video/%D0%B2%D0%B8%D0%B4%D0%B5%D0%BE-w-sGGEWw5Ls.html this was a cool little documentary about malcolm and robert. it's easy to forget how much the contributions of other artists contributed to stevie's development, especially since he uses all his influences in the most genius way
Love this album! Stevie plays all the instruments in it too! This song is actually an anti-drug song if u really listen to the lyrics. Talks about how the girl passed away cuz she was too high and stuff like that. Not a bad song in this album and really his whole 70s catalog lol
@@SightAfterDark Stevie was a genuine pioneer. If I recall correctly Talking Book and Who's Next (Baba O'Rielly) were released the same year, and the first albums using synthesizers--back when they were racks of panels that filled a room, and were configured with patch cords, like an old operator's board. Peace! :)
@@SightAfterDark you are having some great experiences. I highly recommend going off album just to.wstch the live performance of Stevie performing Fragile with Sting. Even Sting throws his hands up cuz Stevie is just so incredible
Masterpiece of an amazing album. I look forward to seeing you guys do the whole thing. This is the first Stevie album I ever bought back in 1973. And I got everyone since. Legit genius.
This is one of my favorite Stevie songs, for it's musical evocation of being high, and for it's pity observation of selfish hedonism's sad end: "Well did you hear the news about the girl today She passed away What did her friends say They said "She's too high, too high... can't stay around here anyway"" Boom! Thanks for your witty company.
Yeah guys! One advantage to being really old is to have had the two GREATEST songwriters in pop-music history ("Steely Dan" & Stevie Wonder!) just ramping up to incredible careers during my musically-formative period in early 70's! And imagine 50 years later being able to see "you kids" validate what we were feeling way back then, that TRUE musical talent's TIMELESS. Fifty years from now, how many of today's "artists" do you think will stand the test of time as well?
@@SightAfterDark Right on! Why not add something unique, because you’re both musicians, you guys should be learning to play some of these chord changes & melody lines to lots of these great classic tunes, singing too. Your fans would love to see that process along with your review!
Stevie Wonder is a Music God. This is a fact.The first record I bought with my own money was Stevie’s Uptight. From that moment,I got everything he ever did,that run of albums,Music of my Mind,Talking Book,Innervisions and Songs in the Key of Life,were solid gold masterpieces. Didn’t care too much for his late 80’s onwards stuff,but his genius is timeless. Everyone knows and loves at least one Stevie Wonder song. Paul McCartney called him “The Boss”
I love this song for 2 reasons. 1) It is a great song! The space Dan talked about in the production between instruments does give a sense a being in a high airy place to me, but the bass groove is the down to Earth leveler in some kind of Wonder way, and 2) I was in a movie in which this song closed the film in a perfect way. I was an extra for the most part although I had two lines of dialogue that were cut, darn it, and did two stunt shots believe it or not that I should have asked extra pay for, but I was having too good a time to think about it.
I had never heard this song before. I listened to this while I was cooking> translate > distracted. Then I heard your fabulous comments, and said to myself, well with my lack of focus I mentally missed all of that stuff that was brought up. I decided: better come back later and watch this again. So I just have. Thank you. And I'll go back a bit one more time for the harmonica.
The harmonica is like vocal extension for Stevie, in a different voice, & here it’s like improv counterpoint. Brilliant! Also, Stevie & Marvin Gaye with the multi-tracking of themselves, was really subtly groundbreaking, & was done so smooth, especially in Marvin’s case….I just don’t recall it being pointed out & discussed. It’s like we just heard the music bein so good, & felt, ‘well, this is just how they do’. Genius many ways. The 70’s was an amazing intense time for directions in music. Parallel to this was large groups with horns, rock progression, jazz rock fusion, & here come disco, & there it go. 😂 Funny, I was expecting to hear Visions right after this, cause another technique wit Stevie, is that he had zero space between tracks, as if he wanted you to experience the whole album in one sitting, like a journey. Cool reaction! 👍
Too High is about drug abuse, one of the few times Wonder dealt with the subject. While the songs on Innervisions are largely in the genres of soul and funk, "Too High" has a definite ring of jazz fusion to it. Perhaps garnishing the arrangement like a sprig of parsley, even a hint of Bebop. The song is driven home starkly with its menacing Moog bass, sinister distorted chorus vocals, nightmarishly surreal lyrics, piercing scat singing, shrill harmonica solo, frequent jazzy harmonic dissonances, a bleak Fender Rhodes interlude close to the end just after the woman dies, and its glacial a capella coda.
Fantastic musical artistic expression by Stevie Wonder. To be blind and be high...there are no visual cues or references for your mind to draw upon when your imagination is fired up. Practically everything is built upon emotions, smell, tactile, hearing and presence sense (your own and that of others as well the feel of the area you are in). At least thats how I imagine not that I actually know...even just closing my eyes for 10 or 20 min its not nearly the same as being literally blind and taking in the world...because my brain, sense of reality and perceptions haven't been "wired" that way.
Stevie is a master of the Hohner 280/64 Chromonica Harmonica. Not your average harmonica. Chromatic harmonicas are more complex and have multiple octave capabilities.
@@SightAfterDark From theharmonicacompany.com/harmonica-player-stevie-wonder/ “Style and Harmonica Choice From a playing perspective, Stevie overwhelmingly favours the chromatic harmonica. Unlike the more ubiquitous diatonic harmonica, commonly used for folk music and the blues, the chromatic harmonica has a full range of notes, by dint of more holes (up to 16, rather than 10) and a slide, which raises the pitch of each hole by a semitone. The primary downside of the chromatic harp is the additional difficulty in learning to play it. Circular breathing, as commonly practised by classical wind instrument players, is a necessary skill, due to the chromatic harmonica generally requiring a greater amount of air to produce its wider range of notes. Wonder’s use of the chromatic harp is quite distinctive. Harmonica artist, Randy Singer has noted that Stevie manipulates the slide forcibly, whilst using a significant amount of vibrato to achieve a shifting effect. This is mixed with a fluttering effect from his use of the tongue to achieve his trademark sound.”
You should consider doing this entire album. It doesn't have the volume of tracks as the "Songs in the Key of Life " but this prior album is considered by some ( like me) just as good ....
@@jml-rj5re Great album though its kinda "lite" and not as intense as Innervisions. Also nobody gives FFF any credit, which is like Talking Book and Innervisions combined
Hey Kevin, I looked up that song. Big left turn after listening to this Stevie Wonder tune! Banging 80s synth bass and Lisa Stansfield. Needed a palate cleanser first I think. It rocks though.
