Music of My Mind

Music of My Mind is the fourteenth studio album by American soul musician Stevie Wonder. It was released on March 3, 1972, by Tamla Records, and was Wonder's first to be recorded under his new contract with Motown, which allowed him full artistic control. For the album, Wonder recruited electronic music pioneers Malcolm Cecil and Robert Margouleff as co-producers, employing their custom TONTO synthesizer on several tracks.[2] It was a modest commercial success, but critics found the record representative of Wonder's artistic growth, and is generally considered by contemporary critics to be the first album of his classic period.

Music of My Mind
Studio album by
Stevie Wonder
ReleasedMarch 3, 1972
StudioMedia Sound, Electric Lady
(New York, New York)
Crystal Industries
(Los Angeles, California)
GenreProgressive soul[1]
Length47:53
LabelTamla
ProducerMalcolm Cecil, Robert Margouleff, Stevie Wonder
Stevie Wonder chronology
Where I'm Coming From
(1971)		 Music of My Mind
(1972)		 Talking Book
(1972)
Singles from Music of My Mind
  1. "Superwoman (Where Were You When I Needed You)"
    Released: March 1972
  2. "Keep on Running"
    Released: April 1972

Recording

Wonder played all of the instruments on this album except trombone by Art Baron and guitar by Howard "Buzz" Feiten. This is the first of a set of collaborations between Wonder and his co-producers Robert Margouleff and Malcolm Cecil; they would work with Wonder on three further albums.

Before the recording of the album, Wonder became interested in using synthesizers after hearing albums by electronic group Tonto's Expanding Head Band.[3] Inspired after a meeting with the group in May 1971, Wonder began utilizing Arp and Moog synthesizers, stating that "the synthesizer has allowed me to do a lot of things I've wanted to do for a long time but were not possible till it came along."[3]

Release and reception
Professional ratings
Review scores
SourceRating
AllMusic[4]
The Austin Chronicle[5]
Christgau's Record GuideB+[6]
Encyclopedia of Popular Music[7]
The Great Rock Discography7/10[7]
Los Angeles Times[8]
MusicHound R&B4.5/5[7]
Q[9]
The Rolling Stone Album Guide[10]
Sputnikmusic3.5/5[11]

When Music of My Mind was first released on March 3, 1972, it became a modest success with both black and white audiences in the United States, charting at number six and number 21 on the Billboard R&B and pop charts, respectively.[12] Contemporary critics viewed it as Wonder's final step into artistic maturity.[13] In Rolling Stone, Vince Aletti said it showcased the ambitious use of his newfound artistic control and maturity as a songwriter, although he found some of the studio and vocal effects both gimmicky and self-indulgent.[14] Robert Christgau from Creem believed that like Ray Charles, Wonder transcended aesthetic sensibilities on Music of My Mind, which he said featured "some of the most musical synthesizer improvisations yet" but whose individual songs were not as impressive as the "one-man album" concept.[15] Penny Valentine was more enthusiastic in her review for Sounds, viewing the record as a milestone in modern music and a culmination of soul music's creative maturity. She especially praised Wonder's arrangement of "intriguing vocal patterns" on what she deemed "an album of explosive genius and unshackled self-expression".[13]

It was voted number 645 in the third edition of Colin Larkin's All Time Top 1000 Albums (2000).[16]

In 2003, Rolling Stone ranked Music of My Mind at number 284 on the magazine's list of the 500 greatest albums of all time,[7] and 285 in a 2012 revised list.[17] It was re-released in the UK in 2008 to coincide with Wonder's European tour.[18]

The songs "Sweet Little Girl" and "Evil" feature prominently at the beginning and end of the second season episode of the acclaimed FX television show Atlanta, "Teddy Perkins".

Track listing

All Songs by Stevie Wonder unless stated otherwise.

Side one

  1. "Love Having You Around" (Wonder, Syreeta Wright) – 7:21
  2. "Superwoman (Where Were You When I Needed You)" – 8:08
  3. "I Love Every Little Thing About You" – 3:46
  4. "Sweet Little Girl" – 4:54

Side two

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

Personnel
  • Stevie Wonder – lead vocals (all), background vocals (1–5, 8), drums (all but 5), handclaps (8), T.O.N.T.O synthesizer (2, 6, 7, 9), piano (8, 9), Rhodes piano (1–4), talk box (1, 6), harmonica (4, 6), bongos (3), clavinet (5, 8), Moog bass (all)
  • Art Baron – trombone (1)
  • Buzz Feiten – electric guitar (2)
  • Malcolm Cecil – Moog programming, associate producer, engineering
  • Robert Margouleff – Moog programming, associate producer, engineering
  • Syreeta – background vocals (4)
  • Uncredited – background vocals (1, 8, 9)
  • Joan DeCola – recording
  • Rick Rowe – recording

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

Charts

Weekly charts
Chart (1972) Position
U.S. Billboard Pop Albums[19] 21
U.S. Billboard R&B Albums[19] 6

Year-end charts
Chart (1972) Position
US Billboard Pop Albums[20] 47

References
  1. Lester, Paul (August 30, 2012). "Stevie Wonder: 'I never thought of being blind and black as a disadvantage". The Guardian. Retrieved January 31, 2021.
  2. Hogan, Ed. "Hogan, Ed at". Allmusic.com. Retrieved 2009-08-21.
  3. Stubbs, David (2018). Future Sounds: The Story of Electronic Music From Stockhausen to Skrillex. Faber & Faber. pp. 177–179. ISBN 9780571346974. Retrieved 10 May 2019.
  4. Allmusic review
  5. Moser, Margaret (May 19, 2000). "Review: Music of My Mind, Talking Book, Innervisions, Fulfillingness' First Finale". The Austin Chronicle. Retrieved September 26, 2015.
  6. Christgau, Robert (1981). "Consumer Guide '70s: W". Christgau's Record Guide: Rock Albums of the Seventies. Ticknor & Fields. ISBN 089919026X. Retrieved March 9, 2019 – via robertchristgau.com.
  7. "Music of My Mind". Acclaimed Music. Archived from the original on March 3, 2016. Retrieved September 29, 2015.
  8. Hilburn, Robert (April 1, 2000). "Motown Releases Remind Us of Stevie Wonder's Impact". Los Angeles Times. Retrieved September 25, 2015.
  9. Q. London: 123. August 2000.CS1 maint: untitled periodical (link)
  10. Considine, J. D. (2004). "Stevie Wonder". In Brackett, Nathan; Hoard, Christian (eds.). The New Rolling Stone Album Guide. Simon & Schuster. pp. 885–87. ISBN 0743201698. Retrieved September 25, 2015.
  11. "Sputnikmusic review". Sputnikmusic.com. Retrieved 2013-12-27.
  12. Perone, James E. (2006). The Sound of Stevie Wonder: His Words and Music. Greenwood Publishing Group. p. 30. ISBN 027598723X. Retrieved September 29, 2015.
  13. Penny Valentine (1971-12-04). "Sounds review". Rocksbackpages.com. Retrieved 2013-12-27. (subscription required)
  14. Aletti, Vince (April 27, 1972). "Music of My Mind". Rolling Stone. New York. Retrieved September 29, 2015.
  15. Christgau, Robert (October 1972). "The Christgau Consumer Guide". Creem. Retrieved September 29, 2015.
  16. Colin Larkin, ed. (2006). All Time Top 1000 Albums (3rd ed.). Virgin Books. p. 212. ISBN 0-7535-0493-6.
  17. "500 Greatest Albums of All Time Rolling Stone's definitive list of the 500 greatest albums of all time". Rolling Stone. 2012. Retrieved September 10, 2019.
  18. "Stevie Wonder interview by Pete Lewis, 'Blues & Soul' March 1995". Bluesandsoul.com. Retrieved 2013-12-27.
  19. "Allmusic: Sweet Baby James: Charts & Awards: Billboard Albums". allmusic.com. Retrieved 2014-04-29.
  20. "Billboard.BIZ Top Pop Albums of 1972". billboard.biz. Archived from the original on 2012-12-06. Retrieved 2014-04-27.
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