Fulfillingness’ First Finale

Primera vez que lo escucho!!!

oh my god?? and somehow this isn't his biggest one?? blown away.

This is as enjoyable as you would expect from prime Stevie Wonder of 70s. However, I just don't feel the same vibe as his other classic albums of this golden run, after couple of listens I can't recall any of the songs pretty much, so I am thinking 3 stars, at least 3.5 on RYM just for the quality, but it's missing something from me, perhaps needs to grow on me or sth

Favorite track(s): Heaven Is 10 Zillion Light Years Away, Boogie On Reggae Woman, Creepin', You Haven't Done Nothin', Bird of Beauty

Ace

not that its bad in any meaningful way, just extremely boring

It's not my vibe, but it's definitely good! 3.5

Not quite as good as the other Stevie albums on this list, but still excellent.

4.5/5.0: Excellent

this is easily the worst of the stevie albums on the list but even a bad stevie album is still pretty good

They Won't Go When I Go is terrific. The rest of the album is fine.

This was interesting. It’s not my opinion that an album needs hits to be great, but when it’s Stevie Wonder, you kind of expect to encounter a few. Without them, this gave the impression of being an amazing compilation of B sides, “another side” of Stevie, and mostly a darker side. I enjoyed it a lot but also didn’t encounter that moment that made me say “wow I will listen to this album until the end of time.” But my opinion might change as I better understand Stevie in the context of the whole project.

3/18/26 - listened while driving. I liked it and it was a vibe. Some songs didn't hit me as much as others but seems like it would be good background music during Golden Hour or relaxing on the deck. Probably a 3.5 or so but will round down based on my rules.

Top Song - Smile Please

He really didn’t miss for that whole five album run. You Haven’t Done Nothin’ is kinda just Superstition again. Favorites were Heaven Is 10 Zillion Lightyears Away, Boogie On Reggae Woman, and It Ain’t No Use. I still don’t buy him being blind.

Not the best Stevie album. It gets a lower rating because I'm comparing it to his other albums rather than every album on the list. 3.5

It's Stevie. Not sure anything else needs to be said.

Even though hes blind, he just wont miss

Not much to say that I haven't on the other Stevie albums. Just an amazing soul album that is peak Stevie. I know I rated one of the other Stevie albums on the list a 3, but I should go back to that one and see if I should bump it up to a 4. Feel like everything should be a 4 except for Songs in the Key of Life which is the obvious 5.

A little slower of an album here, and I'm not huge on Boogie on Reggae Woman, but yeah. Great album.

Much like Innervisions, I’m somewhere above a 5. Hell, I’m probably at a 10. (Innervisions is also a 10, by the way. Songs in the Key of Life is somewhere off the number scale; another star, if you will.)

Until today, the only track I’d ever heard from this album was “They Won’t Go When I Go” – maybe I’d heard a few other tracks in passing over the years, but I only ever added that one to my playlist. I still think it’s the tour de force of the album, and one of my favorite tracks of all time, but the entire package here is a real delight. I gotta tell you, it’s great to hear “new” Stevie Wonder music to my ears.

It does take a little bit to get into this album’s more spiritual / grounded vibe, but once you accept that this isn’t generally gonna have the big showstopping numbers like Innervisions or Songs in the Key of Life does (though “You Haven’t Done Nothing” is practically just Superstition 2), its sense of intimacy feels uniquely qualified from all the Stevie Wonder albums on the list. In a way, Stevie’s speaking to his own soul here, & we’re just along for the ride. It’s a ride that’s definitely worth taking.

“Smile Please” is just really uplifting, especially in a time where it feels especially hard to find the strength to smile through… well, all of this shit. It’s no “Love’s In Need of Love Today”, but it’s still a great opener.

“Heaven Is 10 Zillion Light Years Away” is Stevie’s gospel side coming through in an even more potent way than “Have A Talk With God” did 2 years later, and I’d argue it’s an even better track. Something about his delivery on “we’ve got so far to come” just feels great. It’s probably my second favorite track on the album.

“Too Shy to Say” is a good one, but I do think it’s the weakest track here. It just feels more like it was written for a movie than it does Stevie talking to his soul, and that disconnect makes it stick out from the rest of the package. I still like it, but it needed a little more of a wistful bite to it, and it’s a bite Stevie definitely gets later in the album.

“Boogie On Reggae Woman” is just a good love track, & Stevie’s ever so slightly horny side peeking out with this track is a surprise. Perhaps a little long for what it is, but the funky production is what makes it, especially with the harmonica solo near the end. I enjoyed it.

“Creepin’” feels like a Michael McDonald track, in a really good way. It’s got that wistful bite I was hoping “Too Shy to Say” would have, yet delivered in a way that still feels like it’s romantically driven towards Stevie’s soul. Minnie Riperton’s backing vocals really glide with Stevie’s, and their harmonies along with the synth work just make the track feel smooth as silk.

“You Haven’t Done Nothing” is… well, like I said, it’s Superstition 2, & apparently, a track directed towards Richard Nixon. It does feel like a track more so directed at the people who only make promises & never do actual action, and it’s one that feels especially relevant in a world where online activism gets more engagement than real community activism. The Jackson 5 do a great job with their backing vocals, and while I wish they would’ve had something of their own to say (though I can’t imagine a 16-year-old MJ would have that much wisdom in his words), the entire track works. I really liked it.

“It Ain’t No Use” once again has the extra wistful bite that I wish “Too Shy to Say” had, and it’s driven by an amicable breakup (or at least, an attempt at one). The backing bass & choir really add to the atmosphere, and Stevie’s ad-libs for the entire outro just made me enter a zen state that I haven’t gone into in a while. It’s a really nice track, especially once Stevie gets a bit more grit in his voice.

“They Won’t Go When I Go” is fantastic. If any musician on the planet can brag about their faith & so boldly & confidently claim that he’ll be looking down at them from Heaven, it’s Stevie Wonder. His conviction & delivery makes the track, and it’s impossible not to feel the bubbling righteous anger that comes out of him. George Michael’s cover is great, but Stevie’s version is incredible, & it’s one of my favorite tracks of all time.

“Bird of Beauty” is a really energetic lift back up, and the Brazilian rhythms that drive the track feel like a direct foreshadowing of what would come by “Another Star”. Structurally, it feels close to “Golden Lady” from Innervisions, though without the same consistent lift at the end. It’s just a track about finding a natural high from simply seeing the beauty the world has to offer, and while that’s ironic coming from a blind man, it’s still advice worth taking. It’s a fun track.

“Please Don’t Go” really works as an album closer; obviously, I might’ve ended on “They Won’t Go When I Go”, but just look at the titles of each track. It thematically fits really well for the man who was so confident about the world he’d leave behind to feel shattered at the prospect of someone leaving that world. That wistful bite I keep talking about really hits an apex here, and just makes “Too Shy to Say” really feel like the weak link. The way Stevie glides, lifts & elevates on the piano, the passion in his vocal runs, the way the choir compliments him, & the funk of the bass & shaker percussion all come together in a more gospel-y driven way to end the album. It’s a great closer.

It really is a fantastic package, and I’m glad that this album got its due on the list. I might’ve listened to it in full someday, but that might’ve been a lot longer, & I was already overdue to hear the rest of it, based on the strength of “They Won’t Go When I Go”. Stevie Wonder is the GOAT, and I’m glad he took us on this trip through his soul. This is an easy 10. Save for a singular weak link, it’s just as good as Innervisions, and I can’t wait to get Talking Book down the line for our 4th & final Stevie album on the list. Stellar, stellar stuff.

It's agreed that this isn't quite as good as the other albums in his amazing run of five.

But being not quite as good as Innervisions or Talking Book means it's still better than at least 90% of the albums on this list.

By the way, "You Haven't Done Nothing" was written about Nixon. Still relevant.

I think Mr Wonder has definitely gained an advantage by popping up immediately after the abominable Rufus Wainwright.

The two are like chalk and cheese.
This is an album of good songs sung well. No channel hopping which annoyed me on one of his other albums and even his use of harmonica was constrained.

No standards. But then none of his utter shite either (there's a reason that there is no post 1976 Stevie Wonder albums on this list).

Thisis the first time I've heard the original They Won't Go When I Go. I love the George Michael version and loved this version too.