Stevie Wonder, whose albums made critics’ Top 10 lists in the ’70s, seems to have fallen into relative neglect in recent years — Marvin Gaye, not Wonder, is now considered Motown’s greatest 1970s artist.
This makes sense — Gaye’s soul influenced a lot more modern music than Wonder’s funk and pop. But at the time there was a sense that Wonder was grappling with serious subjects while Gaye was just singing about sexytime. He was rewarded with three Album of the Year Grammys during the decade.
Wonder’s career began in 1961, but 1972’s “Music of My Mind” was the first record over which he had artistic control. This was the start of Wonder’s fascination with synthesizers and other sound manipulation — he put effects on several of his vocals — but electric piano dominates the LP. This gospel-influenced track closed the album. It also closed a season two episode of “Atlanta,” Donald Glover’s critically praised TV series, because evil is a subject that’s never out of style.
