Is this STEVIE WONDER'S GREATEST song?
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- Опубликовано: 28 сен 2024
- STEVIE WONDER, SUPERSTITION, one of the greatest tracks of all time. SUPERSTITION reached number 1 in the top 100 Billboard charts in 1972 and won STEVIE WONDER 2 Grammys.
I'm Jack Conte the CEO of @Patreon and one-half of the bands @ScaryPockets and @Pomplamoose.
Joining me today are 3 of my best musician friends;
Ryan Lerman, a professional guitarist the other half of @Scarypockets
Lauren O'Connell, a professional singer-songwriter who plays in a band with my wife called @Myterriblefriend
Nick Campbell, a professional bassist who plays in my bands @Scarypockets and @Pomplamoose
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We will be making a lot more videos so if you like this one, so please ding that bell and hit the subscribe button. You can subscribe here:
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You can find Stevie's youtube channel here:
/ @steviewonder
Superstition:
• Superstition
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We also feature other music in this video which we will link to below.
Stevie Ray Vaughan - Superstition:
• Stevie Ray Vaughan & D...
Ben Folds:
/ benfoldstv
Pat Metheny - Orchestrion:
• Orchestrion - An Excer...
Pomplamoose - Jamiroquai Bee Gees Mashup:
• Jamiroquai Bee Gees Ma...
We discussed a book too:
Standing in the Shadows of Motown: The Life and Music of Legendary Bassist James Jamerson
www.halleonard...
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Please leave us a comment below and tell us what you would like us to react to.
Before we film episodes we ask the Scary Pockets Discord and Patreon members for questions on certain episodes, you can find the communities here;
Discord:
www.scarypocke...
Patreon:
/ scarypockets
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Hellllllloooooo! thank you to everyone for the continued comments & suggestions for songs we should react to. One idea I wanted to throw out there to see if folks would be into it is reacting to music industry news / or specific concerts, or music events. Like for example, what if we had come out with an episode when Daft Punk broke up, and we just talked about their music, influence, production style, holistically, as opposed to focusing on one particular song. Would y'all be down for trying an episode like that? What do you think?
That would be awesome. One sugestion would be to react to studio versions of songs VS live versions (how artists adapt what was recorded on studio into a live performance)
And I also suggest reacting to brazilian music. Check out "Linha de Passe" by João Bosco
That day was a kick in the pants --would also love more discussion of people's specific contributions to music and their influence. Ex) prince on the development of the Minneapolis sound, Stevie wonder and his blend of r&b, gospel, funk paving the way for MJ, brunoars etc etc
That sounds awesome!
I say yes to all of that, especially concerts!
And with the passing of Charlie Watts, I think the stones would be a great place to start!
The fact that he composed this song at age 22 is mind-boggling to me! A true musical genius!!!!
Stevie is the GOAT!!! BEST SINGER, SONGWRITER AND MUSICIAN EVER!!!!
He was good for his time, but GOAT? Nah.
@@AlexRides808 for his time? Do you know how much his music has been sampled and remade??? Don't be a hater it is not becoming of you.....SMH!!!!
@@AlexRides808 There’s Stevie, Phil Collins, Maurice White (Earth, Wind and Fire) And there’s Prince!
Definitely one of the greatest of all time.
@@AlexRides808 naaaaah … please revisit Stevie’s entire BODY of work… I’ll wait and see who tops that. The only other person who could been on the same level, had he not passed away would have been Donny Hathaway
I recorded Superstition with Stevie and Malcolm. No gates on hi hat. TONTO Moog bass line. Clav with tape delay. Horns live emulating bass line. Drums were recorded first out of Stevie’s head, no click. Have fun figuring it all out.💥🎯 natural rubato is a good thing.
Amazing! Thanks for the insight Robert!
While watching I kept thinking "Why on earth do you even consider gates on the hi-hat?!" That's just a drummer who knows what he's doing. Probably unconcievable nowadays with all the "corrections" made in postproduction.
Thanks a lot for the comment!
did tonto have a space echo or tape delay built in? is that what we are hearing the clav through? Ive read that the clavs were sent through tonto but curious which module and what effects if you can recall. Otherwise big big fan of yourself and malcolm's work.
@@havetowant sort of, we used an Amoex 4track with DVD noise reduction on the record and playback side with a CEO to control the delay times.
That’s
DBX sorry for the mis print
"2 clavs? I could'a sworn there was a 3rd clav!"
Keyboard players watching: "Oh my sweet summer child..."
Still holds up 50 years on. Classic
I agree on the heart that Stevie put into the drum part. I’m a drummer and I was blown away watching blind Stevie Wonder drumming in the documentary “Summer Of Soul” (1969 Harlem Cultural Festival) which opened in theaters this July.
amazing indeed
You can hear the influence of Superstition on Sledgehammer by Peter Gabriel, especially the horns and drums. Also, Stevie's chord changes are so advanced.
I always wondered about that..I kept saying, "I know this, but from what song??" Now I know..😅
So some fun little side notes:
1. The bassline is actually a Mini Moog and not an electric bass guitar. In the mix it's hard to tell, but if you listen closely the characteristic portamento of the Moog is noticeable.
2. Lyrics are actually a protest against Richard Nixon. The song was written before the Watergate Scandal, but it was fitting that Stevie's version was released just a few months after the Watergate break-in. Stevie was a vocal critic of Nixon and many songs were aimed at his administration.
3. The song was originally written for Jeff Beck who collaborated with Stevie on previous records. Stevie promised to write him a song, but the song was so good that Stevie decided he had to track a version as well. Interestingly enough, this version has some different lyrics as well. ruclips.net/video/n0R8Tdr0oB8/видео.html
There's a really great podcast that Hit Parade did about Stevie Wonder that has a ton of interesting stories about that period of music history.
Wow, thanks so much, I'm going to listen to the podcast now!
"You Haven't Done Nothing" is the song about Watergate
Superb intel.the fact that the lady only had a cursory comment about the lyrics historical depth shows the lack of attention to the importance of the message. Musicians with no historical political knowledge do my head in. The word “professional” is a misnomer - these guys do fine on the music theory but suck ass on the political lyricism of Stevie’s impact on the American (and world) culture - especially POC consumers of Wonders music. Not hating here but … while I love this show - I’d love it more if they had a musical political ethnomusicologist historian on their team. Rant over. Nothing but love. Thanks for your excellent comment.
The interesting thing about the Jeff Beck connection is that Stevie felt somewhat guilty for sorta stealing the song right out from under the Jeff Beck Group before their album was released; however, Stevie returned the favor in spades by writing what would ultimately become Beck's signature song: "Cause We've Ended as Lovers"
@@joshw9424 That´s interesting!
One of my favorite songs of all time. The groove of the whole thing is just gorgeous.
It’s a belter, to be sure!
The inconsistencies are what make the music unique and human. Having everything on a grid is not something the Beatles or Led Zeppelin did thats what made then great.
So True. Today’s music is mechanical and lacks soul.
Dude these cats are so educational man! I'm learning so much while being entertained! I wish school was like this.
"As" is Stevie Wonder's greatest song. "Superstition" may be his most POPULAR in the "mainstream," if you will. But the die-hard, core fan base know that "As" is it. It's probably the longest hook ever written, too. It'd be great to see the reaction/analysis of that one. It's heavy.
Man, I was looking for this comment! As is definitely his best song.
As is hands down top 5 greatest songs ever written/recorded. It’s crazy
As, I wish and Too High for me are the greatest.
Agreed. As is a masterpiece. Superstition is great but nothing compared to many of Stevie’s artistic creations. It’s merely clickbait to call Superstition his greatest song.
Facts. As is where it's at.
One of my favorite features of these reactions is how informative they are with how they explain what terms mean and give examples
Holy mother of God, you go almost 2 minutes into this song and you can't mention the opening drum groove? That is exactly what hooks you when you first hear this song. That is what we played over and over and over again back in the day by lifting the needle and putting it back down again.
Absolutely!!! If it was on Name That Tune, we could name it in one note. LOL If you caught me slipping on the first beat I might say Billie Jean lol
Exactly. How can a professional musician not appreciate this?
That drum groove was originally played by guitarist Jeff Beck. Beck and Stevie were in the studio when Jeff was playing on Stevie's album Talking Book and Jeff began playing that beat on drums while Stevie improvised the riff that Superstition is built on.
Please check out Stevie's song, You Haven't Done Nothing. The perfect analogue for Superstition, with a deeper groove, great clav lead, and a killer bass line. Lyrically, the perfect statement on politicians, it is well worth checking out.
Absolutely! You Haven’t Done Nothing is mind blowing! Let’s se if they know who is singing the background vocals! LOLOL
@@TheTalented10th I know. 😉
I would love a reaction to "The Chain" by Fleetwood Mac. Or maybe some of their other hits. They are really just fantastic musicians! Love the content - keep it up :)
Oh, I am so tempted to say this. I can't resist. The live show of The Chain, on channel Lindsey Buckingham Gems, but only the one with Lindsey wearing a straw hat, has glorious vocals from Stevie and youthful energy from Lindsey that no other version has.
Stop the video as soon as the song ends, so as not to *spoil* the vibe with Lindsey's chatter.
Here’s what people often don’t even realize when we hear all time great songs from all time great artists… their ages at the moments they create masterpieces. Stevie was 22 when this came out!!! And all these years later, good musicians in their own right who are older than him in comparison to when Stevie wrote it, are blown away with his genius! That’s kinda amazing!
Wow. That makes me feel unaccomplished lol.
He's the EIGHTH WONDER of the World.
You guys analysing Jacob Collier would be intense, but also kind of amazing and awesome in every way possible
yessss
Stick to music a lot of people want to learn about. Your average music fan is only pretending they enjoy Jacob Collier haha. The great art of Stevie, EW&F, Steely Dan, Sting, Bill Withers… they snuck jazz into pop and wrote songs that reached everyone. No ones listening to Collier at a wedding. If you like JC, you probably already have an irritating need to ‘analyse’ the harmony. Let these guys discuss songs that won’t alienate casual music fans and audiences.
@@BassManDan1018 I see where you’re coming from but I believe Colliers music can be enjoyed by anyone, as I myself for one isn’t a person with a lot of music theory knowledge!
The lyrics are written from a spiritual person who cautions on the reliance on unfounded beliefs.You can dance and enjoy a song that has a message.All my top Artist always have interesting lyrics.
im loving this series, pls keep doing it
"The song is a party." That one line sums it up perfectly to me.
I truly appreciate and enjoy this series. Lots of love from Philly
I'm glad you like it! Philly has such a rich music history we need to dig into some of your music exports!
@@DeadWaxShow I wouldn't mind that one bit
The bad thing with this video is that it sets the bar for other reaction videos so high, and that I miss these guys so much.
Just discovered this channel and it's wonderful. Love the terminology inserts and curious to see if every video ends up rediscovering "feel" - the heartbeat that's missing in so much of our auto-generated contemporary music.
I'd love love love a video about Nile Rodgers. His music with CHIC as well as his productions. ❤️
I used to listen to this with my headphones on. It's the best. So much going on.
I've been lately obsessed with the v minor chord. It would be amazing to have an episode with songs that use it tastefully.
Thanks for sharing all your knowledge guys!
The lyrics in this song are sooo important and tell such and amazing story. I think you missed the mark on that part
@11:28 Totally true - when you layer yourself doing all the instruments, the sloppy grooves lock together perfectly and it's great lol.
I’m surprised you didn’t mention that there isn’t any bass guitar in this either- it’s Stevie on Moog bass.
I love this damn channel. Side note the baseline on this song is one of my favorite bass lines it's funky as hell and it kind of offsets the clavicle and the perfect way
I think you mean clavinet :D
One of the best songs in the world!
Thanks professional musicians!
Great choice guys ! This tune is iconic ! Let’s “breakdown” some more.
The horn parts are freaking amazing!!!
React to Stevie Wonder “Supewoman”, “All I Do”, “As”, “Signed Sealed Delivered”
I'd love for you to check out Sting's Live in Berlin Album. To me his work with the Royal Philharmonic Orchestra is on another level and you will have so much fun listening to each individual voice and their nuances!
love when the guy made the mccartney and prince mention...my 2 faves....both very capable of bringing a song from its infancy to the listener fully formed without any other help.
Yeah I agree but believe Stevie still atop the list
@@1kingzeus can't go wrong with any one of them...all 3 are awesome...comes down to personal taste at this point because each is so monumentally talented..
Wendy Carlos and her work with Bob Moog on the first “serious” commercially available synthesizer. From her Lp “Switched On Bach” (1968) to her scores for Kubrick’s “A Clockwork Orange” and “The Shining”, to Tron. Keith Emerson of Emerson, Lake & Palmer said hearing Switched On Bach made him buy a Moog. - Great channel, guys.
And in the same vein, how about anything by Isao Tomita (who imported the first Moog synthesizer into Japan - which famously arrived without any instructions, so to start with he had to figure out how to plug it in and get sounds from it!) - like Debussy's "Clair de Lune" (ruclips.net/video/773dDn0PM8E/видео.html) - which was used in the closing ceremony of the Olympics as the Flame was extinguished in Tokyo this year or Mussorgsky's "A Night on Bare Mountain" (ruclips.net/video/MD-vYOCsgvY/видео.html). For albums that had to be basically recorded one single note at a time (as polyphonic synths didn't exist ) to build up the multiple chords and harmonies, they're a phenomenal tribute to the work Tomita put in to record them.
The lyrics to this track are BRILLIANT!!! He addresses every wife’s tale prevalent at that time. Poetically while mocking them at the same time.
Stevie, Marvin, Prince, Sly, Curtis.... ya killin me 😭💙🙌🏽
You might like Napoleon Dozier. A friend of mine. Check out This Is All I Have.
just found this channel and this is already the third video I'm watching.... it's 2:36 in the morning and I'm watching music nerds do their nerdy thing so I can be nerdy too.... looooove this song! and the bass part you talk about that's doubled by the horns isn't that just the most singable part of the song? because, I mean, who can remember the lyrics!!!
These videos are excellent so far, thank you for making this.
I queued up for an hour to buy Talking Book on the day it was released, took it home and played it all night long, over and over again, so it was never 'like the sidewalk' to me. It was more like the earth opening up and swallowing me whole. That's how profound its impact was, on me and everyone I knew. Our musical world was completely transformed. Bach, if he was as good a funkmeister as he was a Baroque composer, could never have equalled it.
I appreciate the re-lived testimonial. I am amazed at how short-sighted (or "in the now") some can be when they are speaking about things like this.
It is easy to overlook what a record or a song, or an artist could have meant to "the time period". Many of us work or start from a place where the technology that we have is what should have been. The technology in '72-'73 would not be anywhere close to where it would be just 10 years later. I've heard some reactions from the younger crowds that are completely dismissive of his accomplishments and musicianship, because they are comparing his music of the 70's and 80's to present day with claims of "outdated" or "plain".
Thank you for your insight.
Real nice catch on the main riff sounding like a guitar lick- Stevie wrote the tune for Jeff Beck. I always approached it as a guitar part ( on keyboards)
Quantizing to a grid (as mentioned, using your eyes) is what can suck the soul out of new music. These 70's records that aren't quantized and have their own tempo give it a life, and extra dimension. Especially with a band that are all feeling the same tempo... magic.
Thank you so much!!
The Beck, Bogert and Appice version is an awesome power trio version.
From what I understand, Jeff Beck originally came up with the drum part to Stevie's version.
This series is so good!
lol. another brilliant episode. i luv this channel. thaaank you for making it.
That open and close hi hat give that push. If you move it you'll feel the push. It was intended to dance to.
love this, thank u
"I don't listen to the song for the lyrics" Welcome to the world of Max Fury (Stick It In)
Best musician of the 20th century.
Check out the personnel credits on the Talking Book album. You'll see these people singing on one tune, this guy playing guitar on one track, another guy on guitar on another track, and so on. Quickly you'll notice that several tunes have no personnel credits at all, and most of the parts on the tunes mentioning personnel aren't mentioned, either. Then you'll get to the end and see "all other parts by Stevie Wonder."
As a drummer, this made me happy with the I’m performing cuz I try to fit a lot of the accents to insinuate the music as a whole. Love this series, y’all are amazing, and I can only aspire at the moment. Y’all are amazing, describing how lower level musicians hear music, cuz we aspire to y’all - at least I do😅. Keep up the great work y’all🤙
grooviest groove ever written
You sure you’re not just hearing the hi-hat close? Granted, I’m not listening in headphones, but that hi-hat gate sounds to me like it’s just a louder hit as the hi-hat opens and closes.
As a non-musician i really enjoy these because i realise i listen with a degree of detail it's cool to have analysed.
Awesome stuff. I would love a Dangelo's Voodoo or Black Messiah breakdown
AMAZING VIDEO!
I've only watched a few of these so far, but really enjoy the concept. AND it would be great if one of your guests was an expert/superfan of the subject of the video. I know that might be more difficult to come up with, but this episode felt a little flat in the Stevie passion side. But someone who listens to a ton of Stevie and is a musician could probably offer a pretty dope perspective.
Like DJ Spinna comes to mind or Robert Margouleff who commented here earlier.
Good stuff
Before I looked I KNEW it would be SUPERSTITION! That song is baaaaaad!
A legendary musician...no one compares
i definitely learned that riff by ear as a teenager on guitar just assuming it was played on guitar. i don't think i even knew what a clav was at that point lol
Would love to hear you guys cover a Sade track. Personally I love Paradise, Never As Good As The First Time, The Sweetest Taboo, Hang On To Your Love among others. Thanks. Love the channel!
Welp, I also thought it was a guitar. This is a great series. I'd love to hear you break down some Rush, especially La Villa Strangiato but that might be a little long.
Damn I love this stuff! Now I feel like listening to some more Stevie. He was my favorite artist growing up in the 70s.
"I Was Made to Love Her" is the best SW song.
Paul Anka recognized Stevie Wonder is the greatest living composer in jazz. Playing several songs like "Don't You Worry..." I fully agreed to that.
Stevie Wonder is probably the greatest performer, arranger, vocalist, composer, and humanitarian of the past 500 years.
One of my favorite series on RUclips easily 👌🏻✌🏻
You should check out Rick Beato’s deconstruction of this song in his “What Makes This Song Great?” series. You can hear individual tracks.
Friday on My Mind, Easybeats. It's just sooo different for it's time. Iconic piece.
I love the lyrics of this song.
Wow I really like your videos
👏please do one on Stevie wonders part time lover
A classic masterpiece
Greatest artist of the century. Def as far as musicians go.
The imperfections of time, etc. are what make the music of the 60s and 70s so great. It is those imperfections, the variation in tempo, the mistakes, etc. are what make the music human - what make bands like Led Zeppelin, The Beatles, the Doors, etc. so great.
💯Awesome! Thank You. Had to Subscribe immediately
Welcome aboard!
anything by Bahamas. loving this channel, thanks!
These are really fantastic videos! I also decided about a month ago that clav is amazing and this song (along with Trampled Under Foot) really showcase it well
I would love to see a reaction on daft punk´s Random Access Memories. It is my absolute favourite album and I think it is so well produced and engineered.
Totally agree
One more amazing thing about this song. Stevie is playing the drums on this song too.
I grew up in that time in my 20s when this track LP came out great to see younger cats breaking it down, and the weed was better then too.
Note: Jeff Beck wrote the drumline for Superstition and even covered the song a year later. Wonder says the lyrics came to him while touring with the Stones as an antithesis to those practices and a few of the lines were a stream of consciousness of things he remembered as a child. So they aren't just words he laid down to accompany the musical 'party'. If you want to get into some real Wonderland compositional complexities, you should give 'Superwoman' from the Music of My Mind LP a ride.
that has to be the coldest beat Stevie ever played.
Please please please come back to STEVIE and unpack: As, I Believe When I Fall in Love, Superwoman, Misstra Knowitall, Never Dreamed You’d Leave in Summer, Overjoyed. I need to hear y’all dissect and love on these ditties. With love from your hugest fans, Mama Tine and Handsome Allan 🤙🏽
This didn't feel like 17 minutes at all! - Speaking of tempo.
Stevie Wonder and a bunch of fantastic musicians breaking it down, gotta love it!
That being said, I wanted to tell you that this is the best channel ever to grace this platform regarding any kind of reaction videos! This is enterntaining and super educational and leaves any other reaction channel miles away in the dust. Keep up the great work!
What a lovely comment, thanks so much for watching!
That's not a gate... The drummer just knows how to play
Darn it. Hoped you'd listen to overjoyed, and listen to Jacob Colliers version AND the collabs with Collier and his fans on the "overjoyed challenge", when talking about both perception of time, timbre but also phrasing and Intonation, because most of the people on the collabs are doing it on their phones with no autotune, which in a way is really raw, real and unique nowadays. Lovely episode though.
damn these guys are great in breaking this song down......totally enjoyed this keep it up
By far my favorite musician of all time.
I'd enjoy seeing you react to 'consolers of the lonely' by the raconteurs. Lots going on in that one. Multiple riffs, possibly time sig changes, possibly tempo changes. I'd love to hear what you discover there.
My favourite Stevie tune is boogie on reggae woman. Definitely recommend
Soul Train it's all in the name😊 I love me some soulful music
Love this! Love that it exists! It’s like “What Makes This Song Great” with a bit less elbow patch and a bit more fun. I would love some isolated tracks, though, and definitely someone on the panel with deeper insight into lyrics in a historical context. And maybe some non-white people could be involved as the channel evolves?
Led Zeppelin please!! I love this channel,
Greetings from Argentina!
Rock on!
I'm glad you put that chick in the mix to slow this whole video down to a crawl while everyone else has to explain to her what's going on instead of just making a _good_ video about musicians talking about a masterpiece. DEI shines again and boy is it a lack luster finish.
Fantastic choice of song/artist. Might be interesting one day to do Stevie's "In The City".