THE definition of a classic. This album was the culmination of Stevie's "classic period" in the 70s, which is considered one of the greatest album runs in history (Music of My Mind, Talking Book, Innervisions, Fulfillingness' First Finale, and this) . They're definitely all worth checking out, especially Innervisions. That record is mostly just Stevie playing and singing everything and its freaking awesome.
I would just like to second, ESPECIALLY Innervisions. I’ll concede that Songs In The Key of Life is probably his magnum opus, but Innervisions will always be my personal favorite.
@peytonwilliams3107 I honestly feel the same. Innervisions is probably the record I return to the most. It's 9 super tight songs all wrapped up in 45 minutes
I keep typing and then deleting what I am trying to say. This is the kind of music that you could play anywhere or anytime. When you’re sitting alone in your apartment it keeps you company with its intimacy. You could play it with a group of friends and dance, and it has so much power that it can please a stadium full of fans. Artists like Stevie Wonder only come around once in a lifetime.
Songs in the Key of Life is my favorite album of all time. I’ve loved this thing deeply for 20 years now. Anytime I’m able to see praise for this record, especially such authentic exuberance on someone’s first listen, it genuinely makes me really happy. Welcome to having this album be part of your life.
Stevie’s run in the 70s is unbelievable, he had three consecutive albums win record of the year at the Grammys. I like Talking Book and Innervisions almost as much as Songs, but this is definitely his best album and undeniably the culmination of his whole career.
Loved watching you discover this album that holds so many core memories for me. I've danced to this music with my mom, sang Isn't She Lovely to my daughters, and floated on vibes to "Easy Goin’ Evening (My Mama’s Call)". Watching your joy during some of my favorites tracks lets me know this music will live on! Thank you!
You commented that the last 4 songs were shorter than the ones before it. Those last 4 songs weren't on the original double album (it ended with Another Star), and those last 4 songs were on an extra EP called "A Something's Extra." It's incredible that even his B-sides are so incredible! This is the 5th and final album in his "classic" period from 1972-1976. All 5 of the albums (Music of My Mind, Talking Book, Innervisions, Fulfillingness' First Finale, and this one) are phenomenal and worth checking out.
Susumu Hirasawa - 救済の技法 (Kyuusai no gihou) Susumu Hirasawa just has this otherwordly sound too his stuff, i cant explain it, his music is just very unique imo.
45:53 Man, you're gonna enjoy the ride of "Journey through the secret life of plants", the folow-up album of "Songs in the key of life"., especially for "Venus flytrap and the bug". And if you want more harp from the player of "If it's magic", check out Dorothy Ashby, a legendary jazz harpist.
As and Another Star are two of the greatest songs ever written. Just masterpieces. I play bass and just can’t get enough of playing those tunes. George Benson adds some vocals and guitar at the end of Another Star.
I wrote a 12 pg paper for no reason other than putting my emotions on paper from listening to this masterpiece. This album is perfection and the creative peak of a generational talent who found his true message, his true purpose, and mixed his talent with the entirety of his soul and spirit to produce this anthology of love.
Without doubt the most sampled album in the history of music. Many rappers sampled this album in the 90s and 2000s including Coolio with "Gangsta Paradise" while the original dates from 1976. Stevie is a genius, a living legend!
Hey Smags, during your reaction of Beach House's Bloom, you said at 9:00 you would do a Minecraft lets-play if the video got 300 likes. The video has 882 likes, yet for some reason I can't seem to find your Minecraft let's play (I would also accept a reaction/review of Hot Fuss from the Killers
I got to see Stevie perform this whole album live a few years back and it was phenomenal! His track listing makes way more sense for the 4 extra tracks. “Saturn” and “Ebony Eyes” follow “Ordinary Pain” (ending disc 1) while “All Day Sucker” and “Easy Goin’ Evening” follow “Black Man.” That leaves the final four tracks in tact as intended: “I Am Singing,” “If It’s Magic,” “As,” and the closer, “Another Star.”
thank you for your videos a few recommendations: songs - Adrianne Lenker (folk, singer-songwriter) Ghosts of the Great Highway - Sun Kil Moon (folk rock, singer-songwriter, alt-country) SMILE :D - Porter Robinson (pop-punk, pop, electronic) Process - Sampha (experimental r&b, great production) Koi No Yokan - Deftones (very heavy, sexier and heavier radiohead imo) Hypochondriac - Brakence (very experimental emo rap, glitch pop) Reading Writing And Arithmetic - The Sundays (the smiths ish, with beautiful female vocals)
ANOTHER CLASSIC! Some Recs: Stevie Wonder - Innervisions Marvin Gaye - Lets Get it On Janet Jackson - The Velvet Rope Danny Brown - XXX J Dilla - Donuts Lil Ugly Mane - Mista Thug Isolation Nina Simone - Wild is The Wind
Smags listen to Kyuusai no Gihou/Technique of Relief by Susumu Hirasawa, it's in Japanese but it's one of my favourite albums of all time and sounds like nothing else. He also did the Berserk anime and Paprika movie soundtracks
Highly cannot suggest enough Julia Holter - Have You In My Wilderness. I remember all that time ago when you listened to Titanic Rising it to me at least sounds like the yin to it's yang. An incredibly piece of baroque pop.
Songs In The Key of Life is the best double album of the 1970s. It is also the very apex of Wonder’s career. He was at his most creative and prolific and the musicianship was unparalleled at the time. The only other popular music double album to have such a massive impact was Bob Dylan’s Blonde on Blonde from 1966. Fun fact: the last 4 songs listed were from a bonus 7 inch extended play record Stevie included with the double album. They did not fit with the theme of the rest of the album but Stevie felt they were still relevant and high enough quality for release.
React to LITTLE BUSTERS and Happy Bivouac by The Pillows next! They are both top tier j-rock/grunge albums that I think you will really enjoy. I recommend starting with LITTLE BUSTERS though
Also does a lot of the instruments on the album, And does everything except the brass on isn’t she lovely. You’re next Stevie if you’d like I would recommend Innervisions
Though some of these songs are just Stevie with his synths/keyboards, vocals, etc. a lot of these featured band accompaniment which he hadn't used since 1971 before he got a new deal with Motown that got him total creative control (when he recorded in Detroit with the Funk Brothers like all the Motown artists did prior to the company's move to L.A. a year later). It gave the album a less unique sound but also a richer and more full sound that made the songs here more grandiose than prior. It's crazy too because after this, Stevie made some solid albums but nothing as masterful as this. He got so much creativity out before age 30 that it was hard after that to top what he had done. Songs in the Key Of Life is so startlingly consistent for a double LP and on the level of a classical composer for arrangements too. There were more classical elements here, whereas more of the focus of his prior 3 was on R&B/soul and jazz. Tour de force indeed.
Day idk of suggesting: Tim Hecker - Virgins (Drone, Ambient) Clipping. - Visions of bodies being burned (Horrorcore, Industrial Hip Hop) Jane Remover - Frailty (Indietronica, Digicore, Hyperpop) Igorrr - Savage Sinusoid (Avant-Garde Metal, Breakcore, Baroque) Squarepusher - Hard Normal Daddy (Drill and Bass, Jazz Fusion) Oneohtrix Point Never - Garden of Delete (Electro-Industrial, Progressive Electronic) Machine Girl - WLFGRL (Hardcore Breaks, Footwork) 2814 - Birth of A New Day (Dreampunk, Basically Vaporwave without any samples)
you gotta do a jeff rosenstock album at some point. HELLMODE is my personal fav (and one of my favorite albums of all time) but you really can't go wrong with his discography.
recs: Polvo - Today's Active Lifestyles (Sick sounding early 90s math/indie rock, awesome guitar tone) Swirlies - Blonder Tongue Audio Baton (GORGEOUS unique sounding early 90s shoegaze, sounds like mbv, pavement, guided by voices with twee pop mixed in, so awesome, better than Loveless imo) Violent Femmes - Violent Femmes (Unique folk-punk, early 80s college/alt rock, very catchy) Teenage Fanclub - Bandwagonesque (Really catchy power pop, slightly shoegazey, same label as The Jesus and Mary Chain, My Bloody Valentine) Quasi - Featuring "Birds" (Awesome Built to Spill-esque/Pacific Northwest indie rock, same label as Modest Mouse, Built to Spill, Duster etc) The Breeders - Pod (Unique early 90s alt rock, Steve Albini prod, was in Kurt Cobain's top 3 albums of all time) Slint - Tweez (Sick late 80s post-hardcore/math rock, also Steve Albini prod) Pinback - Pinback (Very chill and creative late 90s indie rock) Modest Mouse - This Is a Long Drive for Someone with Nothing to Think About (Amazing album, basically as good as The Lonesome Crowded West) The Prodigy - The Fat Of The Land (badass big-beat dance music) Guided By Voices - Bee Thousand (lovely 90's lo-fi) Hella - Hold Your Horse Is (Math Rock with the drummer from Death Grips, before he was in Death Grips) Pavement - Crooked Rain, Crooked Rain (Absolutely perfect 90's indie rock album)
Funny story, when weird Al did his Amish Paradise parody, he asked Coolio for permission. Weird Al was given the okay but not by Coolio. Honestly he should have asked Stevie. Stevie would have been cool and Coolio would still have to get over it.
PLEASE react to some Emerson Lake & Palmer. It's a great prog band wich I'm curently revisiting after 2 years, and oh man this stuff is gonna blow your mind, especially Brain Salad Surgery.
![Seungmin "그렇게, 천천히, 우리(As we are)" | [Stray Kids : SKZ-PLAYER]](http://i.ytimg.com/vi/kAzmhLHePqU/mqdefault.jpg)
soundtracks from the blind
@@moraine_view you really don’t get the joke?😅
@@moraine_view 😂
Terrible album. Unlistenable noise.
@@curly_wyn Helpless Child is not “unlistenable noise”, you dingus.
Stevie Wonder is a national freaking treasure
International*
THE definition of a classic.
This album was the culmination of Stevie's "classic period" in the 70s, which is considered one of the greatest album runs in history (Music of My Mind, Talking Book, Innervisions, Fulfillingness' First Finale, and this) . They're definitely all worth checking out, especially Innervisions. That record is mostly just Stevie playing and singing everything and its freaking awesome.
I would just like to second, ESPECIALLY Innervisions. I’ll concede that Songs In The Key of Life is probably his magnum opus, but Innervisions will always be my personal favorite.
@peytonwilliams3107 I honestly feel the same. Innervisions is probably the record I return to the most. It's 9 super tight songs all wrapped up in 45 minutes
@ Couldn’t have said it better myself. I also love his lyrics on that one, he’s a bit more scathing on it than any of the other albums in the run.
this is always my choice for the "you can only listen to one album for the rest of your life"
This or the Desintegration by Cure for me
I keep typing and then deleting what I am trying to say. This is the kind of music that you could play anywhere or anytime. When you’re sitting alone in your apartment it keeps you company with its intimacy. You could play it with a group of friends and dance, and it has so much power that it can please a stadium full of fans.
Artists like Stevie Wonder only come around once in a lifetime.
It is perfect, the culmination of a creative career, using every musical idea he had. Just an incredible talent.
Songs in the Key of Life is my favorite album of all time. I’ve loved this thing deeply for 20 years now.
Anytime I’m able to see praise for this record, especially such authentic exuberance on someone’s first listen, it genuinely makes me really happy.
Welcome to having this album be part of your life.
SONGS IN THE PEAK OF LIFE? LETS GOOOOO
i screamed at my mom when i saw this notification sorry mom
are you alr
@@lpdpynah man
Haven’t even watched this but already know it’s gonna be #1 in the next ranking
Stevie has a string of perfect albums from 1972-1980 please do them all.
Another star is one of the best songs of all time
I should listen to it
@birdshh1 definitely!! Wait omg oomf!!
@@maryfreegirl2029 The world truly is small
yooo my fav aoty reviewer
As and Another Star back to back. That is up there with any two piece combo on any album ever.
Depression curing album tbh
FR how can you be sad listening to an album that instantly makes you want to fuck
Fr
WE DID IT BELIEVERS ‼️‼️‼️‼️‼️🙏🙏🙏🙏🙏⛹️♂️⛹️♂️⛹️♂️⛹️♂️🔥🔥🔥🔥💯💯💯💯💯💯
Stevie’s run in the 70s is unbelievable, he had three consecutive albums win record of the year at the Grammys. I like Talking Book and Innervisions almost as much as Songs, but this is definitely his best album and undeniably the culmination of his whole career.
Wasn't that when Paul Simon in his Grammy acceptance speech thanked Stevie Wonder... for not releasing an album that year.
I love it when people find out they've been listening to covers/sampled songs all along. Your reaction to Pastime Paradise was exactly that LMAO
Loved watching you discover this album that holds so many core memories for me. I've danced to this music with my mom, sang Isn't She Lovely to my daughters, and floated on vibes to "Easy Goin’ Evening (My Mama’s Call)". Watching your joy during some of my favorites tracks lets me know this music will live on! Thank you!
heard it recently and loved it, this is a gift fck yes
You commented that the last 4 songs were shorter than the ones before it. Those last 4 songs weren't on the original double album (it ended with Another Star), and those last 4 songs were on an extra EP called "A Something's Extra." It's incredible that even his B-sides are so incredible! This is the 5th and final album in his "classic" period from 1972-1976. All 5 of the albums (Music of My Mind, Talking Book, Innervisions, Fulfillingness' First Finale, and this one) are phenomenal and worth checking out.
You’re gonna love Innervisions
21:20 fun fact that's actually his ex-wife singing that vocal response on Ordinary Pain. She's actually worked a lot with him over the years.
Susumu Hirasawa - 救済の技法 (Kyuusai no gihou) Susumu Hirasawa just has this otherwordly sound too his stuff, i cant explain it, his music is just very unique imo.
I almost shed a tear when I found this album on vinyl at goodwill for $2. Lives on my wall for the rest of time
45:53 Man, you're gonna enjoy the ride of "Journey through the secret life of plants", the folow-up album of "Songs in the key of life"., especially for "Venus flytrap and the bug".
And if you want more harp from the player of "If it's magic", check out Dorothy Ashby, a legendary jazz harpist.
it cannot be said enough that stevie would play, write, compose every instrument !!!! the original tame impala meme a whole 50 years ago
As and Another Star are two of the greatest songs ever written. Just masterpieces. I play bass and just can’t get enough of playing those tunes.
George Benson adds some vocals and guitar at the end of Another Star.
Desert island album right here. As may be the most beautiful love song ever written.
Ccccclassic! Great reaction and a really good time listening along with you.
I wrote a 12 pg paper for no reason other than putting my emotions on paper from listening to this masterpiece. This album is perfection and the creative peak of a generational talent who found his true message, his true purpose, and mixed his talent with the entirety of his soul and spirit to produce this anthology of love.
Omgggggg had to click right away
Without doubt the most sampled album in the history of music. Many rappers sampled this album in the 90s and 2000s including Coolio with "Gangsta Paradise" while the original dates from 1976. Stevie is a genius, a living legend!
Innervisions has to be next ❤
Thank you 🙏 very glad you enjoyed it
One of my all time favourites and easily one of the greatest if not THE greatest album of all time.
The best to ever do it.
Hey Smags, during your reaction of Beach House's Bloom, you said at 9:00 you would do a Minecraft lets-play if the video got 300 likes. The video has 882 likes, yet for some reason I can't seem to find your Minecraft let's play (I would also accept a reaction/review of Hot Fuss from the Killers
I got to see Stevie perform this whole album live a few years back and it was phenomenal! His track listing makes way more sense for the 4 extra tracks. “Saturn” and “Ebony Eyes” follow “Ordinary Pain” (ending disc 1) while “All Day Sucker” and “Easy Goin’ Evening” follow “Black Man.” That leaves the final four tracks in tact as intended: “I Am Singing,” “If It’s Magic,” “As,” and the closer, “Another Star.”
thank you for your videos
a few recommendations:
songs - Adrianne Lenker (folk, singer-songwriter)
Ghosts of the Great Highway - Sun Kil Moon (folk rock, singer-songwriter, alt-country)
SMILE :D - Porter Robinson (pop-punk, pop, electronic)
Process - Sampha (experimental r&b, great production)
Koi No Yokan - Deftones (very heavy, sexier and heavier radiohead imo)
Hypochondriac - Brakence (very experimental emo rap, glitch pop)
Reading Writing And Arithmetic - The Sundays (the smiths ish, with beautiful female vocals)
ANOTHER CLASSIC!
Some Recs:
Stevie Wonder - Innervisions
Marvin Gaye - Lets Get it On
Janet Jackson - The Velvet Rope
Danny Brown - XXX
J Dilla - Donuts
Lil Ugly Mane - Mista Thug Isolation
Nina Simone - Wild is The Wind
Lil ugly mane is incredible, I prefer Volcanic Bird Enemy or Oblivion Access, but MTI is also fire.
Velvet rope!
@@PuLsarSevenMC He already reacted to Volcanic Bird
This is it right here. Love is in need of love today🫶
Joy inside my tears is an all time favorite, love this album
Smags listen to Kyuusai no Gihou/Technique of Relief by Susumu Hirasawa, it's in Japanese but it's one of my favourite albums of all time and sounds like nothing else. He also did the Berserk anime and Paprika movie soundtracks
Ahhhh, that Paprika soundtrack!! 😩
Idk who or what named the chapters in this video, but "Black Man" casually being renamed "The White Man" is diabolical 💀💀
insta click easily one of the best albums ever
Stevie!!! Awesome!!!
Been waiting for this vid for so long omg 🙏🙏🙏 ty smags 🙏🙏🙏
What the hell I listened to this album for the first time this morning... we on the same wavelength fr
SITKOL is a fundament, modern mainstream music was built on
Highly cannot suggest enough Julia Holter - Have You In My Wilderness. I remember all that time ago when you listened to Titanic Rising it to me at least sounds like the yin to it's yang. An incredibly piece of baroque pop.
Songs In The Key of Life is the best double album of the 1970s. It is also the very apex of Wonder’s career. He was at his most creative and prolific and the musicianship was unparalleled at the time. The only other popular music double album to have such a massive impact was Bob Dylan’s Blonde on Blonde from 1966.
Fun fact: the last 4 songs listed were from a bonus 7 inch extended play record Stevie included with the double album. They did not fit with the theme of the rest of the album but Stevie felt they were still relevant and high enough quality for release.
Best EP ever!
Yayayayaya!!!! Thank you snags!!!!
summer soft is an insane song
AND ITS GOOOOOONEEEEE SUMMERS GOOONEEEEEE
My favorite on this album by far!
every track is good, 10/10 album, legitimately peak human music
BACK TO BACK?? you’re spoiling us
PJ Harvey - Stories from the City, Stories from the Sea!
React to LITTLE BUSTERS and Happy Bivouac by The Pillows next! They are both top tier j-rock/grunge albums that I think you will really enjoy. I recommend starting with LITTLE BUSTERS though
oh shidd. one of my favorite albums.
Also does a lot of the instruments on the album, And does everything except the brass on isn’t she lovely.
You’re next Stevie if you’d like I would recommend Innervisions
Though some of these songs are just Stevie with his synths/keyboards, vocals, etc. a lot of these featured band accompaniment which he hadn't used since 1971 before he got a new deal with Motown that got him total creative control (when he recorded in Detroit with the Funk Brothers like all the Motown artists did prior to the company's move to L.A. a year later). It gave the album a less unique sound but also a richer and more full sound that made the songs here more grandiose than prior. It's crazy too because after this, Stevie made some solid albums but nothing as masterful as this. He got so much creativity out before age 30 that it was hard after that to top what he had done. Songs in the Key Of Life is so startlingly consistent for a double LP and on the level of a classical composer for arrangements too. There were more classical elements here, whereas more of the focus of his prior 3 was on R&B/soul and jazz. Tour de force indeed.
oh we eating good now, you needa check out more stevie, my favourite album of his is innervisions
I love this album
Are those Koss Porta Pros?
Yes!
@@smags1082 Awesome! I've heard how great they are for the money. How do you feel about em?
A MOMENT IN HISTORY
If I had to pick an """objective""" best album ever made it's probably this
BANGER ALBUM BRO YOU HAVE TO DO INNERVISIONS NOW… 🔥🔥🔥
Lyburnum Wits End Liberation Fly - Moss Icon
fire !!! im not gonna stop reccomending the lamb as effigy though ive wanted this for so long
Another long album rec: Soundgarden- Superunknown
Day idk of suggesting:
Tim Hecker - Virgins (Drone, Ambient)
Clipping. - Visions of bodies being burned (Horrorcore, Industrial Hip Hop)
Jane Remover - Frailty (Indietronica, Digicore, Hyperpop)
Igorrr - Savage Sinusoid (Avant-Garde Metal, Breakcore, Baroque)
Squarepusher - Hard Normal Daddy (Drill and Bass, Jazz Fusion)
Oneohtrix Point Never - Garden of Delete (Electro-Industrial, Progressive Electronic)
Machine Girl - WLFGRL (Hardcore Breaks, Footwork)
2814 - Birth of A New Day (Dreampunk, Basically Vaporwave without any samples)
Isn’t she lovely might be the best example of happy & sad at the same time
I feel like you’d absolutely adore Music of my Mind. I personally think it’s his best album, really cool talk box use on the project
love the video bro
My grandma loves this album
Frances The Mute - The Mars Volta
Goated
do innervisions too!
thank you
you gotta do a jeff rosenstock album at some point. HELLMODE is my personal fav (and one of my favorite albums of all time) but you really can't go wrong with his discography.
Eels - Beautiful Freak
Oh yeaaaaaah.
"I Wish" and "Sir Duke" were the killer singles, but I believe "As" is the greatest song on this mammoth masterpiece.
The Rainbow Goblins by Masayoshi Takanaka pls king
Finally you react to a great album!
Sounds like a greatest hits collection
recs:
Polvo - Today's Active Lifestyles (Sick sounding early 90s math/indie rock, awesome guitar tone)
Swirlies - Blonder Tongue Audio Baton (GORGEOUS unique sounding early 90s shoegaze, sounds like mbv, pavement, guided by voices with twee pop mixed in, so awesome, better than Loveless imo)
Violent Femmes - Violent Femmes (Unique folk-punk, early 80s college/alt rock, very catchy)
Teenage Fanclub - Bandwagonesque (Really catchy power pop, slightly shoegazey, same label as The Jesus and Mary Chain, My Bloody Valentine)
Quasi - Featuring "Birds" (Awesome Built to Spill-esque/Pacific Northwest indie rock, same label as Modest Mouse, Built to Spill, Duster etc)
The Breeders - Pod (Unique early 90s alt rock, Steve Albini prod, was in Kurt Cobain's top 3 albums of all time)
Slint - Tweez (Sick late 80s post-hardcore/math rock, also Steve Albini prod)
Pinback - Pinback (Very chill and creative late 90s indie rock)
Modest Mouse - This Is a Long Drive for Someone with Nothing to Think About (Amazing album, basically as good as The Lonesome Crowded West)
The Prodigy - The Fat Of The Land (badass big-beat dance music)
Guided By Voices - Bee Thousand (lovely 90's lo-fi)
Hella - Hold Your Horse Is (Math Rock with the drummer from Death Grips, before he was in Death Grips)
Pavement - Crooked Rain, Crooked Rain (Absolutely perfect 90's indie rock album)
Unrelated but you should really listen to Sheena Ringo's art pop masterpiece "Kalk samen kuri no hana", you'll probably enjoy it
Funny story, when weird Al did his Amish Paradise parody, he asked Coolio for permission. Weird Al was given the okay but not by Coolio.
Honestly he should have asked Stevie. Stevie would have been cool and Coolio would still have to get over it.
Not suprirsed you loved it, Another Star is imo maybe the best song ever written.
FINALLY
Here In The Pitch by Jessica Pratt will blow your mind
I hope you get around to Stevie Wonder’s album Hotter Than July.
PLEASE react to some Emerson Lake & Palmer. It's a great prog band wich I'm curently revisiting after 2 years, and oh man this stuff is gonna blow your mind, especially Brain Salad Surgery.
I will recommend you listen to Over by Peter Hammill
PLEASE do more beach house❤❤
another star might be one of the greatest songs ever made tbh
wild is the wind - nina simone for some classic jazz based soul
No way you haven’t heard this Smags😭pizza and codeine by Chris Travis pls Smags OG cloud rap album
Gonna keep recommending Ben Folds Five - The Unauthorized Biography of Reinhold Messner until it happens
@@comeasurotmg8387 You're a real one
Great reviews, just discover your channel! Can you do Homeshake - Midnight Snack or in the shower ? Thanks!
I feel like smags is ready for more unique metal subgenres. I wanna see him react to some stoner metal or sludge
Please react to another Mitski album. I would recommend Puberty 2
Oh my god yes
you should check out low roar first album
please react to the album Old Ramon by the band Red House Painters!!!