#29 Innervisions by Stevie Wonder
The 100 Greatest Albums of All Time
- 2025 Album Rank
- 29
- 2011 Album Rank
- 45
- Total Points
- 1631
- Year Released
- 1973
- Billboard 200 Chart Peak
- 4
- Weeks at #1
- N/A
- RIAA Sales Certification
- N/A (Sold under 500,00 copies)
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Innervisions Album Details
Released in August 1973, Innervisions is a landmark in Stevie Wonder's so-called "classic period," representing a brilliant synthesis of social commentary, spiritual reflection, and musical innovation. Recorded almost entirely by Wonder himself, the album uses the then-novel TONTO synthesizer system to fuse soul, funk, jazz, and progressive pop into a highly personal and politically charged work. With lyrics confronting systemic racism, drug addiction, spiritual blindness, and political corruption, Innervisions is both fiercely critical and deeply humanistic.
From the biting satire of He's Misstra Know-It-All to the heart-wrenching story of Too High, and the stirring gospel plea of Higher Ground, Wonder pushes both his songwriting and studio wizardry into bold new territory. The album's centerpiece, Living for the City, is a cinematic mini-epic chronicling systemic injustice with such power that it set a new standard for socially conscious pop. Innervisions solidified Wonder not just as a musical genius, but as one of the most essential voices of his generation.
Won the Grammy for Album of the Year in 1974.
Other albums by Stevie Wonder on the chart: Songs in the Key of Life.
Interesting Facts about Innervisions
- Stevie Wonder played nearly every instrument on the album, including drums, keyboards, bass, and synthesizer with only minimal contributions from outside musicians.
- Living for the City featured groundbreaking use of sound effects and spoken interludes, dramatizing the song's narrative and foreshadowing techniques later used in hip-hop and concept albums.
- The album was largely recorded using the TONTO (The Original New Timbral Orchestra) synthesizer, which Wonder helped popularize. It gave the record its distinctive futuristic texture.
- Higher Ground was written and recorded in just three hours. Wonder later said he believed he was "spiritually guided" to write it, a chilling detail considering he would nearly die in a car crash just three days after the album's release.
- That near-fatal accident left him in a coma for over a week. When he awoke, one of the first things his road manager did was sing him Higher Ground, prompting Wonder to start moving his fingers in response.
- He's Misstra Know-It-All is widely interpreted as a veiled critique of then-President Richard Nixon, though Wonder never confirmed it directly.
- Too High was one of the earliest major soul songs to tackle drug addiction with such stark honesty, mixing eerie synth work with jazz-influenced vocals and harmonies.
- The Latin-tinged track Don't You Worry 'Bout a Thing features Stevie playfully riffing in mock-Spanish during its intro, a moment that became a fan favorite for its warmth and humor.
- Wonder's use of the Moog bass synthesizer throughout the album helped redefine what the bottom end of soul music could sound like, influencing artists across genres.
- Though Innervisions was a critical and commercial success, it was not without controversy, some radio stations refused to play Living for the City due to its confrontational portrayal of police brutality and systemic racism.
- The album's spiritual and political tone reflects Wonder's immersion in the teachings of the Nation of Islam and the wider Black consciousness movement of the early '70s.
- The album was inducted into the Grammy Hall of Fame in 1999 for its cultural and historical significance.
Innervisions Track List
- Too High
- Visions
- Living For The City - Reached #8 on Billboard's Hot 100 chart
- Golden Lady
- Higher Ground - Reached #4 on Billboard's Hot 100 chart
- Jesus Children Of America
- All In Love Is Fair
- Don't You Worry 'bout a Thing - Reached #16 on Billboard's Hot 100 chart
- He's Misstra Know-It-All
