Fulfillingness' First Finale

Infobox Album | Name = Fulfillingness' First Finale
Type = Album
Artist = Stevie Wonder


Released = July 22, 1974
Recorded = Record Plant Studios, L.A., Media Sound, N.Y., Westalke Audio, L.A., Electric Lady, N.Y.
Genre = Soul, Funk
Length = 42:33
Label = Tamla
Producer = Stevie Wonder, Robert Margouleff and Malcolm Cecil
Reviews =
* Allmusic Rating|4.5|5 [http://www.allmusic.com/cg/amg.dll?p=amg&sql=10:okd8vwbva9rk link]
* Robert Christgau (A-) [http://www.robertchristgau.com/get_artist.php?id=1328&name=Stevie+Wonder link]
*Rolling Stone (favorable) [http://www.rollingstone.com/artists/steviewonder/albums/album/256133/review/6210943/fulfillingness_first_finale link]
Last album = "Innervisions"
(1973)
This album = "Fulfillingess' First Finale"
(1974)
Next album = "Songs in the Key of Life"
(1976)

"Fulfillingness' First Finale" is a landmark album by Stevie Wonder, released on July 22, 1974. It was the fourth of five consecutive albums widely hailed as his "classic period", along with "Music of My Mind", "Talking Book", "Innervisions", and "Songs in the Key of Life". Subsequent to the epic sweep and social consciousness of "Innervisions", this set projected a reflective, decidedly somber tone. The musical arrangements used in several songs while masterful could be considered sparse in comparison to others among his 70s masterworks, evident especially in the bleak "They Won't Go When I Go" and understated "Creepin'". While largely a stripped down, more personal sounding record, Wonder had not completely foregone commentary on the world around him. The No. 1 hit "You Haven't Done Nothin'" launched a pointed criticism of the Nixon administration bolstered by a crunching funk rhythm (and Jackson 5 cameo).

"Fulfillingess' First Finale" won Grammy Awards for Best Male Pop Vocal, Best Male Rhythm and Blues Vocal Performance, and Album of the Year in 1974. When Wonder took two years to record his follow-up album ("Songs"), this broke his consecutive Grammy streak and led to Paul Simon's famous quote [http://www.studiowner.com/essays/essay.asp?books=0&pagnum=117 thanking him] for not releasing an album in 1975 (when he won the Album of the Year award for "Still Crazy After All These Years").

Interestingly enough, this album from Stevie Wonder's classic period is the only one "not" included in Rolling Stone's Top 500 albums of all time [http://www.rollingstone.com/news/story/_/id/5938174 list] from November 2003.

Track listing

All songs written by Stevie Wonder except where noted.
#"Smile Please" – 3:28
#"Heaven Is 10 Zillion Light Years Away" – 5:02
#"Too Shy to Say" – 3:29
#"Boogie on Reggae Woman" – 4:56
#"Creepin'" – 4:22
#"You Haven't Done Nothin'" – 3:22
#"It Ain't No Use" – 4:01
#"They Won't Go When I Go" (Wonder, Yvonne Wright) – 5:58
#"Bird of Beauty" – 3:48
#"Please Don't Go" – 4:07

[http://www.sing365.com/music/lyric.nsf/Stevie-Wonder-Fulfillingness'-First-Finale-Album/A8CCF66FDAAC0E1548256912000B3396 Album Lyrics]

Personnel

*Paul Anka - Background Vocals ("Heaven Is 10 Zillion Light Years Away")
*Shirley Brewer- Background Vocals ("Heaven Is 10 Zillion Light Years Away", "Bird of Beauty", "Please Don't Go")
*Jim Gilstrap - Backgrond Vocals ("Smile Please")
*Lani Groves - Background Vocals ("It Ain't No Use", "Bird of Beauty")
*Bobbye Hall - Congas, Bongas ("Smile Please"), Quica ("Bird of Beauty")
*Jackson 5 - Background Vocals ("You Haven't Done Nothin'")
*James Jamerson - Acoustic Bass ("Too Shy to Say")
*"Sneakey Pete" Kleinow - Pedal Steel Guitar ("Too Shy to Say")
*Larry "Nastyee" Latimer- Background Vocals ("Heaven Is 10 Zillion Light Years Away")
*Reggie McBride - Bass ("Smile Please", "You Haven't Done Nothin'")
*The Persuasions - Background Vocals ("Please Don't Go")
*Minnie Riperton - Background Vocals ("Creepin'", "It Ain't No Use")
*Rocky - Congas ("Boogie on Reggae Woman")
*Michael Sembello - Guitar ("Smile Please", "Please Don't Go")
*Deneice Williams - Background Vocals ("Smile Please", "It Ain't No Use", "Bird of Beauty", "Please Don't Go")
*Syreeta Wright - Background Vocals ("Heaven Is 10 Zillion Years Away")

Cover versions

*"Too Shy to Say" - Later recorded by Diana Ross in 1978.
*"Creepin'" - Later recorded by Luther Vandross for "The Night I Fell in Love" in 1985.
*"They Won't Go When I Go" - Later recorded by George Michael for "Listen Without Prejudice, Vol 1" in 1990.
*"They Won't Go When I Go" - Later recorded by Kevin Max for "The Blood" in 2007.
*"Boogie On Reggae Woman" - Later regularly performed live by Phish and featured on "Hampton Comes Alive" among other live releases.

Chart positions

"Billboard Chart information by Billboard ©VNU eMedia"

Album

ingles

External links

*There is an extensive musicological analysis of You Haven't Done Nothing in Tim Hughes' 2003 University of Washington PhD dissertation, "Groove and Flow: Six Analytical Essays On The Music Of Stevie Wonder", available at this link: http://homepage.mac.com/timothyhughes/FileSharing10.html
*http://www.pieters-oldies-drivein.nl/steviewonderukus.html