Wonder's progress toward ever higher ground, and
FFF is a new plateau. As its title declares, the album is a culmination of what has come before, but it is by no means a final destination.
Since he assumed complete control of his musical direction in 1972 (relegating Motown to the role of merchandiser), Wonder's albums have been about vision. About the false visions that delude and undo people (ambition in "Superwoman," superstition in the hit of the same name, shady demagogy in "Big Brother" and "He's Misstra Know-It-All," and dope in "Too High"); about Wonder's idealistic "innervision," which is religious, romantic, and political at the same time; and about things as they are.
Talking Book (1972) juxtaposed the faith of "Lookin' for Another Pure Love," "I Believe (If I Fall in Love It Will Be Forever)," and "You and I (Can Conquer the World)" with the frank and funky realism of "Maybe Your Baby," "Blame It on the Sun," and "Tuesday Heartbreak." In "You Are the Sunshine of My Life" Wonder sings, "And I know that this must be heaven," but Talking Book makes clear that heaven is more a matter of wishing and hoping than a firm conviction. A year ago, Innervisions pitted "the milk-and-honey land," which was a social as well as a romantic ideal, against the gritty naturalism of "Living for the City," the "superficial paradise" of drugs, and "Misstra Know-It-All's" con game. The contest ended in a draw.
If Talking Book deals primarily with love of woman and Innervisions with love of humanity, FFF concerns the love of God. Wonder's faith has become more inner-directed and otherworldly, less easily threatened by the here-and-now. "Heaven Is 10 Zillion Light Years Away" but Stevie Wonder can feel God within him, despite His seeming absence from the contemporary scene. "Feel it (yeah) feel His spirit." A self-assured serenity pervades FFF, and it opposes the tension and urgency which made Talking Book and Innervisions more exciting albums. FFF's tunes and tempi are for the most part easygoing, more like "Sunshine of My Life" than "Living for the City" or "Superstition." The album aims at relaxed enjoyment; it's not something to get hot and bothered about.
FFF is less funky, less specifically black than its predecessors. For Wonder's onward and upward development has consistently been away from strict soul music and racial categories or limitations. Because of this, his appeal — greater than that of almost any other performer today—cuts across social and ethnic barrier
The early '70s were Stevie's wonder years, when he released a series of unforgettable albums, and First Finale fittingly concluded this classic period. Includes the favorites "Boogie On Reggae Woman" and "You Haven't Done Nothin'," plus a number of reflective ballads such as "Creepin'" and the spiritual "Heaven Is.
