Stevie Wonder Fulfillingness' First Finale 24 Karat Gold CD Audio Fidelity HDCD NEU OVP Sealed Limited Numbered Edition Nr. 0203

Erscheinungsdatum: 9. Februar 2011
Label: Audio Fidelity  (AFZ108)
Format: Audio CD (CD-Anzahl: 1)

Tonträger CD
Besonderheiten Limited Edition, Pappschuber, Remastered, 24kt. Gold-CD
Jahr 2011
Orig. Release 1974
Zeit 42:31
Plattenfirma Audio Fidelity
Herstellungsland USA
Musikrichtung Rock
EAN-Nr. 780014210823
Katalog-Nr. AFZ 108

       Tracks

1. Smile Please 3:27   
2. Heaven Is 10 Zillion Light Years Away 5:01   
3. Too Shy To Say 3:28   
4. Boogie On Reggae Woman 4:55   
5. Creepin' 4:19   
6. You Haven't Done Nothin' 3:20   
7. It Ain't No Use 3:57   
8. They Won't Go When I Go 5:54   
9. Bird Of Beauty 3:45   
10. Please Don't Go 4:04
 

Produktbeschreibungen
Zwischen den bekannteren Alben Innvervisions und Songs in the Key of Life wurde dieses 1974er Album trotz dreier Grammy Auszeichnungen häufig übersehen. Es ist ein Album hervorragender Einzeltitel mit Gastmusikern wie Minnie Ripperton, den Persuasions und den Jackson Five und doch ist es durch sein warmes Klangbild und die weniger kontroversen Texte weniger im Gedächtnis geblieben, als rockigere Stevie Wonder Titel. Im Jahre 1974 war dies jedoch ausgesprochen egal, denn das Album stieg auf die Nummer Eins der US-Charts. Das Album enthält Hits wie „Boogie on Reggae Woman" und „You Haven't Done Nothing", die alleine schon die US-Single-Charts dominierten. Das Audio Fidelity Re-Issue basiert auf einem analogen Band mit 78cm/sec und bringt die Wärme und Präsenz der ursprünglichen Produktion wunderbar zu Gehör. Das Album wurde durch Kevin Gray in seinem neuen Cohearant Audio Studio neu digitalisiert und in HDCD codiert. Die 24-Karat-Gold erscheint als Limited Edition und enthält ein Booklet mit den Songtexten. Ein Tipp für Genusshörer.Stevie Wonder is one of those rare artists who transcends categorization - those who have described Stevie as a genius are 100 percent right.  Billboard Magazine

Fulfillingness' First Finale is the album released between "Innervisions" and "Songs In The Key Of Life"  during Stevie Wonder's highly acclaimed 1971-76 multi-platinum, multi-grammy "classic period." His most gorgeous work is poignant, scathing and soulful, personal and political, buoyant with gospel overtones, filled with Motown horns and funky organ, tragic with mature discontent. The mood and tone of his songs are perfectly represented in the vocals. Wonder can go from the smoothest, silkiest vocals to straight out rock.  His orchestration and production is beyond most people in the world of pop. Stevie plays almost all of the instruments on the album and the harmonica playing is some of his best ever though he invited a few musicians, and most of those were background vocals by the Jackson 5, The Persuasions, Paul Anka, Deniece Williams and Minnie Ripperton.
The two big singles are, "Boogie on Reggae Woman" and"You Haven't Done Nothin'" which became Stevie's fourth US #1 single - The album also reached #1 in the US.Fulfillingness' First Finale marks the last of Stevie's remarkable quartet of albums with engineers and synth wizards Robert Margouleff and Malcolm Cecil.
1975 Grammy for Album of the Year, Best Male Pop Vocal,
Best Male R & B Vocal (for "Boogie On Reggae Woman")

Review
by John Bush

After the righteous anger and occasional despair of the socially motivated Innervisions, Stevie Wonder returned with a relationship record: Fulfillingness' First Finale. The cover pictures his life as an enormous wheel, part of which he's looking ahead to and part of which he's already completed (the latter with accompanying images of Little Stevie, JFK and MLK, the Motor Town Revue bus, a child with balloons, his familiar Taurus logo, and multiple Grammy awards). The songs and arrangements are the warmest since Talking Book, and Stevie positively caresses his vocals on this set, encompassing the vagaries of love, from dreaming of it ("Creepin'") to being bashful of it ("Too Shy to Say") to knowing when it's over ("It Ain't No Use"). The two big singles are "Boogie on Reggae Woman," with a deep electronic groove balancing organic congas and gospel piano, and "You Haven't Done Nothin'," an acidic dismissal of President Nixon and the Watergate controversy (he'd already written "He's Misstra Know-It-All" on the same topic). As before, Fulfillingness' First Finale is mostly the work of a single man; Stevie invited over just a bare few musicians, and most of those were background vocalists (though of the finest caliber: Minnie Riperton, Paul Anka, Deniece Williams, and the Jackson 5). Also as before, the appearances are perfectly chosen; "Too Shy to Say" can only benefit from the acoustic bass of Motown institution James Jamerson and the heavenly steel guitar of Sneaky Pete Kleinow, while the Jackson 5 provide some righteous amens to Stevie's preaching on "You Haven't Done Nothin'." It's also very refreshing to hear more songs devoted to the many and varied stages of romance, among them "It Ain't No Use," "Too Shy to Say," "Please Don't Go." The only element lacking here, in comparison to the rest of his string of brilliant early-'70s records, is a clear focus; Fulfillingness' First Finale is more a collection of excellent songs than an excellent album.

Mastered by Kevin Gray