Stevie Wonder - Fulfillingness' First Finale (Vinyl)

Black Vinyl LP in Gatefold Jacket, 2017 Motown Reissue

This is a 2017 Motown/UMe vinyl reissue of Stevie Wonder's Fulfillingness' First Finale, pressed as a single black LP in a gatefold jacket. The gatefold reproduces the original 1974 collage cover art, which looks back across Wonder's life to that point and includes images of his younger self, John F. Kennedy, Martin Luther King Jr. and the Motortown Revue tour bus. The jacket carries the album's full lyrics inside, with some corrections to the original printing.

Fulfillingness' First Finale was Wonder's seventeenth studio album, released July 22, 1974 on Tamla, a Motown subsidiary, following Innervisions and preceding Songs in the Key of Life. It continued his work with associate producers Malcolm Cecil and Robert Margouleff, who worked with him on four consecutive albums beginning with Music of My Mind, following the renegotiated contract that gave Wonder full creative control of his recordings in 1971. Sessions took place at Electric Lady and Mediasound in New York and at Record Plant and Westlake Audio in Los Angeles. Wonder produced and arranged the record himself and wrote every song except "They Won't Go When I Go," co-written with Yvonne Wright.

The sessions brought in a wide range of players and guests: the Jackson 5 sing backing vocals on "You Haven't Done Nothin'," and Minnie Riperton, Syreeta Wright, Deniece Williams, Paul Anka and the Persuasions all appear elsewhere on the record. Former Funk Brothers bassist James Jamerson plays acoustic bass on "Too Shy to Say," alongside pedal steel from "Sneaky" Pete Kleinow, and Michael Sembello, Reggie McBride and Bobbye Hall also contributed guitar, bass and percussion across the album. Sergio Mendes translated the lyrics to "Bird of Beauty" into Portuguese for the pressing, reflecting Wonder's stated wish, per the liner notes, to speak directly to listeners in Mozambique and Brazil.

"You Haven't Done Nothin'" reached No. 1 on Billboard's Hot Soul Singles chart and later topped the pop chart as well. "Boogie On Reggae Woman" also went to No. 1 on the soul chart, reaching No. 3 on the pop chart; no further singles followed. The album itself reached No. 1 on the Billboard pop albums chart on September 14, 1974, ending Eric Clapton's run with 461 Ocean Boulevard — Wonder's first No. 1 album on that chart since The 12 Year Old Genius Recorded Live in 1963, and his first No. 1 album of the 1970s. It held the top spot for two weeks during a 65-week chart run, and also reached No. 1 on the Soul LPs chart. It was Wonder's first Top 5 album on the UK chart.

At the 17th Annual Grammy Awards in 1975, Fulfillingness' First Finale won Album of the Year — Wonder's second consecutive win in that category — along with Best Pop Vocal Performance, Male; "Boogie On Reggae Woman" won Best R&B Vocal Performance, Male. The album was later voted No. 413 in the third edition of Colin Larkin's All Time Top 1000 Albums and is included in 1001 Albums You Must Hear Before You Die. Later artists to cover its songs include George Michael and Josh Groban, both with versions of "They Won't Go When I Go," and Luther Vandross and Jamie Foxx, both with versions of "Creepin'."

Tracklist

Side A

1. Smile Please
2. Heaven Is 10 Zillion Light Years Away
3. Too Shy To Say
4. Boogie On Reggae Woman
5. Creepin'

Side B

1. You Haven't Done Nothin'
2. It Ain't No Use
3. They Won't Go When I Go
4. Bird Of Beauty
5. Please Don't Go

Complete the Collection

Stevie Wonder at Evergreen Vinyl (5 titles, including this one):

• Music Of My Mind
• Talking Book
• Innervisions
• Songs In The Key Of Life