Stevie Wonder - Music Of My Mind

1972 Masterpiece Signaled New Direction for Motown, Includes Incredible Synthesizer Textures

Ranked No. 284 on Rolling Stone's list of the 500 Greatest Albums of All Time and the beginning of the legend's unsurpassed "classic period," Stevie Wonder's Music Of My Mind remains a touchstone of American R&B. The record's liner notes aptly sum up its genius: "The sounds themselves come from inside his mind/The man his own instrument. The instrument is an orchestra."

Indeed, save for segments on two songs, Wonder played all of the instruments himself, demonstrating his newfound freedom of artistic control and upping the ante in terms of composition, performance and execution. He draws from a diverse toolbox - warm drums, vibrant bongos, breezy harmonicas, Fender Rhodes organs, tonally resonant pianos - and of course, lays on his trademark, buttery smooth vocals. Yet Music On My Mind also features the first extensive use of synthesizers in black music. Wonder reveals the magic that's contained within Moog and Arp models, conscientious of the benefits and careful not to taint what's otherwise among the most organic soul and funk ever created.