Board 8 > Rank the Tracks 159: Stevie Wonder - Innervisions

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Previous results can be seen here:
https://board8.fandom.com/wiki/Rank_the_Tracks
https://board8.fandom.com/wiki/Rank_the_Tracks_Set_2
https://board8.fandom.com/wiki/Rank_the_Tracks_Set_3
https://board8.fandom.com/wiki/Rank_the_Tracks_Set_4

The rules:
1. Listen to the album in full
2. Rank every track on the album
3. For the results, there will be a curve at the top of each list; two additional points between #1 and #2, and one additional point for the next two ranks. This way, the songs that really stick out to someone get an edge that is not immediately negated by someone else putting it lower. In the case of Demon Days, someone's 15th track will get 1 point, 14th 2 points, 4th 12 points, 3rd 14 points, 2nd 16 points, and 1st 19 points. For albums with greater than 15 tracks, everything ranked below #15 will be given 0 points and the scale for the top 15 will be the same as a 15-track album. For albums with more than 20 tracks, you only have to list your top 15 (with 16-20, I still like having the average rank listed)
4. If you want to include comments for individual songs, I will compile them in the results
5. The results will be posted at the beginning of the next topic
6. The deadline to vote is Thursday, April 11th at 8:00 AM Central Time; If you do get in a vote after the deadline but before I post the results, I will probably include it.
7. Every few weeks, a nomination period will open; there may or may not be a theme. Each user can nominate one album. The following week, everyone will be able to rank their top ~5 among the choices - this will use a bottom-up scoring approach, i.e. voting for one album will give your #1 a single point, voting for five will give your #1 five points, so it is always better to vote for the maximum number of albums. The top ~5 will then be covered.
8. Skits and tracks under 40 seconds will be excluded from the rankings unless argued otherwise

Stevie Wonder - Innervisions track list:
1. Too High
2. Visions
3. Living for the City
4. Golden Lady
5. Higher Ground
6. Jesus Children of America
7. All in Love is Fair
8. Don't You Worry 'Bout a Thing
9. He's Misstra Know-It-All

Future weeks:
4/11: Knower - Knower Forever
4/18: The Seatbelts - Cowboy Bebop (+ nominations)
4/25: Viktor Vaughn - Vaudeville Villain (+ voting on future albums)
5/2: Garbage - Version 2.0

Foo Fighters - The Colour and the Shape results

The participants sorted by deviation from final results:
Great_Paul (10)
ChichiriMuyo (16)
MaxGalactica (16)
RyoCaliente (16)
FoolFantastic (22)
Sheep007 (26)
Seanchan (30)
HBJDubs (36)
Johnbobb (38)

General Album Comments

FoolFantastic: Foo Fighters have never done much for me. Their big singles are fun enough, but they're never pushing any boundaries. At the same time, they must be doing something right, because they certainly stand a league above other ordinary rock bands. I'll never seek out their music, but I'll also never complain if they come up on their own.

Like, even without being a fan, nothing on this album drags.

Sheep007: I'm a big Foo Fighters fan (less so these days, but I was particularly in my late teens and early 20s, where they were probably my favourite band), and while I don't think this is their best album (that title goes to Wasting Light), it's got their best song on it. Everlong is an absolute classic rock song. Dave Grohl is ridiculously talented as a vocalist, drummer, and guitarist, and all three of them shine through in this album. I think the songs surrounding the top four are unfortunately not the strongest - Foo Fighters songs often lack a bit of substance, and when the hook isn't straight up one of the best you've ever heard, they're "just" excellent sounding rock songs. Then again, just about every band out there would kill to have an album with no misses and multiple of the best songs of their genre. Like FoolFantastic says, they sound head and shoulders above your typical rock band. When you sound that good, you can get away with pushing the boat out less.

Seanchan: The top 2 are head and shoulders above the rest. The other tracks are fine but nothing special. I will say though that I was shocked the bonus track was actually good as those tend to be throwaway nonsense.

Foo Fighters is a band that I've tended to enjoy their various singles over the years and yet never listened to an album. This album did not convince me to change my mind. That said, in my mind they are a quintessential band of my initial formative music listening years, when 92.3 K-Rock in New York was where it was at.

Also going to pile on to the Everlong being "an absolute classic rock song" bandwagon. Funny thing, the first time I heard that song (and probably the Foo Fighters) was an acoustic cover, which the internet has thankfully archived: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=0-89uZOIFok

. I eventually heard the "real" version and it kind of blew my mind a little; both are good, each in their own way.

RyoCaliente: Foo Fighters are fine. There's some really great songs, but generally speaking they're just solid imo.

MaxGalactica: I have very mixed feelings about this album. The big three songs from this album are all fantastic, particularly Everlong that's probably one of my top 50 songs of all time. The rest of the album is just kinda there to me and doesn't do anything to stand out or make me want to revisit it. I'll be satisfied keeping Everlong, My Hero, and Monkey Wrench on my regular rotation while ignoring the rest.

Fluttershy_Pony: I'll be sitting this one out; haven't had a chance to start listening until this morning & I'm not really feeling this after the first five tracks. Monkey Wrench was good though.

Great_Paul: Very solid album overall. My top 3 are definitely in a league of their own, which makes sense seeing as they're on the Greatest Hits album. Everlong also happens to be my #1 favourite song of all-time.

HBJDubs: Echoing the sentiments of others here, the singles are great (with Everlong being elite), and the rest is just solid. But hey, nothing wrong with being solid

ChichiriMuyo: This is a "loved the singles, not the the album" situation for me. There was a huge gap between the top three and number four, and the bottom three all made me want to give up on this one. I understand everyone in the band was going through some shit, especially Dave, and it shows. I definitely felt some of the pain they went through and didn't like it.

The Colour and the Shape track ranking

14. The Colour and the Shape (Track #14 (bonus))
Score: 30 (Average Rank: 11.67/14)
Biggest Fan(s): Johnbobb (#6)
Biggest Detractor(s): RyoCaliente, MaxGalactica, Great_Paul, HBJDubs, ChichiriMuyo (#14)

13. Enough Space (Track #9)
Score: 31 (Average Rank: 11.56/14)
Biggest Fan(s): HBJDubs (#8)
Biggest Detractor(s): Sheep007 (#14)

12. Doll (Track #1)
Score: 39 (Average Rank: 10.67/14)
Biggest Fan(s): Seanchan (#7)
Biggest Detractor(s): Sheep007, RyoCaliente, MaxGalactica, Great_Paul, Johnbobb (#12)

11. Walking After You (Track #12)
Score: 43 (Average Rank: 10.22/14)
Biggest Fan(s): Sheep007 (#6)
Biggest Detractor(s): FoolFantastic, Johnbobb (#14)

10. Wind Up (Track #5)
Score: 48 (Average Rank: 9.67/14)
Biggest Fan(s): FoolFantastic, RyoCaliente (#5)
Biggest Detractor(s): MaxGalactica (#13)

9. My Poor Brain (Track #4)
Score: 49 (Average Rank: 9.56/14)
Biggest Fan(s): Johnbobb (#5)
Biggest Detractor(s): RyoCaliente (#13)

8. February Stars (Track #10)
Score: 54 (Average Rank: 9/14)
Biggest Fan(s): HBJDubs (#4)
Biggest Detractor(s): Seanchan (#14)

7. See You (Track #8)
Score: 67 (Average Rank: 7.56/14)
Biggest Fan(s): Sheep007, Seanchan (#5)
Biggest Detractor(s): HBJDubs (#13)

6. New Way Home (Track #13)
Score: 74 (Average Rank: 6.89/14)
Biggest Fan(s): Johnbobb (#3)
Biggest Detractor(s): Sheep007 (#13)

5. Up in Arms (Track #6)
Score: 75 (Average Rank: 6.67/14)
Biggest Fan(s): Seanchan, MaxGalactica, ChichiriMuyo (#4)
Biggest Detractor(s): HBJDubs (#12)

4. Hey, Johnny Park! (Track #3)
Score: 86 (Average Rank: 5.44/14)
Biggest Fan(s): FoolFantastic, Sheep007, RyoCaliente, Great_Paul (#4)
Biggest Detractor(s): MaxGalactica, Johnbobb, ChichiriMuyo (#7)

3. My Hero (Track #7)
Score: 123 (Average Rank: 2.67/14)
Biggest Fan(s): Sheep007, MaxGalactica, Great_Paul, HBJDubs (#2)
Biggest Detractor(s): Johnbobb (#4)

2. Monkey Wrench (Track #2)
Score: 130 (Average Rank: 2.33/14)
Biggest Fan(s): ChichiriMuyo (#1)
Biggest Detractor(s): Sheep007, MaxGalactica, Great_Paul, HBJDubs (#3)

1. Everlong (Track #11)
Score: 159 (Average Rank: 1.11/14)
Biggest Fan(s): Everyone but ChichiriMuyo (#1)
Biggest Detractor(s): ChichiriMuyo (#2)

That has to easily be the most consistent top 3 of the whole contest

FoolFantastic posted...

Biggest Fan(s): Everyone but ChichiriMuyo (#1)

I am disappoint. It's happened maybe once we all picked the same #1. I thought for sure Everlong was a lock but it juuuust missed out.

First listen done.

I was a little disappointed and bored? Stevie Wonder has a ton of big hit singles that everyone knows and this had...maybe 2 of them but lesser ones at that? Higher Ground I think of RHCP first. Don't You Worry 'Bout a Thing has been sound clipped into too many commercials. The rest just did not grab me very much.

What was the reason behind specifically this album for Stevie? On the whole, is he more of a "singles" than an "albums" kind of artist?

Innervisions is such a rich, complex album. It's hard to think of anything that truly compares to Stevie Wonder at his peak. His influence on future artists is obvious, but few cover such a range all at once. Wonder is in full control of his sound; he's mainly known as a pianist, but he's tackling the drums and various synths here as well. And then there's his vocal range! Part of what makes this work so well is Wonder's sense of energy. No matter how complex a piece gets, he keeps pushing us right along. "Living for the City" is a progressive soul epic tackling broken dreams and systemic racism, but growing layers and shifts in mood make its seven minutes pass like a breeze. The blending of the synthesizers into the general sound throughout is also impressive, especially for the time.

Living for the City
Higher Ground
Don't You Worry 'Bout a Thing
Golden Lady
Too High
Visions
He's Misstra Know-It-All
All in Love is Fair
Jesus Children of America

Seanchan posted...

What was the reason behind specifically this album for Stevie? On the whole, is he more of a "singles" than an "albums" kind of artist?

This album is ranked #48 of all time on Acclaimed Music and #96 on Rate Your Music. His album Songs in the Key of Life is even higher on both lists, but I wanted to tackle this first both because I personally prefer it and it's earlier (and also the latter is a double album). It's also massively influential on several genres.

He's definitely key to both songs and albums - he even won Album of the Year at the Grammy's 3 times, with this being his first. Not that I hold much weight in the Grammy's of all things, but this is pretty much universally regarded as one of the all-time greats.

Everyone but ChichiriMuyo (#1)

lol

It was close. But Monkey Wrench is just more fun to listen to.

Tagging this

for whatever reason I missed last week's topic

FoolFantastic posted...

His album Songs in the Key of Life is even higher on both lists, but I wanted to tackle this first both because I personally prefer it and it's earlier (and also the latter is a double album).

This is off-topic, but if we're already discussing other Stevie Wonder albums, are there any thoughts on "Where I'm Coming From"? It has one of my favorite songs of all time (If You Really Love Me) so I've been half interested in checking out its source album, but since it's no one's top choice, I'm guessing it's not great?

1: Living for the City
2: Higher Ground
3: All in Love is Fair
4: He's Misstra Know-It-All
5: Jesus Children of America
6: Visions
7: Golden Lady
8: Too High
9: Don't You Worry 'Bout a Thing

Pretty good album. I may revisit this later in the week for fun & revise the ranking, but here's where I am for now.

I had zero desire to listen to The Colour and the Shape again, but I'm looking forward to this one.

1. Living for the City
2. Higher Ground
3. Dont You Worry Bout a Thing
4. Golden Lady
5. Visions
6. Too High
7. All in Love is Fair
8. Hes Misstra Know-It-All
9. Jesus Children Of America

I really liked this album, it felt like there was a ton of variety in songs' structure and themes and even the ones I didn't care all that much for sounded good. Living For the City was a particular standout.

Fluttershy_Pony posted...

This is off-topic, but if we're already discussing other Stevie Wonder albums, are there any thoughts on "Where I'm Coming From"? It has one of my favorite songs of all time (If You Really Love Me) so I've been half interested in checking out its source album, but since it's no one's top choice, I'm guessing it's not great?

I just listened to it, it definitely has a much more raw sound than Wonder's subsequent releases, but it has a few songs that stand out (namely Do Yourself A Favor and If You Really Love Me. Never Dreamed You'd Leave in Summer is pretty good too). I'd consider it a good album, but his next five albums are where Stevie Wonder becomes truly great.

MaxGalactica posted...

I just listened to it, it definitely has a much more raw sound than Wonder's subsequent releases, but it has a few songs that stand out (namely Do Yourself A Favor and If You Really Love Me. Never Dreamed You'd Leave in Summer is pretty good too). I'd consider it a good album, but his next five albums are where Stevie Wonder becomes truly great.

Thank you. That's interesting; kinda disappointed it's so far down the list, but I'll make sure to listen to those other two tracks when I get a chance.

Up

I enjoyed this a lot more with my second listen. Partially that my expectations were better but mostly that I had a better listening environment (quieter and better headphones).

So, what's everyone's favorite Stevie Wonder songs? I'm partial to Sir Duke and Isn't She Lovely. I'll also throw I Just Called to Say I Love You out there, even though I know that's a super schmaltzy song that it's easy to hate on.

Living for the City has always been my favorite, which is another reason I wanted to cover this album. Sir Duke, Superstition, and Higher Ground would be my next set.

"If You Really Love Me" is easily my favorite, though I basically said as much. Nothing else immediately comes to mind, but looking at his biggest hits, I think "Part Time Lover" and "Signed, Sealed, Delivered" might be the next two favorites? I dunno; I've heard that the greatest hits so many times on the radio that they're all incredibly familiar, but I've never really gone out of my way to listen to them and they're all in this sort of "oh hey, I like that and haven't heard it in quite a while" category.

Bump

1. Higher Ground
2. Don't You Worry 'Bout a Thing
3. Living for the City
4. Golden Lady
5. He's Misstra Know-It-All
6. Jesus Children of America
7. Too High
8. All in Love is Fair
9. Visions

This album is simply fabulous. While not as strong as Songs in the Key of Life, this album is full of some real heavy-hitters, namely Living for the City, Higher Ground, and Don't You Worry 'Bout a Thing. Living for the City is funky, energetic, and full of raw emotion. Higher Ground has got an awesome clavinet riff and melody. And Don't You Worry 'Bout a Thing is one of Wonder's most memorable songs along with Superstition. The rest of the album is great too, there's not a single track I dislike here. An essential album that I'm glad we got to cover. If you enjoyed this album, then Songs in the Key of Life is pretty much required listening.

I don't know if I'll get around to this today or not, so I'll just say my favorite track when I listened a few weeks ago was Higher Ground.

Reminder that voting closes tomorrow morning

1. Higher Ground
2. Don't You Worry 'Bout a Thing
3. Golden Lady
4. Jesus Children of America
5. All in Love is Fair
6. He's Misstra Know-It-All
7. Living for the City
8. Too High
9. Visions

An album I really came around on after a tough opening listen. I know I'm out of sync with the group on Living for the City; I don't think it's a bad song, there's just others I liked more.

I was listening to Songs in the Key of Life a bit and I didn't know that the instrumentation for Gangster's Paradise was based off a Stevie song. Really threw me for a loop!

Fluttershy_Pony posted...

Do Yourself A Favor and If You Really Love Me. Never Dreamed You'd Leave in Summer

Never got around to a third listen for the nominated album, but I did check out those two songs. "Do Yourself A Favor" didn't really click with me, but "Never Dreamed..." was neat. Thank you again!

1. Living for the City - Has what might be my favorite first ten seconds of any song, not that it renders the rest any less masterful to me.
2. Higher Ground
3. Too High
4. He's Misstra Know-It-All
5. Jesus Children of America
6. Visions
7. Don't You Worry 'Bout a Thing
8. Golden Lady
9. All in Love is Fair

There's a noticeable gap between my third and fourth-ranked tracks, though I still like them all, as well as the ways they fit together.

Golden Lady - by far
Don't You Worry Bout a Thing (ignoring the ~40sec skit at the beginning)
Living for the City
Higher Ground
Jesus Children of America
Visions
Too High
All in Love is Fair
Misstra Know It All

Golden Lady
Jesus Children Of America
Higher Ground
Visions
Living For The City
Don't You Worry 'Bout A Thing
He's Misstra Know It All
All In Love Is Fair
Too High

For a genre I'm not into, this was pretty good

Living For the City
Higher Ground
Golden Lady
Don't You Worry 'Bout a Thing
Jesus Children of America
Too High
Visions
He's Misstra Know It All
All In Love Is Fair