Stevie Wonder Fulfillingness' First Finale CD

Personnel: Stevie Wonder (vocals, various instruments); Michael Sembello (guitar); Sneaky Pete Kleinow (pedal steel guitar); James Jamerson, Reggie McBride (bass instrument); Bobbye Porter (congas, bongos); Deniece Williams, Jim Gilstrap, Lani Groves, Minnie Riperton, Paul Anka, Syreeta Wright, The Jackson 5, The Persuasions, Larry Latimer, Shirley Brewer (background vocals).
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. ~ John Bush
While the phrase, "greatest album" is a useless distinction for the great Stevie Wonder, the material contained herein finds him at a pinnacle of his more introspective songwriting mode. Released between the chart-topping splendor of INNERVISIONS and the monumental SONGS IN THE KEY OF LIFE, FULFULLINGNESS' FIRST FINALE has spare instrumentation and a particularly personal tone. From gospel-inflected affirmations to the funky classic, "Boogie On Reggae Woman," this music is spirited.
Stevie sings out on a seamless array of love declarations ("Creepin") and social protestations ("You Haven't Done Nothin"). The melodies are simple and evocative, spiced with jazzy harmonies. Between his gentle clavinet work and his inspired synth romps, the man's got a great keyboard palette, and he surely knows how to use it. Throughout, Stevie provides excellent interplay between foreground and background, rounding out his vocal and keyboard flights with haunting overdubs. Perhaps most outstanding is the moving reverie, "Heaven Is," a hand-clapping groove on the divine. Let's face it -- few soulsters can be quite as mesmerizing as Stevie with a line like, "Love is so a-ma-zing."

Remastered

Q (8/00, p.123) - 4 stars out of 5 - "...Represents an unparalleled hitching of man to machine....music of the highest standard: a burst of creativity few other '70s artists, save Bowie, could match."
Mojo (Publisher) (7/00, p.129) - "...A Grammy-winning Album Of The Year as well as Wonder's last work with [Malcolm] Cecil and [Robert] Margouleff. [A] pretty essential acquisition."