Discord & Rhyme: An Album Podcast

Discord and Rhyme is a podcast where we discuss the albums we love, song by song.

049: Stevie Wonder - Innervisions (1973)

“It's amazing, Stevie is not able to see with his eyes but he can see far more than any one of us. Stevie sees with his heart. His vision is full of love, promise, togetherness, peace and unity.”

—Halle Berry

John enjoyed taking part in the episode on Songs in the Key of Life so much that he demanded to host his own Stevie Wonder episode. This week, John leads Ben, Rich, and Phil in a discussion on Innervisions, Stevie’s 1973 masterwork that showed him capable of making music that could not only entertain but also speak to weightier matters of racism, spirituality, and philosophical introspection. Come join us as we admire an album that hits every bit as hard today as it did upon release, and whose presentation of the full range of human emotions suggests that, no matter how terrible things may seem, there’s always cause to have some hope.

Miscellany

  • The themes on Innervisions have been particularly resonant in the United States this month, but the truth is that songs like “Living for the City” had already been topical for generations by 1973, and never stopped being topical. Discord & Rhyme supports Black Lives Matter, and we cheer the amazing strides the movement has made in just the last couple of weeks.

  • If you’re looking for ways to help, OkayPlayer put together this list of black-owned record stores to support during the COVID-19 pandemic (and after), and Bandcamp is donating 100% of its share of sales to the NAACP Legal Defense Fund this Friday, June 19th (or Juneteenth).

  • The (ridiculous) cold open is a tribute to Scottish electronic duo Boards of Canada, specifically their songs “Roygbiv” and “Aquarius,” because why not.

  • The throwaway reference to Celine Dion singing about being “a little nappy-headed boy” is a call back to the Songs in the Key of Life episode, in which Phil referenced a cover of Stevie Wonder’s “I Wish” in which Celine Dion didn’t change any of the lyrics.

  • John didn’t mention him by name, but one of the people he alluded to as somebody whose love of Stevie Wonder made him think he should probably get around to buying his albums was Jeff Blehar, host of the Political Beats podcast and a guest in our episode on Wowee Zowee by Pavement. Jeff is a major fan of this album, and while John can’t quite agree with his assessment of “He’s Misstra Know-It-All” as Stevie’s very best song, he totally understands it. Jeff also alerted John to the existence of the excellent At the Close of a Century box-set John mentions in the recommendations section. 

Other links 

Discord & Rhyme Roll Call 

  • John McFerrin (host)

  • Ben Marlin (moderator)

  • Rich Bunnell

  • Phil Maddox 

Innervisions tracklist 

  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 

Other clips used 

Stevie Wonder:

  • Keep On Running

  • Beach Stomp

  • Signed, Sealed, Delivered … I’m Yours

  • Look Around

  • I Love Every Little Thing About You

  • You Are the Sunshine of My Life

  • Superstition

  • Did I Hear You Say You Love Me 

Others:

  • Boards of Canada - Roygbiv

  • James Brown - Get It Together

  • Marvin Gaye - What’s Going On

  • Tonto’s Expanding Head Band - Cybernaut

  • Mary J. Blige/John Legend - King & Queen

  • Ginuwine - I’ll Do Anything/I’m Sorry

  • Aether - Rain or Shine

  • B-Flatt - Back to Basics

  • Rochelle Jordan - Visions

  • Ray Charles - Living for the City

  • Toto - Living for the City

  • Maya Rudolph - Key Change Baby

  • Yes - The Ancient

  • Michael McDonald - Higher Ground

  • The Beach Boys - Transcendental Meditation

  • The Beach Boys - TM Song

  • Barbra Streisand - All in Love Is Fair

  • Syreeta Wright - I’m Going Left

  • Janelle Monae - Ghetto Woman

Band/album personnel (by track)

Too High

  • Stevie Wonder – lead vocal, Fender Rhodes electric piano, harmonica, drums, Moog bass

  • Lani Groves, Tasha Thomas, & Jim Gilstrap – background vocals

Visions

  • Stevie Wonder – lead vocal, Fender Rhodes electric piano

  • Malcolm Cecil – upright bass

  • Dean Parks – acoustic guitar

  • David T. Walker – electric guitar

Living for the City

  • Stevie Wonder – lead vocal, background vocals, Fender Rhodes electric piano, drums, Moog bass, T.O.N.T.O. synthesizer, handclaps

Golden Lady

  • Stevie Wonder – lead vocal, piano, Fender Rhodes electric piano, drums, Moog bass, T.O.N.T.O. synthesizer

  • Clarence Bell – Hammond organ

  • Ralph Hammer – acoustic guitar

  • Larry "Nastyee" Latimer – congas

Higher Ground

  • Stevie Wonder – lead vocal, Hohner clavinet, drums, Moog bass, tambourine, handclaps

Jesus Children of America

  • Stevie Wonder – lead vocal, background vocal, Fender Rhodes electric piano, Hohner clavinet, handclaps, tambourine, handclapping, drums, Moog bass

All in Love Is Fair

  • Stevie Wonder – lead vocal, piano, Fender Rhodes electric piano, drums

  • Scott Edwards – electric bass

Don't You Worry 'bout a Thing

  • Stevie Wonder – lead vocal, background vocal, piano, drums, Moog bass

  • Yusuf Roahman – shaker

  • Sheila Wilkerson – bongos, Latin gourd

He's Misstra Know-It-All

  • Stevie Wonder – lead vocal, background vocal, piano, drums, handclaps, T.O.N.T.O. synthesizer, congas

  • Willie Weeks – electric bass

Technical personnel

  • Recordists – Dan Barbiero, Austin Godsey

  • Tape operator – Gary Olazabal

  • Mastering – George Marino

  • Recording coordinators – John Harris, Ira Tucker Jr.

  • Synthesizer programmers – Robert Margouleff, Malcolm Cecil

  • Album art – Efram Wolff

Credits 

“Discord & Rhyme (theme),” composed by the Other Leading Brand, contains elements of: 

  • Duran Duran - Hungry Like the Wolf

  • Amon Düül II - Dehypnotized Toothpaste

  • The Dukes of Stratosphear - What in the World?? ...

  • Faith No More - Midlife Crisis

  • Herbie Hancock - Hornets

  • Kraftwerk - Autobahn

  • Talking Heads - Seen and Not Seen

  • Stevie Wonder - Jesus Children of America (this episode only)

You can buy Innervisions and other albums by Stevie Wonder at your local record store, or the usual places such as Spotify, iTunes, YouTube, and Amazon. Follow Discord & Rhyme on Twitter @DiscordPod for news, updates, and other random stuff. Editing is by Rich, and special thanks to Mike DeFabio for production and original music. See you next album, and be ever wonderful.

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