“Everybody have a good time So if you want me to If you want me to I'm gonna swing the song, yeah Just one more time when I come by” - Stevie Wonder
Title: The 12 Year Old Genius
Artist: Stevie Wonder
Release Year: 1963
Genre: R&B
Status: Gold (about 500,000 sold)
Number of Tracks: 7 (3 Side one, 4 Side two)
Record Label: Tamla
Number Album Released: 3rd
What I Think
This album is Stevie Wonder’s 1st live album and his 3rd released album. This is a somewhat iconic album from Wonder containing 1 number one hit. Which is “Fingertips”. The 1st song is “Fingertips”. Wonder’s singing is strong and his harmonica playing is fast tempo. The band is playing a somewhat simple beat and rhythm at a fast tempo. The message of the song is about Wonder telling the audience to clap their hands and have a good time enjoying the music. The 2nd song is “Soul Bongo”. Wonder’s bongo playing is at a fast tempo. The band is playing a somewhat complicated beat and rhythm at a fast tempo with emphasis on Wonder’s bongo playing and on the drums. The 3rd song is “La La La La La”. Wonder’s singing is strong and smooth. The band is playing a somewhat complicated beat and rhythm with emphasis on the guitar and drums. The message is Wonder telling the audience to repeat the words “La La La” after him. The 4th song is “(I’m Afraid) The Masquerade Is Over”. Wonder’s singing is slow, smooth and strong. The band is playing a simple rhythm at a slow tempo with emphasis on the horns. The message is about a man telling his woman that he has fallen out of love with her and that it’s not the same being with her. The 5th song is “Hallelujah I Love Her So”. Wonder’s singing is strong and smooth. The band is playing a somewhat complicated beat and rhythm at a fast tempo. The message is about a man singing about a woman that lives near him and how much he loves her. The 6th song is “Drown In My Own Tears”. Wonder’s singing is smooth. The band is playing a somewhat simple beat and rhythm at a slow tempo. The message is about a man that misses his woman and the man keeps on crying and talks about how depressed he is. The 7th song is “Don’t You Know”. Wonder’s singing is strong. The band is playing a somewhat simple beat at a mid tempo with a saxophone solo. The message is about a man telling a woman that doesn’t she know he loves her and he tries to persuade her to love him all night long and to turn the lights down low.
Samples/Covers contained in the album
- Track 5: “Hallelujah I Love Her So” by Ray Charles
- Track 6: “Drown In My Own Tears” by Ray Charles
- Track 7: “Don’t You Know” by Ray Charles
Scoring (Out of 10)
- How well the album did (Diamond 10/10, Platinum 8/10, Gold 6/10): 6/10
- How well is the singing: 8/10
- How well is the band: 8/10
- How impactful the messages of the songs are: 6/10
- How appealing is the cover: 6.5/10
- How creative is the cover: 7/10
- How relevant is the album after 10+ years since release: 5.5/10
- How much did it revolutionize its genre of music: 4/10
- How creative are the instruments: 6.5/10
- How creative are the lyrics: 5/10
Total Score: 6.25/10
Percentage: 62.5%
My Favorite Songs
- Fingertips
- Hallelujah I Love Her So
- La La La La La
- Don’t You Know
- (I’m Afraid) The Masquerade Is Over
- Soul Bongo
- Drown In My Own Tears
Videos of Stevie Wonder performing songs from the album
- https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=2cSjOxqldFs “Little Stevie Wonder - 1963 Fingertips Part II”
- https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=nBn8GdWJp8I “Stevie Wonder - Hallelujah I love her so”
Comment what you think of this album and if you agree with me or not and stay tuned for my next record review which will be “A Love Supreme” by John Coltrane.
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