
Think carefully ! I bet that most of the Stevie Wonder’s songs you prefer are almost all from these four albums:
- Music of My Mind (1972)
- Talking Book (1972)
- Innervisions (1973)
- Fulfillingness’ First Finale (1974)
Well, Songs in the Key of Life is not bad either (understatement).
There might be a reason for this. Alongside Stevie, they were co produced and recorded by two virtually unknown British guys. Bob Margouleff and Malcolm Cecil, using their amazing Tonto synthesiser, the Colossus of electronic music, worked night and day, four years in a row, to craft the idiosyncratic sound of Stevie Wonder, earning him four Grammies. When I say night and day, I mean literally anytime of the day as Stevie, living on multiple time zones, and being blind lives in own time zone. I bet you never heard their names, but the three of them went on to recording 240 songs together, most of them never released. Think of those gritty and funky synths, Stevie’s trademark really, this is Tonto, the mother of all synthesizers. So big, it can…. it must be played by two or three people at simultaneously. Think of the bridge of Star Trek’s Enterprise.
History was not very kind with Bob and Cecil as they were seldom, or more exactly almost never credited properly for their ground breaking work. But, better late than never, now you know.
Please feel free to comment and add information.
JAZZINHO
Why Stevie's iconic albums of the 70s were his best. The magical ingredient !
Why Stevie's iconic albums of the 70s were his best. The magical ingredient !
Why Stevie's iconic albums of the 70s were his best. The magical ingredient !
Why Stevie's iconic albums of the 70s were his best. The magical ingredient !
thanks I' m discovering this story. Behind the scene…
Stevie Wonder achieved to mix this awful sound with his incredible songwriting, that's the key of his success. My prefered album Innvervisions
After hotter than july he had lost everything,…
thanks I' m discovering this story. Behind the scene…
Stevie Wonder achieved to mix this awesomel sound with his incredible songwriting, that's the key of his success. My prefered album Innvervisions
After hotter than july he had lost everything,…
thanks I' m discovering this story. Behind the scene…
Stevie Wonder achieved to mix this awesomel sound with his incredible songwriting, that's the key of his success. My prefered album Innvervisions
After hotter than july he had lost everything,…
thanks I' m discovering this story. Behind the scene…
Stevie Wonder achieved to mix this awesomel sound with his incredible songwriting, that's the key of his success. My prefered album Innvervisions
After hotter than july he had lost everything,…
And let's not forget Malcolm Cecil's work with Gil Scott-Heron
And let's not forget Malcolm Cecil's work with Gil Scott-Heron
And let's not forget Malcolm Cecil's work with Gil Scott-Heron
And let's not forget Malcolm Cecil's work with Gil Scott-Heron
Interesting. Thanks.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=8xrFDsefSks
Margouleff and Cecil were not co-composers but the co-producers and engineers
Yes i know this story because I hooked up with malcom cecil In LAl. and recorded some tracks there. They were such a creative force with stevie but never properly credited !!!
And I'm proud to say Robert Margouleff is my Uncle