When I saw this disc in the used rack at Half-Price Books, I picked it up immediately without checking the artists or track titles. If I had checked, I would have known that I already owned 3 of the 11 tracks on my Najee Plays Songs From The Key Of Life CD. Aw, who am I foolin'? I woulda bought this anyway. Having Blue Note artists cover songs from Stevie Freakin' Wonder? Can't miss, right? Well...
It's a great idea, poorly executed. All the covers here are fairly straight-ahead, rarely deviating from the originals. Granted, Wonder's songwriting is first-rate and the Blue Note musicianship is top shelf. The tracks here aren't terrible, it's just that a little more creativity and originality wouldn't have hurt. This album is harmless, but it should have been a lot more fun.
Tracks:
| Song |
Artist
| Year |
| I Wish | Najee
| 1995 |
| Living For The City | Noel Pointer
| 1977 |
| Don't You Worry 'Bout A Thing |
Stanley Turrentine
| 1986 |
| Signed, Sealed, Delivered |
Pieces Of A Dream
| 1997 |
| Summer Soft |
Najee
| 1995 |
| Boogie On Reggae Woman |
Stanley Turrentine
| 1986 |
| It's A Shame |
Paul Jackson, Jr.
| 2002 |
| Black Man |
Najee
| 1995 |
| Superwoman |
Noel Pointer
| 1977 |
| You And I |
Stanley Turrentine
| 1986 |
| Too High |
Pat Martino
| 1996 |
The best track is Stanley Turrentine's take on Boogie On Reggae Woman which features stellar harmonica work by Wonder himself. (Note to self: you always enjoy Turrentine's contributions to Blue Note compilations, why don't you go buy some of his albums, silly?) There's a couple of other tracks here worth your attention, including Signed, Sealed, Delivered by Pieces Of A Dream (just ignore the extraneous background vocals), Pat Martino's cover of Too High, and the smooth jazz of It's A Shame by Paul Jackson, Jr.
Personal Memory Associated with this CD: None
Previously revisited for the blog:
Blue Note Plays The Beatles (2004)
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