Mini Review- A Time To Love

Keeping with the "Blind black musical icons" theme:

I was browsing the aisles at the Evan record store in the COEX mall while killing some time in Seoul this morning. I tend to buy CDs on impulse, basing that impulse on either name recognition, or not thinking the artist(s) in question sucks donkey balls. I'd never randomly buy a Kelly Clarkson CD, for instance. And I rarely wander into the K-Pop section of the store.

I almost picked up a Ramones compilation, but I remembered that I already had the same CD a few years ago and sold it after I got bored with it. I also remembered that the Ramones are the band spaztic poseur punk-rockers like. Y'know, like how some kids claim they love 50 Cent because he's "real"? Yeah, it's a shame because they were a fun little band, but sometimes the fans of something ruin it.

For example: Witness the Star Wars picture below.

But I needed iPod fodder, and I wasn't going to leave Seoul until I got it.



Stevie Wonder... He's one of those guys like James Brown who, back in the early days of hip-hop, would be sampled endlessly. The beats he created back in the 70s for some of the best soul/ funk music of the era are still used today. He was an innovator, an originator, and made some excellent damned music like Superstition, Living for The City, and Higher Ground.

Then he did that song for that movie... You know THAT song. The one that made an entire generation of music listeners hate him. With the "...called to say, I..." Yeah, that one.

But, Musiquarium is one of my favorite collections, so I figured I'd make his new one, A Time To Love, my latest sacrifice to the iPod.

It wasn't too bad. There were a few too many songs that sounded like they were out of the cheeziest Vegas lounge act ever, but the tracks that worked the best were the ones that were a bit of a throwback to his work in the 70s. Now that I'm older and wiser, I no longer assume that he's just mining an old vein looking for new gold. Like last year's Duran Duran and Prince CDs, or Johnny Cash's final four discs, this is just a guy who's totaly relaxed and making the music he likes to make. And in that respect, the CD works well.

So if you like yourself some classic Stevie, this wouldn't be a bad record to add to your collection. Otherwise, download or pass on it.