On September 28, 1976, Stevie Wonder unveiled his definitive double-album opus, Songs In The Key Of Life. At the time, it stood as the culmination of one of the most vigorous creative bursts in the history of popular music, and many would argue it ranks among the greatest records ever made. Today, as Songs In The Key Of Life reaches its 50th anniversary, Wonder has already announced tour plans to celebrate the milestone. Unexpectedly, he has released four previously unreleased tracks from those sessions.
Even with two LPs and a bonus 7″, the original Songs In The Key Of Life offered an extraordinary bounty of music. It seemed there could have been more — perhaps enough for another EP, in fact. Now Wonder presents Songs In The Key Of Life: The EP, a fresh release containing four songs from those sessions: “It’s Easier,” “My Life Story Of Love,” “I Can See The Sun In Late December,” and “I’m Into Livin’.” It’s hard to grasp that we’re hearing some of Stevie Wonder’s peak tracks straight from the vault for the first time, yet these tracks don’t feel like outtakes. They sound as if they’ve always existed.
Wonder himself selected these four tunes from the vault, and they were recently mixed by John Fischbach and Gary O Adante, the two engineers who worked on the original LP. The songs were recorded with his band Wonderlove, including a few musicians — Thelma Houston, Deniece Williams, Michael Sambello, Greg Phillinganes — who would soon rise to greater fame. Hear all four tracks below.
Songs In The Key Of Life: The EP is out now on Motown/Universal.
