Stevie was caught between a rock and a hard place in '71 - with his Motown contract coming up for renewal, he was in the midst of negotiating new terms for the renewal. This was still at a time when Stevie was, much like most Motown artists, one pawn in a massive chess game where the goal is to hit the charts - of course, the victor is Berry Gordy; after his contract's renewal, he had essentially been upgraded to a queen on the board, with full creative control of his music. Because this album was birthed in the midst of two eras of Stevie, we get a fusion of Stevie as part of the hit-making assembly line at Motown, while also getting glimpses of his artistic control era - Music of My Mind and Talking Book next year would vanguard the next era of Stevie. Produced fully by Stevie, all the fixings of a classic are here, but many of the ideas feel a bit fragmented or unrealized, and the end result is honestly a little frustrating. It's so obvious that Stevie is reaching a new pinnacle, and yet the album just can't reflect the genius he has. Where I'm Coming From is not a bad album, at least not as I hear it, but it's one that truly could've been so, so much more.
Throughout Where I'm Coming From, you can hear Stevie melding his past Motown stylings with what is his clear next path forward - "Do Yourself a Favor" is a galvanizing moment that would probably be considered a classic if it were on Music of My Mind with its rich textures, powerful drumming, and passionate vocals from Stevie. For me, it's an early highlight of what is admittedly a strong first half. As the album continues on, though, you'll notice that strangely baroque production - as much as I love baroque pop stylings, I'm not so sure it's quite the fit for Stevie Wonder. "Take a Course in Happiness" would sound far more suited for someone like Davy Jones that Stevie, although I don't know if even Davy's British charm could make this song work. Even on moments where I think the charm works, like on the gentle "Think of Me as Your Soldier," something feels just a little bit off - the album feels like a Mandela Effect. Some of the greatest moments on this album don't sound a thing like Stevie Wonder song outside of his voice, such as the beautiful "Something Out of the Blue."
It's also not great that there's some experiments that flat-out do not work on this album. The opening track "Look Around" is serviceable as an opener, but quite frankly it doesn't rope me in - "Do Yourself a Favor" might as well be the real opener, and this just a prelude. The first half of Side B is also a complete durge, with "I Wanna Talk to You" potentially being a fine dose of rhythm and blues, but the vocals effectively shoot this one in the foot - the mark is very much missed on this. The aforementioned "Take a Course in Happiness" is a pretty-damn corny song, to the point where I'm surprised that Stevie is the one that wrote it. Even with some good moments, I'm just left a bit jaded by hindsight - "Never Thought You'd Leave in Summer" is a lovely tune, but I can't get the thought out of my mind that "Superwoman" on Music of My Mind is similar in lyricism and themes, but executed infinitely better. Of course, sometimes it works out - closing track "Sunshine in Their Eyes" is up there with "Do Yourself a Favor" as one of the best tracks on the album, albeit this sounds far more like a Marvin Gaye track than good ol' Stevie.
On the topic of Marvin Gaye, this album came out one month before What's Going On, and I've seen the two compared in some cases. I don't really see it, and not just because What's Going On is top-tier Motown - I also think that Marvin's plan, style, and execution were far more certain on that album than what we have on Where I'm Coming From. Ultimately what we have here are plenty of good ideas with some great songs to boot, but Stevie just lacks the ability to stretch out - am I blaming the record label on that part? Hell yes, I am. The fixings for brilliance are all here, no doubt, even if the album is far from being brilliant itself. Nevertheless, it's worth a listen or two for the good stuff alone - the best was yet to come, after all.
RATING: ✯✯✯✯✯✯✯✯✯✯
Listen to Where I'm Coming From.
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