THE 50(ISH) GREATEST ALBUMS OF ALL TIME
Finding Faith in Fulfillingness’ First Finale
Album #23 : Stevie Wonder — Fulfillingness’ First Finale
Clearly I needed a Stevie Wonder album on this list but wasn’t sure which one. So I consulted my Stevie Wonder expert friend, sure he would say Songs In The Key of Life. He didn’t, obviously. He said Fullfillingess’ First Finale was Wonder’s seminal album. Are you sure? I asked.
Trust me, he said.
So, I had a little faith and boy did it pay off. What a record this is. At times it has the pomp of Wonder’s funky hits but what really sets it apart is the subtilty. Songs like Heaven Is 10 Zillion Light Years Away and They Won’t Go When I Go really show off Wonder’s skills as a writer of beautiful, understated songs that seem simple and catchy but are actually intricate and complex. Also, Please Don’t Go is possibly the best album closer out of any I have listened to during this project.
That got me thinking, where else has showing a little faith paid off? The first thing that comes to mind is the gym — my initial experience with a personal trainer is well documented, but the progress I have seen since then has been beyond anything I thought possible. The phrase “trust the process” was used a lot and I knew the pain would be worth it, eventually, but that was difficult to believe at first. In my defence, I was so sore I couldn’t straighten my arms. It was therefore difficult to imagine a time when I would look forward to going to the gym. And yet, here we are, writing this on a Sunday afternoon excited at the prospect of going to lift some weights later. Maybe ask me again tomorrow morning how much I like the gym.
Where else then? There is an unending faith and trust in my relationship, that’s for sure. Enough for us to want to pledge to spend the rest of our lives together and get married. Thanks to Covid, we postponed the wedding for thirteen months and, like Fulfillingess’ First Finale, that has reminded me to focus on the smaller things. Even last May, when we cancelled, there was some stress starting to build. Now, it would be nice to have the whistles and bells but really all I care about is being married to the woman I love.
Even so, right now there is a creeping excitement building — the restrictions are just starting to lift… might we have a full guest list? A band? Dancing? My fiancée and I find ourselves having to curb our enthusiasm, the more anticipation that builds the more we could be let down. But should we not be permitted a bit of foolhardy hope after the last year and a bit? Or should we approach the whole thing with trepidation? The whole reason we cancelled last year was because we weren’t enjoying the build-up — are we expected to remain stoic now just in case?
My opinion, despite all the disappointments of the last year, is no. We have faith in each other, so let’s have some faith in our public testament to that. Let’s show some faith. You never know, it might just pay off.
Thanks for reading — over the course of 2021, I’ll be reviewing 50(ish) of the greatest albums ever recorded. You can see the list here:
There is also a playlist featuring the best song from each album here.
