Wednesday, September 5th, 2007

Shay Quillen

The great rock critic Lester Bangs once wrote, “We will never again agree on anything as we agreed on Elvis,” but the line applies even better to Stevie Wonder, perhaps the last pop musician with truly universal appeal. Whether you’re black or white, old or young, rich or poor, radical or Republican, you probably love Stevie Wonder.

The 57-year-old Wonder brought his “A Wonder Summer’s Night” tour Tuesday to the Mountain Winery in Saratoga, an intimate venue he probably could have sold out three times over, even with ticket prices topping out at $275. He began the evening by walking out on stage, escorted by daughter Aisha Morris — the original inspiration for “Isn’t She Lovely” — to thunderous applause.

But Wonder didn’t break into song right away. Instead, he sat behind his grand piano and his synthesizer and described how his mother’s death inspired him to return to the road to thank the fans who enriched his life, and his mother’s life.

After a few minutes of chatting, he began to play “Love’s in Need of Love Today,” the first song from his 1976 masterpiece “Songs in the Key of Life.” As he sang the first verse, his eleven-piece band, including daughter Morris on backing vocals, settled in behind him, joining in after the first chorus. The band was anchored by mighty bassist Nathan Watts, a fixture in Wonder’s music for more than 30 years.

The show hit an early high with “Visions,” which Wonder closed with heartfelt testifying about man’s inhumanity to man, finally urging the crowd to join him in yelling “Stop it!” He kept the crowd on its feet for an undeniable trilogy: “Living for the City,” “Master Blaster” and “Higher Ground.”

After 57 years, Wonder is still exploring his voice with a sense of joy and, well, wonder. On “Ribbon in the Sky,” he ranged from belting to a quiet murmur to percussive panting and back to belting again. And when he invited the crowd to sing along, which was often, he wasn’t hesitant to reprimand them and correct them if they weren’t getting the groove right.

A cover of Chuck Berry’s “Memphis” was an interesting glimpse into Wonder’s musical tastes, but everything else was pure Stevie, nearly all from the period summed up on his 1982 “Original Musiquarium” compilation. Only “My Cherie Amour” and “Signed, Sealed, Delivered” predated his “classic” period; “Overjoyed” and the inescapable “I Just Called to Say I Love You” were the only tracks from the second half of his remarkable career.

More than two hours after he began, Wonder closed with “Another Star,” yet another “Songs in the Key of Life” number, and some more impassioned talk about unnamed world leaders. “If you’re a hater, you should die and go to hell, and stop trying to make this world a living hell,” he said.

Wonder’s voice was a little thicker in spots than back in the day, and he occasionally strained for high notes, but the joy and invention in his voice were essentially the same. Even in relatively lightweight songs such as “You Are the Sunshine of My Life,” Wonder was reveling in that mighty instrument and finding new ways to keep those old standards fresh.

I’ve got to catch a plane in about five hours, so I’ll sign off now and pack, and sleep a bit, but maybe I’ll write more later. I’d love to hear what y’all thought.

Here’s the set list: Love’s in Need of Love Today / Too High / Visions / Living for the City / Master Blaster / Higher Ground / Golden Lady / Ribbon in the Sky / Overjoyed / Don’t You Worry ‘Bout a Thing / Signed, Sealed, Delivered (I’m Yours) / Memphis, Tennessee / Boogie on Reggae Woman / My Cheri Amour / Sir Duke / I Wish / Isn’t She Lovely / You Are the Sunshine of My Life / Superstition / You Haven’t Done Nothin’ / I Just Called to Say I Love You / Another Star