Count 'Em On Your Fingers
Summer Soft - Stevie Wonder (Blast from the Past Tuesday)
I’ve heard my fair share of songs that have blown me away on the first listen. These always stick with me for one reason or another, but usually I’m not fully able to express exactly why they impress me so much. However, there is one exception to the rule, and that is none other than Stevie Wonder’s out-of-this-world tune “Summer Soft”.
I got in a phase this past fall where all I could really listen to was the front half of Songs In the Key Of Life. Not that I hated all other music, not that I refused to listen to the second part — it’s just that something about those first ten songs really had me reaching to rewind them again and again! Don’t get me wrong, I’ve had my Wonder phases in the past, even with this album! “As”, “I Wish”, “Love’s in Need of Love Today”… they’ve all had their excessive repeats from me. But man, “Summer Soft” just hit my heart in a way that not many other tunes have, and I’ve held it close ever since!
I’ll pretend for a second that I gotta sell this song on a cheesy old infomercial to emphasize my favorite part of the track, as I think that’ll show my overflowing enthusiasm for it correctly. Folks, for the low low price of one press of that play button, you’ll get FIVE key changes! Yes you heard that right! FIVE key changes! Count ‘em on your fingers right now, that’s one, two, three, four, five FIVE! Nobody can compete with Stevie Wonder now, huh?!
Not that it needs to be said again, but yes, the five key changes (at least that I counted… always a chance I missed one in my own excitement there!) are what really made “Summer Soft” take my breath away. They’re not flippant changes either, there’s a clear effort being made through the tight instrumentation and Wonder’s “give it all I got” vocals. And those VOCALS, man! While the range on this song is tough, he makes it seem simple with the ease of his runs and riffs, only switching from lyrics to just vowels at the very last second, which is still punctuated, appropriately, by a triumphant “woo!”I love how the backing lends itself to the manic yet controlled amount of changes, a sort of steady moment in the switches. The hi-hat is being manipulated to no end in the chorus, a nice “tss” sound that you can really look forward to, plus they give some controlled rolls in the middle of all the changes that makes my heart soar! Both the bass, piano, and keyboard start off crazy, yet get even more complicated as it goes on.
“Summer Soft” is a song that’ll always put a smile on my face, one of those ones that always brings a little sunshine to my life. It’s a total smash hit, one that I certainly would point to as one of the best of all time.
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