Stevie Wonder Songs In The Key Of Life ( Expanded 180g vinyl 2LP + bonus 7 inch )

Release date 21-11-2017 (originally released in 1962)

2017 EU 180g vinyl 2LP+bonus 7 inch set includes the classic "Isn't She Lovely" plus bonus 4-track 12 vinyl single, replicating the original" A Somethings Extra 7 EP included with initial pressings of the LP. sealed and stickered gatefold sleeve with 24page lyric booklet.

Tracks: (2LP+ 7 inch )

 Less modern for its country-R&B blend (Elvis Presley and company did it in 1955) and lushly produced C&W tone (the Nashville sound cropped up in the late '50s) than for its place as a high-profile crossover hit, Modern Sounds in Country and Western fit right in with Ray Charles' expansive musical ways while on the Atlantic label in the '50s. In need of even more room to explore, Charles signed with ABC Paramount and eventually took full advantage of his contract's "full artistic freedom clause" with this collection of revamped country classics. Covering a period from 1939 to the early '60s, the 12 tracks here touch on old-timey fare (Floyd Tillman's "It Makes No Difference to Me Now"), honky tonk (three Hank Williams songs), and early countrypolitan (Don Gibson's "I Can't Stop Loving You"). Along with a Top Ten go at Eddy Arnold's "You Don't Know Me," the Gibson cover helped the album remain at the top of the pop charts for nearly three months and brought Charles international fame. Above a mix of swinging big band charts by Gerald Wilson and strings and choir backdrops from Marty Paich, Charles' intones the sleepy-blue nuances of country crooners while still giving the songs a needed kick with his gospel outbursts. No pedal steel or fiddles here, just a fine store of inimitable interpretations.