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Friday Funk #20 – ‘Superstition’ by Stevie Wonder
Friday Funk #20 – ‘Superstition’ by Stevie Wonder
Friday Funk #20 – ‘Superstition’ by Stevie Wonder
Stevie Wonder turned 74 earlier this week (13 May). Happy birthday to the man who sang ‘Happy Birthday’!
‘Superstition’, from 1972’s Talking Book, is a fine example of Stevie Wonder’s multi-instrumentalist talents. Like ‘Maybe Your Baby’ on the same album and ‘Higher Ground’ from Innervisions the following year, the song features multiple Clavinet parts paired with a Moog bassline. Wonder also played drums and sang. Trevor Lawrence and Steve Madaio provided tenor saxophone and trumpet.
Although Wonder originally brought an early draft of 'Superstition' to Jeff Beck (and Beck released a version on his album with Tim Bogert and Carmine Appice), Wonder masterminded it into something much greater — and funkier.
The song continues the themes of groove-over-melody and disregard of conventional song structure that James Brown established in the ’60s. While there is a brief section you could interpret as a chorus (“When you believe in things...”), it only lasts 4 bars before we’re back into the main groove.
The main riff is built on the E flat minor pentatonic. The lack of chord changes wouldn’t be notable today, but remember, this is 1972. This is the year Don McClean’s ‘American Pie’ and Neil Young’s ‘Heart of Gold’ are topping the charts. Those songs focus almost entirely on melody. ‘Superstition’ is about groove.
Luckily, there’s a whole lot of it. From the instantly recognisable opening, the song features some of Wonder's most exciting playing on the drums – one of the instruments he started playing young (along with piano and harmonica). Towards the end of each chorus there’s a great drum fill. Listen from 1:11, where Stevie packs a ton of energy into a single bar after the line “Then you suffer,” before the main pattern resumes on the One.
There are more fills elsewhere. After the second chorus, from 2:35, the extra snare hits ensure the main riff (which by this time is familiar) still has forward momentum.
In the main pattern, each of the kick drum, snare and hi-hat provide syncopation. The kick drum on first listen may sound like a simple four-on-the-floor beat but additional kicks arrive a hair before the three, and before the four in the second bar of the pattern. The snare provides a steady backbeat (two and four), but also a flurry of ghost notes.
A key feature of the track is the actual sound of the drums. There’s a real tightness to them, with plenty of boom on the kick and the snare nice and high in the mix.
Providing additional syncopation are two main, intertwining Clavinet parts. It’s not always easy to tell where the parts separate unless you listen closely. They combine to form brilliantly energetic knots of polyrhythms. There’s an additional Clav track full of echo, heightening the sense of claustrophobia.
Until midway through the second verse, the Moog bass is simple and plays mostly with the kick drum, with the odd added note for a slice of syncopation. In the third verse, with the line “13-month-old baby,” the bassline changes and follows the horn melody, with pitch-bent notes and now sounds much more like what it is: a keyboard imitation of a bass. It’s intriguingly weird, and together with the more ominous horn riff at the end of the choruses, adds plenty of unease to what is in other places a joyous song.
The horns contribute much of that joy: the first phrase in the verse part starts with staccato notes that suggest something bigger is coming, before a dancing phrase with that standout high note third from last. While the riff is bright and energetic, the actual delivery is quite restrained. When the studio tracks are isolated, you can hear Wonder asking Lawrence and Madaio to “Play soft, play soft.”
In contrast, Wonder’s vocals are full of excitement, from the exclamation on “baby” in the first verse to the near-growl of “Superstition” and the scream at the end of the second chorus. He delivers beautiful moments of composure too, with subtle vibrato at the end of lines. Why be content with delivering virtuosic performances on three different instruments when you’re a fantastic singer too?
Stevie Wonder turned 74 earlier this week (13 May). Happy birthday to the man who sang ‘Happy Birthday’!
‘Superstition’, from 1972’s Talking Book, is a fine example of Stevie Wonder’s multi-instrumentalist talents. Like ‘Maybe Your Baby’ on the same album and ‘Higher Ground’ from Innervisions the following year, the song features multiple Clavinet parts paired with a Moog bassline. Wonder also played drums and sang. Trevor Lawrence and Steve Madaio provided tenor saxophone and trumpet.
Although Wonder originally brought an early draft of 'Superstition' to Jeff Beck (and Beck released a version on his album with Tim Bogert and Carmine Appice), Wonder masterminded it into something much greater — and funkier.
The song continues the themes of groove-over-melody and disregard of conventional song structure that James Brown established in the ’60s. While there is a brief section you could interpret as a chorus (“When you believe in things...”), it only lasts 4 bars before we’re back into the main groove.
The main riff is built on the E flat minor pentatonic. The lack of chord changes wouldn’t be notable today, but remember, this is 1972. This is the year Don McClean’s ‘American Pie’ and Neil Young’s ‘Heart of Gold’ are topping the charts. Those songs focus almost entirely on melody. ‘Superstition’ is about groove.
Luckily, there’s a whole lot of it. From the instantly recognisable opening, the song features some of Wonder's most exciting playing on the drums – one of the instruments he started playing young (along with piano and harmonica). Towards the end of each chorus there’s a great drum fill. Listen from 1:11, where Stevie packs a ton of energy into a single bar after the line “Then you suffer,” before the main pattern resumes on the One.
There are more fills elsewhere. After the second chorus, from 2:35, the extra snare hits ensure the main riff (which by this time is familiar) still has forward momentum.
In the main pattern, each of the kick drum, snare and hi-hat provide syncopation. The kick drum on first listen may sound like a simple four-on-the-floor beat but additional kicks arrive a hair before the three, and before the four in the second bar of the pattern. The snare provides a steady backbeat (two and four), but also a flurry of ghost notes.
A key feature of the track is the actual sound of the drums. There’s a real tightness to them, with plenty of boom on the kick and the snare nice and high in the mix.
Providing additional syncopation are two main, intertwining Clavinet parts. It’s not always easy to tell where the parts separate unless you listen closely. They combine to form brilliantly energetic knots of polyrhythms. There’s an additional Clav track full of echo, heightening the sense of claustrophobia.
Until midway through the second verse, the Moog bass is simple and plays mostly with the kick drum, with the odd added note for a slice of syncopation. In the third verse, with the line “13-month-old baby,” the bassline changes and follows the horn melody, with pitch-bent notes and now sounds much more like what it is: a keyboard imitation of a bass. It’s intriguingly weird, and together with the more ominous horn riff at the end of the choruses, adds plenty of unease to what is in other places a joyous song.
The horns contribute much of that joy: the first phrase in the verse part starts with staccato notes that suggest something bigger is coming, before a dancing phrase with that standout high note third from last. While the riff is bright and energetic, the actual delivery is quite restrained. When the studio tracks are isolated, you can hear Wonder asking Lawrence and Madaio to “Play soft, play soft.”
In contrast, Wonder’s vocals are full of excitement, from the exclamation on “baby” in the first verse to the near-growl of “Superstition” and the scream at the end of the second chorus. He delivers beautiful moments of composure too, with subtle vibrato at the end of lines. Why be content with delivering virtuosic performances on three different instruments when you’re a fantastic singer too?
Stevie Wonder turned 74 earlier this week (13 May). Happy birthday to the man who sang ‘Happy Birthday’!
‘Superstition’, from 1972’s Talking Book, is a fine example of Stevie Wonder’s multi-instrumentalist talents. Like ‘Maybe Your Baby’ on the same album and ‘Higher Ground’ from Innervisions the following year, the song features multiple Clavinet parts paired with a Moog bassline. Wonder also played drums and sang. Trevor Lawrence and Steve Madaio provided tenor saxophone and trumpet.
Although Wonder originally brought an early draft of 'Superstition' to Jeff Beck (and Beck released a version on his album with Tim Bogert and Carmine Appice), Wonder masterminded it into something much greater — and funkier.
The song continues the themes of groove-over-melody and disregard of conventional song structure that James Brown established in the ’60s. While there is a brief section you could interpret as a chorus (“When you believe in things...”), it only lasts 4 bars before we’re back into the main groove.
The main riff is built on the E flat minor pentatonic. The lack of chord changes wouldn’t be notable today, but remember, this is 1972. This is the year Don McClean’s ‘American Pie’ and Neil Young’s ‘Heart of Gold’ are topping the charts. Those songs focus almost entirely on melody. ‘Superstition’ is about groove.
Luckily, there’s a whole lot of it. From the instantly recognisable opening, the song features some of Wonder's most exciting playing on the drums – one of the instruments he started playing young (along with piano and harmonica). Towards the end of each chorus there’s a great drum fill. Listen from 1:11, where Stevie packs a ton of energy into a single bar after the line “Then you suffer,” before the main pattern resumes on the One.
There are more fills elsewhere. After the second chorus, from 2:35, the extra snare hits ensure the main riff (which by this time is familiar) still has forward momentum.
In the main pattern, each of the kick drum, snare and hi-hat provide syncopation. The kick drum on first listen may sound like a simple four-on-the-floor beat but additional kicks arrive a hair before the three, and before the four in the second bar of the pattern. The snare provides a steady backbeat (two and four), but also a flurry of ghost notes.
A key feature of the track is the actual sound of the drums. There’s a real tightness to them, with plenty of boom on the kick and the snare nice and high in the mix.
Providing additional syncopation are two main, intertwining Clavinet parts. It’s not always easy to tell where the parts separate unless you listen closely. They combine to form brilliantly energetic knots of polyrhythms. There’s an additional Clav track full of echo, heightening the sense of claustrophobia.
Until midway through the second verse, the Moog bass is simple and plays mostly with the kick drum, with the odd added note for a slice of syncopation. In the third verse, with the line “13-month-old baby,” the bassline changes and follows the horn melody, with pitch-bent notes and now sounds much more like what it is: a keyboard imitation of a bass. It’s intriguingly weird, and together with the more ominous horn riff at the end of the choruses, adds plenty of unease to what is in other places a joyous song.
The horns contribute much of that joy: the first phrase in the verse part starts with staccato notes that suggest something bigger is coming, before a dancing phrase with that standout high note third from last. While the riff is bright and energetic, the actual delivery is quite restrained. When the studio tracks are isolated, you can hear Wonder asking Lawrence and Madaio to “Play soft, play soft.”
In contrast, Wonder’s vocals are full of excitement, from the exclamation on “baby” in the first verse to the near-growl of “Superstition” and the scream at the end of the second chorus. He delivers beautiful moments of composure too, with subtle vibrato at the end of lines. Why be content with delivering virtuosic performances on three different instruments when you’re a fantastic singer too?