Stevie Wonder celebrated 50 years of Songs in the Key of Life at London’s O2 on November 5, sharing the stage with two of his children. Mandla Morris joined him for “Have a Talk With God,” and Zaiah Morris sang John Lennon’s “Imagine.” Wonder also dedicated “As” to his late mother during the second of his two London anniversary shows.
Before Stevie Wonder appeared at The O2, his voice came out of the dark and asked the audience to close its eyes. He wanted people to imagine taking in the world through sound. The first song was “Love’s in Need of Love Today,” which also opens Songs in the Key of Life. The choice made the start of the concert a return to the beginning of the record, 50 years after it came out.
The November 5 show was the second of two London dates that week. A group of about 25 musicians gave the arrangements room to expand, with brass, strings, percussion and keyboards sharing the work. The strings became especially audible on “Village Ghetto Land.” The concert was already moving between different kinds of ensemble playing within the first few songs, in keeping with the range of the 1976 album.
On “Have a Talk With God,” Stevie Wonder brought out his son Mandla Morris to sing with him. The duet arrived early, as part of the sequence of album songs rather than as a separate guest segment. Having another voice in the arrangement changed the sound of a track people already knew, and it established a family presence that would return several times before the concert ended.
“Sir Duke” brought the brass to the front and drew people to their feet. “I Wish” followed, with the bass and rhythm carrying the transition. Those two songs have often been heard separately from the record. In this setting they sat among pieces with very different arrangements, making it possible to hear what the album gains by moving between a tight horn phrase and a song that asks an audience to listen more quietly.
Stevie Wonder and the band also used parts of the set to follow ideas away from the album. An extended passage around “Overjoyed” took in traces of the James Bond theme and Michael Jackson’s “Billie Jean.” Wonder played harmonica, and the band had time to pick up an idea and carry it into another one. “Pastime Paradise,” “Summer Soft” and “Ordinary Pain” followed before the first set reached “Saturn” and “Ebony Eyes.”
The concert gave Wonder time to talk as well. He tried a London accent, then turned to more serious thoughts about division and the need for people to come together. Those remarks were placed between songs rather than set apart as a speech. The choice of material later in the evening, including a song by John Lennon, gave those ideas a musical place in the programme.
“Isn’t She Lovely” brought Stevie Wonder back to his family in the second set. He had written it around the birth of his daughter Aisha. At The O2, photographs of his children appeared on the screen while he spoke about them and played harmonica. The images connected a recording made at the beginning of one child’s life to the family he was able to introduce to the audience decades later.
Brandee Younger joined him on harp for “If It’s Magic.” After the larger arrangements elsewhere in the set, the harp gave the song a different acoustic scale and recalled one of the sounds that distinguishes the original recording. That change left space around the vocal. It also prepared the room for a more personal turn when Wonder dedicated “As” to Lula Mae Hardaway, his late mother.
Stevie Wonder said “As” was one of her favourites and recalled singing it at her funeral. In a concert about a record that has been part of many people’s lives, the dedication identified a particular life the song had belonged to. “Another Star” then gave the larger group space again, closing the main part of the programme with an arrangement that could stretch out across the stage.
Zaiah Morris sang “Imagine” in the final part of the show. Her performance made her the second of Wonder’s children to take a vocal part that evening and brought the earlier talk about unity back into the room. The song came from outside the anniversary album, as did the closing “Superstition,” from 1972’s Talking Book.
For Stevie Wonder, “Superstition” was a chance to put the Clavinet and the band back in front after the quieter end of “Imagine.” The horns had room to extend the closing passage before he left the stage to a standing ovation. The evening had started with a request to listen in darkness. It ended with the full group playing and two generations of his family having had their own place in the show.
