Finishing the Talking Book album with I Believe (When I Fall In Love It Will Be Forever) is a masterstroke. This piece will outline why it was such a superb way to end this album.
The first reason is the context of the album. Whether you sat and heard all of it in one sitting, or just heard the second side of it (back in the day of vinyl LP’s and then cassette taps), this track sounds like a finale. It sums up the mood of the album or the side of the album you heard. It takes some of the major themes and declares something energising and invigorating.
The album took us on a ride from celebrating love at the start and going through the turmoil and insecurity of love and even the tragic end of relationships. Yet this track signs off your listening experience with a message that says that despite the issues it’s still worth holding out for a love that lasts.
On that score, the nature of the lyrics mix degrees of the harsh realities of life and the choice to be optimistic of the opportunities that can happen in that loving relationship. It’s contemplative and considered and yet at the same time has a degree of naive confidence.
Talking Book is an album that continues to showcase the many talents of Wonder as a musician, producer, songwriter and vocalist. Yet this song is only the second song on the track where Stevie does everything on the it. This certainly highlights the talent in a very different way to the other purely solo track on the album – the eerie, moving ballad You and I. As opposed to the effort at a sparse sound on that tune, this one is rich and lush. That piano at the start is so plaintive and offers that sense of this piece is not going to be all happy and bright. The use of the clavinet and layered over each other creates an expansive feel that gets us into first of all considering the melancholy at the start before turning the mood into one that’s upbeat and celebratory. It’s great playing from Stevie.
As well as that, though, there are the vocals. All of them him, from the lead which conveys the mood of the piece so evocatively to the harmonies that he gives himself that lifts the piece. These aren’t straightforward backing vocals doing a single simple piece. This is a range of vocals offering decorations to the piece in lyrics as well as harmonies. I enhances the piece and reinforces the big feel of the tune. This choral tour de force of Stevie is ending the album as well as the track not with head bowed or in sorrow, this Wonder is saying he’s looking ahead with hope and a bright outlook. You leave the album feeling as warm as when you started it. That’s the sign of a well put together listening experience in an album.
Taking that into account it’s worth considering the album as a whole …
Shalom
C. L. J. Dryden
Among Friends 
[…] Track 10: I Believe […]