“Her parents said, girl don’t
leave home, but her heart kept cheering her on…”
And
we suspect that you will be cheering for this latest spotlighted song
tonight! A mid ‘80s classic from a true soul pioneer, which despite
significant chart success upon its release, is now quite underrated
and receives virtually no radio airplay. Ladies and Gentlemen, Kyle’s
Radio Dial is proud to feature none other than Mr. Stevie Wonder and
his hit “Go Home”!
The second single pulled from Wonder’s
1985 “In Square Circle” album, preceded by “Part-Time
Lover” (#1 pop, #2 R&B), and followed by “Overjoyed”
(#24 pop, #8 R&B), “Go Home” peaked at #10 pop and #2 R&B,
making it Stevie’s final tune to reach the US pop top 10. All three
singles also topped the adult contemporary singles chart.
Additionally, the parent album won the Grammy in 1986 for Best Male
R&B Vocal Performance. Not too shabby.
As
an aside… in the early ‘90s, I worked at Square Circle, a mall
based record store chain, and I noticed that we did indeed have a
copy of this Stevie album on CD and cassette. So In Square Circle
was IN Square Circle. HA HA HA… ehh… I found it amusing. Don’t
judge me.
Anyway,
Wonder’s tune concerns a young woman who leaves her life behind to
try to pursue romance with the narrator. He rejects her advances,
hence the title. The woman attempts to defend her desire to be with
him, but ultimately accepts his “final word” and leaves him alone
as he wishes. Later on, the narrator’s life takes a really bad turn
(he looses his family, his friends, and his job- jeez, what the heck
happened?), and he comes to regret pushing away the one person who
truly wanted to be with him. Yet, by then it was too late, as he has
lost her as well. Heartbreak on top of heartbreak.
There’s
also an interesting line in the chorus, in which Stevie sings…
“She
only wanted to be close to me… to give me the love she
knew someday I’d need.”
Was
this girl psychic? Did she somehow know that this guy’s life would
turn to crap? If so, I think her timing was completely off. Don’t
approach the poor bloke when he’s married and has everything
together, hit him up when he’s at his lowest. No wonder he pushed
her away.
Now
let’s examine that music video. Instead
of a literal depiction
of the lyrics, we are
presented with a… crime
drama???
Initially I thought the video’s
story was
focused on a pair of detectives tracking thieves. However,
upon further viewings,
it seems the
blonde woman is not a
detective herself, but instead has
actually hired
a detective
to track down the man she loves, believing that he has gotten
involved with the wrong crowd, so to speak.
So
when considering the video, you could conclude that the narrator
of the song (Stevie’s
voice) is actually representing that missing
partner telling the blonde
to “go home”, possibly
to protect her from the
criminal involvement.
But
unlike in the
song’s lyrics,
this woman fights back, locates her guy and saves him at the end. Or
maybe I’m reading too much into it. I do that sometimes.
And
if that detective looks familiar, it may very well be because he is
played by Art Evans, whom you may recognize from films such as A
Soldier’s Story, Ruthless People, School Daze,
Die Hard 2, and CB4 among many others over the years.
And yes folks, that IS funk and jazz legend Herbie Hancock in a cameo
in which he greets Stevie on the street at the 2:16 mark.
I
know that a lot of folks look negatively on Wonder’s ‘80s output.
But I think this is unfair. Much of that feeling seems to stem from
his 1984 smash “I Just Called To Say I Love You”, which
was possibly the most saccharine and lightweight tune Stevie ever
recorded, and over time, has overshadowed much of the rest of his
material of the decade.
When
compared to Wonder’s socially aware, political, and highly
influential ‘70s “classic period” (“Higher Ground”,
“Living for the City”, “Superstition”, “You
Haven’t Done Nothin’”, “Pastime Paradise”, and
“Village Ghetto Land” being some of the many highlights),
his more commercialized, polished ‘80s pop leaning output seems
less significant and innovative. However, by the 1980s, Stevie was no
longer the angry young man of the prior decade, as he had settled
into the role of respected elder statesman of soul music. Personally,
I believe Stevie was simply enjoying the freedom to create music
without having to make any powerful social statements.
This
is not to say that Stevie didn’t record some outstanding tunes in
the decade of Atari and legwarmers. There’s the one-two punch of
“That Girl”, and “Do I Do”, (back to back
singles from ‘82), the synthpop leaning “Skeletons”
(1987) – and the powerful funk rocker “Get It”, a 1988
duet with Michael Jackson. On the softer side, there’s “Lately”
(1981) – a gorgeous mature ballad that ranks among his best love
songs. Stevie Wonder is truly a musical genius that we don’t
deserve.
And
for possibly the most ‘80s thing you will see today… I’ve added
a clip (below the actual music video) of an amazing performance at
the 1985 Grammy Awards, in which Wonder played “Go Home” in a
synthesizer medley as part of a supergroup with Herbie Hancock,
Thomas Dolby, and Howard Jones. The vibe on the stage is incredible!
And Dolby truly looks the part of the mad scientist here!
So
check out “Go Home”, and let me know, do you have any favorite
underrated Stevie Wonder tunes? What do you think about his ‘80s
material? Post a comment below! And always remember our tag line…
Kyle’s
Radio Dial… the more you listen, the more you remember!
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