Song of Key of Life

Aside from his tremendous powers of performance, Stevie Wonder stands as one of the greatest songwriters of the late 20th century, probing the joyous peaks and depressing valleys of love and relationships. The Motown tribute album Conception: An Interpretation of Stevie Wonder's Songs has its highs and lows as well; with Stevie himself in the producer's chair (along with new-era Motown exec Kedar Massenburg), the album certainly has a lot of promise. It boasts plenty of neo-soul balladeers – India.Arie, Mary J. Blige, Brian McKnight, Joe, Musiq – as well as mainstream stars like Eric Clapton and John Mellencamp, who took musical cues from classic Stevie Wonder LPs like Talking Book or Songs in the Key of Life.

Exciting accounts of eight anthems spanning nearly two hundred years, with a welcome emphasis firmly on recent works.

Beatrice Rana, partnered by the Chamber Orchestra of Europe and conductor Yannick Nézet-Séguin, performs the piano concertos of Robert Schumann and Clara Wieck-Schumann. She complements them with Liszt’s transcription for solo piano of Robert’s song ‘Widmung’, an exuberant dedication of love, composed in the year of Robert and Clara’s marriage. The previous year (1839), Robert had written to Clara: “You complete me as a composer, as I do you. Every thought of yours comes from mysoul, just as I have to thank you for all my music.”

Ever since the mid-'90s, that Glenn Hughes has been one busy gentleman. After sorting out his personal life, Hughes returned to recording and touring like a man possessed as he began cranking out album after album in a short period of time – including 2003's Songs in the Key of Rock. And for those who thought that Hughes may begin mellowing after the aforementioned "downtime," the rip-roaring album opener, "In My Blood" (in which Hughes sounds quite a bit like ex-Deep Purple bandmate David Coverdale) will silence any doubters. Also included is a tribute to Hughes' old pal John Bonham on "Higher Places (Song for Bonzo)," as well as a song that sounds like the spitting image of Bonham's band, "Get You Stoned." Vocal-wise, Hughes sounds stronger than ever on Songs in the Key of Rock – something that can't be said for some of his lead singer peers from the same classic rock era.

Ever since the mid-'90s, that Glenn Hughes has been one busy gentleman. After sorting out his personal life, Hughes returned to recording and touring like a man possessed as he began cranking out album after album in a short period of time – including 2003's Songs in the Key of Rock. And for those who thought that Hughes may begin mellowing after the aforementioned "downtime," the rip-roaring album opener, "In My Blood" (in which Hughes sounds quite a bit like ex-Deep Purple bandmate David Coverdale) will silence any doubters. Also included is a tribute to Hughes' old pal John Bonham on "Higher Places (Song for Bonzo)," as well as a song that sounds like the spitting image of Bonham's band, "Get You Stoned." Vocal-wise, Hughes sounds stronger than ever on Songs in the Key of Rock – something that can't be said for some of his lead singer peers from the same classic rock era.