The DVD program, released worldwide on March 9, 2009, was filmed at the O2 Arena, in London, England, over two nights, September 30 and October 1, 2008, before a rapturous audience of 15,000 each night. The concerts were part of the first Stevie Wonder world tour in over a decade, which sold 120,000 tickets in the UK alone.
‘Live at Last’s set list traces a lifetime of innovation and accomplishment – and, in fact, our own lifetime appreciation of his music, stretching from Wonder’s teens with “My Cherie Amour” and “Signed, Sealed, Delivered I’m Yours.” Along the way, the program encompasses iconic hits that redefined pop and R&B music, including “Superstition,” “Higher Ground,” “Living For the City,” “You Are the Sunshine of My Life” and “I Wish,” while reaching into his classic albums for such enduring fan favorites as “All I Do,” “Overjoyed” and “Knocks Me Off My Feet.” The exuberant “Don’t You Worry ‘Bout a Thing” is preceded by Wonder’s interpretation of Chick Corea’s instrumental “Spain.” And in a delightful, impressive and emotional moment, Wonder’s daughter Aisha Morris — the inspiration of his classic “Isn’t She Lovely” — steps from the background vocal group and performs Nat “King” Cole’s jazz standard “I’m Gonna Laugh You Right Out of My Life.”
Wonder also takes time out in the set to salute the British audience with an affectionate medley of two Beatles songs (“Fool on the Hill,” “I Want To Hold Your Hand”) and a Rolling Stones classic (“[I Can’t Get No] Satisfaction”), book-ending them with the traditional “London Bridge is Falling Down.”
Aside from being his first DVD release, ‘ Live at Last’ is Stevie Wonder’s first high definition release on Blu-Ray disc. Blue laser disc reader technology provides unparalleled picture quality (at 1080i) as well as pure and uncompressed 5.1 surround sound — the highest standard of sound quality ever achieved on a Stevie Wonder release.
Stevie Wonder was introduced to the world at age 12 in the 1963 hit “Fingertips – Pt. 2,” his first of nine No. 1 records and he has also charted eighteen more Top 10 hits so far. He has won 22 Grammy Awards since 1973, when Innervisions won Album of the Year, among his first four Grammys that year. He is the recipient of NARAS’ Lifetime Achievement Award (1996) and Billboard Magazine’s Century Award (2004). He was inducted into the Rock & Roll Hall of Fame in 1989. His 10-million selling 1976 double album Songs in the Key of Life was the first album by an American artist to debut at No. 1 in the Billboard album chart. His most recent studio album is 2005’s gold-certified Top 5 A Time To Love.
Wonder performed “Signed, Sealed, Delivered (I’m Yours)” to a crowd of 85,000 at Denver, Colorado’s Invesco Field, just prior to then-Senator Barack H. Obama’s nomination acceptance address at the 2008 Democratic National Convention, and he also is prominent among performers at the public Obama Inaugural celebrations held in Washington, DC in January 2009. His new song “All About the Love Again,” is featured on the special all-star compilation project ‘Chnage is Now: Renewing America’s Promise’, released on Inauguration Day.
At age 58, Stevie Wonder remains among the most visionary, influential and admired of singers, songwriters, musicians and producers in the history of American music.
Buy the DVD and also Stevie Wonder’s CDs:
- In North America: Live at Last (DVD), Live at Last (Blu-ray). CDs available: Innervisions, Songs in the Key of Life, and A Time To Love
- In Europe: Live At Last (DVD), Live At Last (Blu-ray). Innervisions, Songs In The Key Of Life, Talking Book.
Author: World Music Central News Room
World music news from the editors at World Music Central
