Even Hotter Than July!

Apparently today is the hottest July day ever recorded, and as we can all vouch it is damn hot. Reminds me of Good Morning Vietnam when Robin Williams states that "It's Hot, Daaamn Hot!! Good if you're with a woman, baaad if you in the jungle!". And I might add even badder if you are in the concrete jungle and working for the man. However this is all just an aside and really a lame excuse to talk about one of my favourite albums, Stevie Wonder's Hotter Than July. Released in 1980 this was actually the first of Stevie's albums to reach platinum sales, despite the critical acclaim of preceding albums in his mid to late 70s golden period which included Innervisions, Songs in the Key of Life and Talking Book. Indeed this is really Stevie's last truly great long player, and well worth checking out if you only know the more famous albums mentioned above, or indeed his earlier Motown work. Not only does it contain the classic stomper Master Blaster, but also the way-ahead-of-its-time All I Do, and the incredible ballad Lately. Not to mention the classic golden-tinged cover art. An absolute belter and a perfect summer accompaniment. Oh, and of course i'll come back to Stevie time and again - too much genius to fit into one message.