Hotter Than July

1	Did I Hear You Say You Love Me 4:07
2	All I Do 5:06
3	Rocket Love 4:39
4	I Ain't Gonna Stand for It 4:39
5	As If You Read My Mind 3:47
6	Master Blaster (Jammin') 5:08
7	Do Like You 4:25
8	Cash in Your Face 3:59
9	Lately 4:05
10	Happy Birthday 5:57

Barnes & Noble

Arguably his last great album, HOTTER THAN JULY was the follow-up to Stevie Wonder's two groundbreaking double albums: 1976's magnum opus SONGS IN THE KEY OF LIFE and 1979's sprawling, ambitious JOURNEY THROUGH THE SECRET LIFE OF PLANTS. While not as musically adventurous as those releases, HOTTER THAN JULY successfully combined the pop sensibility of Wonder's early Motown years with the political candor he'd recently developed. The album sizzles with both romantic and political passion. Wonder celebrates black leadership on the sensual, reggae-splashed homage to Bob Marley,"Master Blaster (Jammin')," and the exultant "Happy Birthday," a plea to make Martin Luther King Jr.'s birthday a nationally recognized holiday. These political send-ups mesh with soulful, synth-based love songs such as "All I Do" and the Jodeci-covered tearjerker "Lately." After HOTTER THAN JULY, Wonder wrote several brilliant singles, but this album remains, by far, his most consistent and engaging post-'70s collection. Ganda Suthivarakom

All Music Guide

Four years after the pinnacle of Stevie Wonder's mid-'70s typhoon of classic albums, Hotter Than July was the proper follow-up to Songs in the Key of Life (his Journey Through the Secret Life of Plants concept record was actually a soundtrack to an obscure movie that fared miserably in theaters). It also found Wonder in a different musical climate than the one that savored his every move from 1972 to 1977. Disco and new wave had slowly crept their way into the mainstream record-buying public, and hindered the once-ample room for socially and politically charged lyrics. However, Wonder naysayed the trends and continues to do what he did best. Solid songwriting, musicianship, and production are evident in the majority of Hotter Than July. Wonder also carries on his tradition of penning songs normally not associated with his trademark sound, from the disco-tinged "All I Do" (originally planned to be released by Tammi Terrell almost ten years previously) to the reggae-influenced smash "Master Blaster (Jammin)," which went straight to the top of the R&B charts. While admittedly there are a few less-than-standard tracks, he closes the album on an amazing high note with one of the most aching ballads in his canon ("Lately") and a touching anthem to civil rights pioneer Martin Luther King, Jr. ("Happy Birthday"). While most definitely not on the same tier as Innervisions or Songs in the Key of Life, Hotter Than July is the portrait of an artist who still had the Midas touch, but stood at the crossroads of an illustrious career. Rob Theakston