One of the initial goals of this little blog was to kind of promote awareness to music that is often times underevaluated and unknown, while at the same time reevaluating that same music and getting the readers to listen to it with new ears. Today I bring to you something I'm quite sure only some of you have ever heard of. At least, I assume so.

Stevie Wonder's Journey Through The Secret Life of Plants began its very life as a soundtrack for a documentary of the same name which in turn was based on a book of the same name. Plus, it had the very ungrateful task of following one of Wonder's high watermarks - Songs In The Key Of Life, which many consider to be his masterpiece. So, a difficult album case study. However, not only does it succeed beautifully in following that almost miraculously produced album, it even surpasses it at times, which is no mean feat at all from whichever angle you see it. And for as hard as I try to explain it here with mere words, you simply have to listen to it to fully understand just how far he was pushing his production and songwriting skills at the time. Sometimes, it feels like an aural orgasm, especially if you listen to it with your headphones on.

For proof, try the gorgeous Come Back As A Flower. See you soon.

A classic. Dusty Springfield at her very best and released when she was at the top of her game. I came to it because of my love of her cover version of the bewitching Windmills of Her Mind, which I consider at least as good as the original if not even better in parts. See what you think by pressing the "play" button below.

All the tracks on Dusty in Memphis are winners in their own right and you can really tell that there was a thorough and quite criterious selection of tracks by the producers involved to best suit her unique voice. What really surprises me is that apparently she didn't like her voice and when singing in the booth, she'd ask for the music on her headphones to be as loud as possible so that she could not hear herself singing. Can you believe that? Some people just don't know how good they really are.

Fortunately, that didn't stop her from singing for many more years and from releasing a string of hit albums, though this particular one is viewed as her apex, both artistically and career-wise. If you still don't have this album, I heartily recommend it to you. You will not be let down. Not in the least.

The perfect record for a hot late spring day like today's. GONNA TAKE A MIRACLE was Laura Nyro's wonderful tribute to the songs she loved as a teen and the ones that formed her as both a musician and singer.

As legend goes, this album was recorded in just a few days and the tracks you hear are mostly one-take affairs. Apparently, both Nyro and the Labelle combo knew all the songs by heart and it was just a matter of getting them right on tape. A lot of fun was also involved, according to those who enjoyed it, which really helped the whole feel of the record: laid-back, spontaneous, fun and moving.

Nyro's impressionistic approach to songwriting is also on clear display here, despite it being a strictly covers album. She was always a free spirit, anyway. At this moment in time, it was still not considered fashionable to do a whole covers album, which only goes to prove just how far ahead of her time she was. Still is, in my book. Listen to The Bells and dare not to fall in love with it.