10 Strange Music Albums By Mainstream Acts

Journey Through The Secret Life of Plants stands not only as a highly unusual entry in Wonder's discography, but also as one of the most incongruous records ever released on the Motown label. By 1979, the former child prodigy had built up a unsurpassed reputation for his intelligent yet highly accessible soul/R&B work.

Nothing found on Wonder's previous album, the Grammy-winning Songs In The Key Of Life, could have prepared listener's for his next outing. Secret Life Of Plants served as a soundtrack to the film of the same name. That film's producer, Michael Braun, painstakingly described the visual images which Wonder's music would accompany, with the artist then free to match the music to his imagination.

Much of the resulting set is instrumental and slowly-evolving, almost ambient at times. The record relies heavily on synthesizers and programmed sounds. With no fore-knowledge, a listener would be hard-pressed to identify this as a Stevie Wonder record, which is not to say that there is nothing of merit here. In its own way, Secret Life Of Plants makes for a fascinating listen.