At this point, a recording of Stevie Wonder tapping a table while humming would be cause for celebration, but word is he’s working on a pair of proper new releases. In the meantime, he’s embarking on a short tour that arrives Thursday at Madison Square Garden, where he’ll perform a show devoted to his album “Songs in the Key of Life.”
That’s one of the signature documents of 1970s soul music, and one of the most ambitious albums in pop history, one that helped cement Mr. Wonder’s larger-than-life standing. The following night, the Garden gets younger, as it’s taken over by Usher, whose R&B is enough generations removed from Mr. Wonder’s to have little overlap. Usher’s edge comes from flexibility of the body, not the voice, though he has made more meaningful albums than he’s generally given credit for. Maybe in 25 years, he’ll return here for a night devoted to 2004’s“Confessions,” his own contribution to the R&B canon. – NYTimes
