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List Price: $4.98 | | Label: Motown
Salesrank:
Released: February 10, 1992 |
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| Media: Audio Cassette |
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Where I'm Coming From Track Listing:
1. Look Around
2. Do Yourself a Favor
3. Think of Me as Your Soldier
4. Something Out of the Blue
5. If You Really Love Me
6. I Wanna Talk to You
7. Take up a Course in Happiness
8. Never Dreamed You'd Leave in Summer
9. Sunshine in Their Eyes
Where I'm Coming From Reviews:
(2.5 stars) Mostly decent, but not up to the standards of Stevie's later work 
2008-07-17 - The last record Stevie put out before he freed himself from the oppressive Motown industry. Stevie took that opportunity to experiment like crazy, resulting in a weird, confusing, uneven record that isn't anywhere near as good as his classic material. There are some great tracks, for sure: "Do Yourself a Favor" is wonderfully funky and doesn't deserve to be obscure as it is; "If You Really Love Me" is a fine pop song; and "I Never Dreamed You'd Leave in Summer" is a very powerful ballad. But Stevie's insistence to try everything at least once, while admirable, results in a few weak compositions. The psychedelic "Look Around" tries way too hard, and doesn't work out at all - there's something in that awful keyboard tone that doesn't work out. The ballads "Think of Me as Your Soldier" and "Something Out of the Blue" are pretty far from peak Stevie, too: "Soldier" is decent, but the arrangement on "Something Out of the Blue" totally kills the song, and I'm quite glad that he was quick to abandon such cornball arrangements very soon. "I Wanna Talk to You" is an awful novelty, with Stevie adopting one of those really annoying voices that later ruined "Sweet Little Girl." I'm also glad he was quick to abandon the "novelty" direction. The jazz-folk "Take Up a Course in Happiness" is one of the weirdest and most inexplicable things Stevie has ever done, and the odd thing is, despite the awful arrangement, it's not bad. I have a feeling that I should hate it, but for a reason I cannot even begin to explain, it actually manages not to annoy me. It doesn't make any sense to me, either. So anyway, the closing ballad "Sunshine in Their Eyes" again isn't one of Stevie's classics, is way too long at seven minutes, and once more has an awful arrangement (including a children's choir! YEAH! Actually, no), but listen to Stevie sing it! Nobody can sing like Stevie Wonder! Unfortunately, this album does not make an ounce of sense to me. It's like Stevie just took a bunch of random stuff, mashed it together, and called it an album. As such, it's a really confusing experiment, and while it's admirable from that standpoint, it fails just as often as it succeeds. By the way, this album is almost impossible to find - I've never seen it in any store, and the only reason I have it now is because Yahoo! Music merged with Rhapsody, and seeing that Rhapsody is about twelve billion times better than Yahoo! Music, I have no problem with that. So I guess it's worth searching out for "Do Yourself a Favor," but I warn you: it's nothing like the classics that came afterward.
A straight up masterpiece. 
2007-05-06 - I can't understand how in the heck Motown never released this Stevie Wonder classic on cd. Not only should it been released, but it should be remastered as well. These songs were very socially conscious. It was a great prelude to his other follow up albums of the 70's.
A Warmup to Future Classics
2006-11-04 - On 1971's WHERE I'M COMING FROM, The then 21-year-old Wonder man finally produced an entire album by himself and co-wrote all nine songs with his then-wife Syreeta Wright. Future Grammy-winning Wonder trademarks are on display here like funky electronic workouts("Do Yourself A Favor"), lovey-dovey ballads ("Think of Me As Your Soldier", "Something Out Of The Blue", "Never Dreamed You'd Leave In Summer"), and somewhat preachy message songs ("Look Around" and "Sunshine In Their Eyes"). "Take Up A Course In Happiness" is a positive song done in an "Up With People" type of gleeness, while "I Wanna Talk To You" (with that irritating high-pitch voice) attacked generation and racial gaps two years before he recorded his masterwork "Livin' For The City". The top-ten hit single "If You Really Love Me" has its charms by featuring Syreeta on backing vocals and a snappy horn arrangement that would make Chicago proud. Not a perfect album, but essential to hear the early development of a future legend.
WAIT A MINUTE!! 
2006-03-11 - The old man on "I Wanna Talk to You" wasn't Nipsey Russell!? I am shocked! I am appalled! I am SHOPALLED!!!
Anyway, I love this old album. Paid a grip to get it imported, but it was worth every penny. "Talk to You" is a clunker, like "Sweet Little Thing" on MomM, but everything else is great. Way too short!
The Rebirth of Stevie Wonder
2005-06-26 - Stevie Wonder's 1971 release, Where I'm Coming From signaled a change in his musical styling. The album is filled with socially conscious themes, but catchy melodies that would be the hallmark of his 70's work. The blueprint for the album was Mr. Wonder's 1970 top ten single, "Heaven Help Us". The album opens with the psychedelic tinged "Look Around" based around a spooky clavinet and thumping bass. "Do Yourself A Favor" is a message song in the Curtis Mayfield style that preaches education over violence set up with gospel feel and a funky beat. "Think Of Me As Your Soldier" has a jazzy riff with a sublime guitar and "Something Out Of The Blue" is a lovely ballad with lush strings. "If You Really Love Me" is the album's lone hit single, peaking at number eight in the autumn of 1971. It kicks off with punchy horns and a roaring vocal that is backed up by Mr. Wonder's then wife Syreeta Wright. It is a true R&B gem. "I Wanna Talk To You" is the weakest song on the album, a weird song about picking up girls with Mr. Wonder suppling a bizarre vocal in an old man's voice. "Take Up A Course In Happiness" is a bouncy, upbeat number that has a definite sunny, trippy early 70's feel. "Never Dream You'd Leave In Summer" is a gorgeous track framed by heartbreaking strings and woodwinds that provide a canvas for Mr. Wonder's aching and longing vocals. The album closes with "Sunshine In Their Eyes" which closes out the album on a promise of hope. Where I'm Coming From was not a commercial success, only hitting number 62 on the album charts, but it showed tremendous growth and was a harbinger of greatness to come.
