Wonderful.

March 6, 2013 8:29 AM

Here's an amazing multitrack a capella cover of Stevie Wonder's I Wish by Yeo Inhyeok. [slyt | previously | via]
posted by quin (16 comments total)

Seoul music...
posted by jim in austin at 9:23 AM on March 6

Pyong Yeah Baby.
posted by phaedon at 9:36 AM on March 6

This is delightful!
posted by Lemmy Caution at 9:50 AM on March 6

Here's his cover of Thriller...
posted by jim in austin at 9:57 AM on March 6 [1 favorite]

This is really tremendous. He's got great pitch and rhythm. Thanks.
posted by Seekerofsplendor at 10:01 AM on March 6

This pretty much made my day.
posted by DrMew at 10:06 AM on March 6

I somehow managed to reach my 40's believing that Stevie Wonder was that dude who sang poppy maudlin stuff like "I Just Called To Say I Love You." I then heard "I Wish" and thought "hey, this is one of those great 70's songs that I've always wanted to have in my music library." I used an app on my phone to identify it and then realized "Hey, this is Stevie Wonder. Maybe all these years of hearing people say he was an innovative artist worth listening to should have led me to conclude that my impressions of Mr. Wonder are incorrect."

So, I then discovered that "Higher Ground," "Superstition," "Sir Duke," "Master Blaster" and a dozen other songs were all by Stevie Wonder. I downloaded Talking Book, Innervisions, Songs In The Key of Life, and Hotter Than July and spent several days completely blissed out on amazing music. I'd never really listened to "You Are The Sunshine Of My Life" before and found myself just bawling like a fool (on a flight from New York to LA).

If you've never listened to Stevie Wonder's albums before, do yourself a favor and download any one of those. It was the best gift I've given myself in years. The vast majority of humanity already knows that he's a remarkable musician but the good news is his music is just as jaw-droppingly gorgeous for those of us who arrived at the party late.

Also, this is a great cover. Well done, Yeo Inhyeok. Major points for selecting one of the greats songs of the past fifty years and doing it justice.
posted by Joey Michaels at 10:27 AM on March 6 [7 favorites]

From the links along the side, a solo multi-track of Michael Jackson's "The Way You Make Me Feel" (with accompanying puppies.)
posted by grabbingsand at 11:02 AM on March 6 [7 favorites]

hi can I borrow your high notes for a couple of decades promise ill return them thx
posted by rouftop at 11:13 AM on March 6

grabbingsand: It's fascinating to watch Kawehi building all the tracks, legs akimbo on her bed, and then move right into the finished song...
posted by jim in austin at 11:18 AM on March 6

So, I then discovered that "Higher Ground," "Superstition," "Sir Duke," "Master Blaster" and a dozen other songs were all by Stevie Wonder. I downloaded Talking Book, Innervisions, Songs In The Key of Life, and Hotter Than July and spent several days completely blissed out on amazing music. I'd never really listened to "You Are The Sunshine Of My Life" before and found myself just bawling like a fool (on a flight from New York to LA).

Welcome, so glad you could join us...

Seriously, i actually kind of envy you getting to discover Stevie later in life. I imagine that would be awesome. I grew up with him, and for a long time kind of took him for granted. When I was a kid back in the 70's, my mom would put on Songs In the Key of Life on Saturday mornings and we would clean the house and have a funky good time. Stevie was a huge part of the soundtrack to my childhood. Although I've always been a big fan, It wasn't until a few years back as an adult that I truly came to appreciate him. In New York for a while, there was an annual "Stevie Wonder Party" on his birthday. Imagine a giant warehouse party, packed to the gills, playing nothing but Stevie all night. And everywhere you looked everyone just had these huge shit-eating grins on their faces all night.

Stevie Wonder's run of albums in the early 70's are so good that it's downright spooky. If he wasn't so joyful, I would suspect the dark arts were involved.
posted by billyfleetwood at 11:18 AM on March 6 [5 favorites]

In New York for a while, there was an annual "Stevie Wonder Party" on his birthday. Imagine a giant warehouse party, packed to the gills, playing nothing but Stevie all night. And everywhere you looked everyone just had these huge shit-eating grins on their faces all night.

That would be amazing. Everyone loves Stevie Wonder. I had the intro to Superstition as my ringtone for a while, and whenever it would go off, people would look around and smile a little.
posted by xedrik at 1:18 PM on March 6

I'm really impressed with his editing skills, but I honestly liked his cover of Michael Jackson's Thriller better. Good stuff nonetheless.
posted by mrzer0 at 1:21 PM on March 6

To be clear, this is a cover of a cover. As the full video description says,

The wonderful chorus arrangement from the group "Cadence"

I'll give the guy credit - he does a pretty darn good job on all of the parts himself, from bass to high tenor to solo to vocal percussion.

That said, if you liked this track, listen to the original version of this arrangement by Cadence, and prepare to be blown away. It won the 2001 Contemporary A Cappella Recording Award for Best Contemporary Cover Song.
posted by LightStruk at 2:14 PM on March 6 [1 favorite]

Here's a fun a capella cover of Rolling in the Deep. Worth it for the facial expressions alone.
posted by Joe in Australia at 4:14 AM on March 7

Wow. I can't continue on with the bad mood I had brewing this morning; it's impossible after watching that.
posted by Specklet at 10:27 AM on March 7 [1 favorite]