Notes & Personnel Info |  | Personnel includes: Stevie Wonder (vocals, various instruments); Luther Vandross (vocals); Malcolm Cecil, Robert Margouleff (programming); Gloria Barley, Lani Groves, Jim Gilstrap, The Jackson 5 (background vocals). | | Producers include: Berry Gordy, Henry Cosby, Clarence Paul, Stevie Wonder, William "Mickey" Stevenson. | | Compilation producers: Harry Weinger, Jeff Moskow. | | Recorded between 1963 & 1985. | | Includes liner notes by Scott Regan. | | Personnel: Stevie Wonder (vocals, harmonica, piano, keyboards, programming); Malcolm Cecil, Robert Margouleff (Moog synthesizer, programming); Charles Brewer, John Fischbach (programming); Gloria Barley, Jim Gilstrap, Lani Groves (background vocals). | | Liner Note Authors: Scott Regen; Harry Weinger; Scott Regan. | | Arrangers: Clarence Paul; Stevie Wonder. | | When you're putting together a 21-song collection of a major artist who's had more than 40 Top 40 hits, inevitably there's going to be a lot of good stuff left out. Stevie Wonder's long and varied career (not over when this anthology appeared) really needs more than one disc to even adequately summarize the highlights. But this single-disc comp does squeeze in most of his best-known songs, from 1963's "Fingertips, Pt. 2" to the mid-'80s number one hits "Part-Time Lover" and "I Just Called to Say I Love You." Along the way there's "Uptight (Everything's Alright)," "I Was Made to Love Her," "For Once in My Life," "My Cherie Amour," "You Are the Sunshine of My Life," "Superstition," "Higher Ground," "Living for the City," "You Haven't Done Nothin'," "Boogie on Reggae Woman," "I Wish," "Sir Duke," and more. There is a sharp decline in quality following "Masterblaster (Jammin')," but at least that only lasts five songs. Of course, there's a lot missing too: "A Place in the Sun," "Shoo-Be-Doo-Be-Doo-Da-Day," "If You Really Love Me," and "Don't You Worry 'Bout a Thing," to pick only some obvious candidates. Why exactly the 1967 single "Hey Love" (a Top Ten R&B single that barely made the pop charts) is included is a mystery, though at least it breaks up the predictability. For casual fans it's a decent career-spanning overview, though, and even the most casual fan will sense the musical genius and enormous artistic growth that shines through most of the selections. ~ Richie Unterberger | | When you're putting together a lengthy collection of a major artist who's had more than 40 Top 40 hits, inevitably there's going to be a lot of good stuff left out. Stevie Wonder's long and varied career (not over when this anthology appeared) really needs more than one disc to even adequately summarize the highlights. But this single-disc comp does squeeze in most of his best-known songs, from 1963's "Fingertips, Pt. 2" to the mid-'80s number one hits "Part-Time Lover" and "I Just Called to Say I Love You." Along the way there's "Uptight (Everything's Alright)," "I Was Made to Love Her," "For Once in My Life," "My Cherie Amour," "You Are the Sunshine of My Life," "Superstition," "Higher Ground," "Living for the City," "You Haven't Done Nothin'," "Boogie on Reggae Woman," "I Wish," "Sir Duke," and more. There is a sharp decline in quality following "Masterblaster (Jammin')," but at least that only lasts five songs. Of course, there's a lot missing too: "A Place in the Sun," "Shoo-Be-Doo-Be-Doo-Da-Day," "If You Really Love Me," and "Don't You Worry 'Bout a Thing," to pick only some obvious candidates. Why exactly the 1967 single "Hey Love" (a Top Ten R&B single that barely made the pop charts) is included is a mystery, though at least it breaks up the predictability. For casual fans it's a decent career-spanning overview, though, and even the most casual fan will sense the musical genius and enormous artistic growth that shines through most of the selections. [This album was also released in the UK as a two-disc set featuring 38 tracks.] ~ Richie Unterberger | | Missing in action for much of the 1990s, Stevie Wonder is a living legend whose consistent creative output is sorely missed. THE DEFINITIVE COLLECTION provides a snapshot overview of Wonder's stellar legacy starting back in 1963 as a teen musical prodigy with the exuberant "Fingertips Part 2." This jubilant tune, showcasing Wonder's much-touted facility on the chromatic harmonica, is a powerful harbinger of things to come. Along the way are classics that find this Michigan native going from being a one-man Motown hit machine to a young artist whose vision eschewed singles-based sensibilities for album-long artistic statements. | | Wonder's '60s gems include "I Was Made to Love Her," "For Once in My Life," and "Signed, Sealed, Delivered I'm Yours." Of course, his '70s work is just as stunning, particularly socially conscious numbers like "Higher Ground" and "Living for the City." Equally stellar if less political are this legend's tributes to Duke Ellington ("Sir Duke"), Bob Marley ("Master Blaster [Jammin']"), and Caribbean music in general ("Boogie on Reggae Woman"). THE DEFINITIVE COLLECTION is an excellent primer for both die-hard fan and passing admirer of Stevie Wonder's genius. |
Engineer: Malcolm Cecil; Robert Margouleff |
Musical Guests | | The Jackson 5 | | Lani Groves | | Luther Vandross |
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