Talking Book - STEVIE WONDER****

You Are The Sunshine Of My Life/Maybe Your Baby/You & I/Tuesday Heartbreak/Superstition/Big Brother/Blame It On The Sun/Lookin' For Another Pure Love/I Believe (When I Fall In Love It Will Be Forever)

With Talking Book Stevie Wonder took further control over the direction of his music, free from the straightjacket imposed by Motown founder Berry Gordy. Includes the US chart toppers You Are The Sunshine Of My Life and Superstition. (US:3 UK:16)

“With Talking Book, Stevie Wonder embarked on an impressive run of spectacular music-making. He took the Motown sound into more funky, jazzy and progressive terrain than Berry Gordy could have imagined when he signed Stevie Wonder at the age of eleven a decade earlier.”

“Talking Book is perhaps Stevie's most personal album, at least as far as emotional accounts of his life go. It's an album about romantic love, a good portion of it dedicated to material about love on the decline, with many of the lyrics having a bleak outlook to them.”

“Talking Book was another great progression for Stevie Wonder, utilizing a delightfully beautiful sound that fills the album with life, combined with his smooth, sensual singing and heart-tugging lyrics. It will surely put a smile on your face, as it moves from one richly absorbing ballad to the next. The show-stopping Superstition, was a great chance of pace that lends the album that much more variety. The work of a single genius mind, and one of those rare R & B albums that can appeal to pretty much anybody. Talking Book is one of the most significant and essential albums of its era.”

“When you think that Stevie was so young when he wrote this music, that he was taking huge artistic risks, that he was talking about serious things in serious ways while fluff abounded around him makes this album that much more significant. He didn't just write love songs; he infused deep, soul-wrenching emotion into them.”

“An even more assured album than its highly accomplished predecessor, the sheer quality of the material makes this easily one of his most important albums.”

“A fine soul-pop album, but only Superstition and perhaps Maybe Your Baby are standouts. It has quite a few sappy ballads but overall it makes for an enjoyable listen.”