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At The Close Of A Century (Earbook)

Stevie Wonder
4 discs

1. Fingertips Pts. 1 & 2 (Live)
2. Sir Duke
3. Superstition
4. That Girl (1982 Musiquarium Version)
5. I Wish
6. Ribbon in the Sky (1982 Musiquarium Version)
7. Uptight (Everything's Alright)
8. You Are the Sunshine of My Life
9. Do I Do (1982 Musiquarium Version)
10. Knocks Me Off My Feet
11. Nothing's Too Good For My Baby (Single Version)
12. You and I
13. Blowing the Wind
14. I Believe (When I Fall in Love It Will Be Forever)
15. Love Light in Flight (Woman in Red/Soundtrack Version)
16. Pastime Paradise
17. Place in the Sun (Single Version)
18. I Just Called to Say I Love You (Single Version)
19. Isn't She Lovely
20. Too High
21. Hey Love
22. Ngiculela-es una Historia-I Am Singing
23. Overjoyed
24. Visions
25. I Was Made to Love Her
26. If It's Magic
27. Living For the City
28. Part-Time Lover
29. As
30. Go Home
31. Golden Lady
32. Until You Come Back to Me (That's What I'm Gonna Do)(1977 Looking Back Version)
33. Another Star
34. Higher Ground
35. I'm Wondering (Single Version)
36. You Will Know
37. All in Love Is Fair
38. Send One Your Love
39. Shoo-Be-Doo-Be-Doo-da-Day
40. Skeletons
41. All I Do
42. Don't You Worry 'Bout a Thing
43. Gotta Have You
44. You Met Your Match
45. For Once in My Life
46. He's Misstra Know-It-All
47. Rocket Love
48. These Three Words
49. For Your Love (Natural Wonder Live Version)
50. I Ain't Gonna Stand For It
51. I Don't Know Why
52. You Haven't Done Nothin'
53. Heaven Is 10 Zillion Light Years Away
54. How Come, How Long
55. Master Blaster (Jammin')
56. My Cherie Amour
57. Lately
58. Too Shy to Say
59. Yester-Me, Yesterday-You, Yesterday
60. Boogie on Reggae Woman
61. Happy Birthday
62. Never Had a Dream Come True
63. Creepin'
64. Signed, Sealed, Delivered (I'm Yours)
65. Heaven Help Us All
66. We Can Work It Out
67. If You Really Love Me
68. Never Dreamed You'd Leave in Summer
69. Superwoman (Where Were You When I Needed You)
70. I Love Every Little Thing About You
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Additional Info

Manufacturer Part Number (MPN): 9841227
Credits

Producer
Engineer
Includes 96-page full-color booklet.
Personnel includes: Stevie Wonder (vocals, various instruments, harmonica, piano, Fender Rhodes piano, Clavinet, keyboards, Moog & ARP synthesizers, drums, cabasa, percussion, vocoder, sound effects); Luther Vandross (vocals); Dean Parks (acoustic & electric guitars); Babyface (acoustic guitar, keyboards, background vocals); Michael Sembello, Buzzy Feiton, Earl Klugh (guitar); Bobbi Humphrey (flute); Greg Phillinganes (piano, keyboards); Herbie Hancock (keyboards); James Jamerson (acoustic & electric basses); Nathan East (bass); Benny Benjamin, Uriel Jones (drums); Lenny Castro (congas); Sheila E. (percussion); Betty Wright, Michael Jackson, Minnie Ripperton, Paul Anka, George Benson, Philip Bailey (background vocals).
Producers include: Berry Gordy, Henry Cosby, Clarence Paul, Don Hunter, Harvey Fuqua.
Compilation producer: Harry Weinger.
Includes liner notes by David Ritz and Leonard Pitts Jr.
Digitally remastered using 24-bit technology by Kevin Reeves.
The 4-CD set AT THE CLOSE OF A CENTURY is a chronological history of Stevie Wonder's commercial successes. The first CD documents his early Motown years on tracks that emphasize his frenetic singing and superb harmonica playing. The songs taken from MUSIC OF MY MIND, his first fully written and produced effort, show significant vocal development. CDs two and three include material from INNERVISIONS, SONGS IN THE KEY OF LIFE, and TALKING BOOK, a creative period that is considered Wonder's strongest. It is on these cuts that Wonder uses his most varied production techniques and instrumentation to share his vivid creative spirit.
The fourth disc continues with pop hits recorded during the '80s and '90s, beginning with three songs he recorded for MUSIQUARIUM, and concluding with his duet with Babyface, "How Come, How Long." Disc four should surprise listeners who may remember only "I Just Called to Say I Love You" from Wonder's '80s work. Tracks like "Overjoyed" and "Ribbon in the Sky" make clear that Wonder had far more than one great song during the period. This box set is a great introduction to Stevie Wonder, and even after listening to all four discs in succession, fans will be left wanting more.
Critic Reviews

Entertainment Weekly (12/17/99, p.81) - "...Not a dud among them - boxed sets don't get much better than this....in a word, magnificent..." - Rating: A+
Q (1/01, p.95) - Included in Q's "5 Best Re-Issues of 2000".
Q (5/00, pp.122-3) - 5 stars out of 5 - "...The most consistent and intriguing artist America has produced....70 clunker-free tracks....Only the absolute cream is here..."
CMJ (2/7/00, p.24) - "...This remarkable collection contains most of his familiar classics, focusing on material from the 70s....Stevie at his funkiest can rival any singer-songwriter of any era..."
The Source (3/00, p.258) - "...a wonderfully exhaustive crash course on r&b music....this retrospective is a must-have. It's a firm testament to Wonder's unquestionable genius..."
Mojo (Publisher) (5/00, p.96) - "...His career demonstrates [that] genius has no off-switch....his abundant natural gifts were driven by twin urges of innovation and emancipation..."
NME (Magazine) (3/25/00, p.40) - 8 out of 10 - "...The definitive voice of soul rapture....[this is] incontrovertibly fantastic music."