Stevie Wonder - Talking Book

Stevie Wonder: Talking Book

Album #202 - October 1972

Episode date - October 6, 2021

The Top 500 of The Top 40
    0:00
    0:00

    “Music of My Mind” (released earlier in the same year as this album) signified a new maturity in Stevie Wonder’s musical development, but nothing could have prepared us for “Talking Book.”

    When released, Wonder was all of 22 years old, and yet this was already his fifteenth album (!), so he already had a lifetime of musical experience to draw from. Now that he was old enough to make his own calls, he no longer relied on Berry Gordy for artistic direction and insisted on following an independent path as did Marvin Gaye before him.

    Producers Malcolm Cecil and Robert Margouleff tutored Wonder in the use of synthesizers, which when combined with his instantly recognizable harmonica and his recent mastery of the clavinet, gave “Music of My Mind” a definitive sound that literally changed the sound of contemporary music. Have the hits “Superstition” or “You Are the Sunshine of My Life” aged at all in the past fifty years? Have ‘deep’ album tracks like “Maybe Your Baby”, “Big Brother” or “I Believe When I Fall in Love” aged at all? If you are the kind of person (like me) who wants to understand what makes music change, drop a red flag here because everything before “Music of My Mind” lacks its influence, while everything afterward cannot ignore it.

    Featured tracks include:

    You Are the Sunshine of My Life

    Maybe Your Baby

    You and I (We Can Conquer the World)

    Tuesday Heartbreak

    You’ve Got It Bad Girl

    Superstition

    Big Brother

    Blame It on the Sun

    Lookin’ for Another Pure Love

    I Believe (When I Fall in Love It Will Be Forever)

    OCTOBER 1972 - Billboard Charted #3

    Related Shows

    Bob Dylan and The Band: The Basement Tapes

    Bob Dylan and The Band: The Basement Tapes - Part 1

    Album #248 - June 1975

      0:00
      0:00
      Willie Nelson: Red Headed Stranger

      Willie Nelson: Red Headed Stranger

      Album #247 - May 1975

        0:00
        0:00
        Aerosmith - Toys in the Attic

        Aerosmith: Toys in the Attic

        Album #246 - April 1975

          0:00
          0:00
          Steely Dan Katy Lied

          Steely Dan: Katy Lied

          Album #245 - March 1975

            0:00
            0:00
            Young Americans - David Bowie

            David Bowie: Young Americans

            Album #244 - March 1975

              0:00
              0:00
              Earth, Wind & Fire: That's the Way of the World

              Earth, Wind & Fire: That's the Way of the World

              Album #243 - March 1975

                0:00
                0:00
                Led Zeppelin, Physical Graffiti,  In The Light, Bron-Yr-Aur, Down by the Seaside, Ten Years Gone, Night Flight, The Wanton Song, Boogie With Stu, Black Country Woman, Sick Again

                Led Zeppelin: Physical Graffiti - Part 2

                Album #242 - February 1975

                  0:00
                  0:00
                  Led Zeppelin: Physical Graffiti

                  Led Zeppelin: Physical Graffiti - Part 1

                  Album #242 - February 1975

                    0:00
                    0:00
                    Tower Of Power: Urban Renewal

                    Tower Of Power: Urban Renewal

                    Album #241 - January1975

                      0:00
                      0:00
                      Bob Dylan - Blood On The Tracks

                      Bob Dylan: Blood On The Tracks - Part 2

                      Album #240 - January 1975

                        0:00
                        0:00
                        Bob Dylan Blood On The Tracks

                        Bob Dylan: Blood On The Tracks - Part 1

                        Album #240 - January 1975

                          0:00
                          0:00
                          Roxy Music: Country Life

                          Roxy Music: Country Life

                          Album #239 - November 1974

                            0:00
                            0:00