Stevie Wonder: Talking Book

To summarize what I think about Stevie Wonder I’d like to use a single word: amazing. Although I had heard some of his songs before, I didn’t realize that it was him. From his first album, Talking Book, I was astounded at his constant talent and versatility. He kept surprising me at how far he could take music. By this time in the class, I feel as if I have heard a lot of artists that have covered almost every type of sound. Stevie Wonder is capable of once again forming a little niche in his realm of music and blow everybody else out of the water. I found it amazing that he was signed to a Motown record label at age 11! While he started out as a harmonica player, he quickly expanded his repertoire of instruments and quickly developed into a star. Oh, and I forgot to mention that he’s BLIND! Blindness offers so many challenges on a daily basis and Stevie Wonder seemed to merely ignore this disability and brush it aside as if it weren’t even there. Throughout his album, he continually impressed me with his musical finesse to the point where I forgot that he was doing all of this without his eyes. I’m not even that musically talented and I have all five senses! This perseverance through obstacles aided in his success as an artist.

Besides his blindness, Stevie Wonder offered so much to the musical realm. He proved himself as a very versatile artist. This versatility is illustrated in two main methods throughout the album. Looking at the album as a whole piece of work, Stevie Wonder almost formulaically alternates between slower and funky songs. This keeps the album listening entertaining. He mixes up lively pop sounds with slow ballads with wild funky Motown. While he maintains certain aspects that connect them together, this alternating allows for a break from each type of music and gives the listener an appreciation for each respective song. I personally get bored if an artist can only churn out music that all sounds the same. Stevie Wonder excellently avoids this.

His versatility is also shown through individual songs. If you were passively listening to his music, you would miss the underlying fact that for a lot of the songs, he played almost ALL the instruments. He puts together tracks in the recording studio that sound like a whole group of artists are performing, but it’s only one guy! And he’s blind! He was able to greatly expand his musical talent from merely a harmonica to a lovely singer and guitarist and bassists and drummer and… (Well, you get the picture).

Stevie Wonder is able to combine the soul of earlier Motown artists with the much appreciated funk sound of the 70s that ultimately distinguishes himself as an amazing artist. He acted as the bridge between Detroit and LA style Motown and his diversity makes him appealing to a variety of people and listeners. Getting into the more technical appeals, Stevie Wonder has a nice baritone voice that complements the wholesome sound of his occasional duet partner. In the songs they sing together like “You are the Sunshine of My Life”, they develop a fabric of vocals that ultimately adds to the whole jazzy pop vibe of the countermelody. Throughout the album, he also throws in some crazy bass lines and introductions that foreshadow the tone of the entire piece.

While there are so many hits to choose from on this album, I’ll only be able to post a couple on this blog that I really liked. Among my favorites include “Maybe Your Baby”, “You’ve Got It Bad Girl”, and of course “Superstition”! “Maybe Your Baby” gives you the funky side of Stevie Wonder with a wildly fluctuating bass line. “You’ve Got it Bad Girl” gives you the slower ballad style of Stevie Wonder and “Superstition” is just a phenomenal song. Check them out below: