The All-TIME 100 Albums: Talking Book by Stevie Wonder

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The All-TIME 100 Albums

61 of 101

By Alan Light Published: November 13, 2006

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ALBUM: Talking Book

YEAR RELEASED: 1972 LABEL: UMG Recordings ARTIST: Stevie Wonder

TIME 100 ALBUMS PODCASTS

PODCAST: Welcome to the All-TIME 100 Albums - the musical compilations of the last half-century that need no introduction. That said, listen in below as music critics Josh Tyrangiel and Alan Light introduce the list and talk about the top albums of the 1950s and '60s.

PODCAST: We know. Twenty-nine of the 100 greatest albums of all time come in the 1970s, and Pink Floyd isn't there. Play this podcast to learn why we picked the titles we did, and if you have something to say, tell us about it using the talkback link below.

PODCAST: Maybe it's a Sign O' The Times that you're listening to critics' audio recordings about great music, but this podcast about how we chose the best albums of the 1980s really is a Thriller. Give it a listen below.

PODCAST: Here's music even the younger set will know by heart. Listen to selected clips from the 1990s through present day as music critic Josh Tyrangiel discusses his picks.

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When he reached the age of majority, former child prodigy Stevie Wonder renegotiated a contract with Motown Records that granted him creative independence. This was big news as a business move — but when you're dealing with perhaps the purest raw talent in pop music, "independence" takes on another meaning. His first release under these terms, Music Of My Mind, demonstrated that Wonder could work as a truly self-contained unit — writing and producing all the songs, and playing virtually all the instruments, entirely alone. His next album, Talking Book, secured his position as the reigning genius of his era. With earth-shaking funk ("Superstition"), candy-coated pop ("You Are the Sunshine of My Life"), and an emotional range from the blues of "Maybe Your Baby" to the soaring exuberance of "I Believe (When I Fall in Love It Will Be Forever)," in a career full of classics, Talking Book is Stevie's most perfect album.