Rhinofy-Talking Book

Once upon a time Stevie Wonder was a washed-up teen phenom, the Justin Bieber of his era, if Bieber were truly talented.

Oh, that’s unfair. Just give a listen to 1971’s "Greatest Hits, Vol. 2". It’s the forgotten tracks that kill. Give a spin to "Shoo-Be-Doo-Be-Doo-Da-Day". It positively SWINGS! I know you dance in the club today to those bass-heavy tracks, but "Shoo-Be-Doo-Be-Doo-Da-Day" is like a virus, it infects you, makes you hop around like a jumping bean. At 2:47, it’s too short, you’ve just got to play it again and again and again. Then there’s the exquisite cover of "We Can Work It Out". I find most Beatles covers forgettable, a pale shadow of the original. But Stevie adds something here, the keyboard treatment if nothing else! And there’s the monster hit "For Once In My Life" and "Signed, Sealed, Delivered (I’m Yours)". "Signed, Sealed, Delivered (I’m Yours)" is just as infectious as "Shoo-Be-Doo-Be-Doo-Da-Day" and the groove is just as hooky, this is why Motown is legendary. And Stevie had a hand in writing "Shoo-Be-Doo-Be-Doo-Da-Day" and "Signed, Sealed, Delivered (I’m Yours)" but nobody knew that, Stevie Wonder was just another one of the cavalcade of stars at Berry Gordy’s label.

Wrong.

Stevie was a kid who’d put in his 10,000 hours and suddenly wanted to do it his way, wanted to break out of the singles business and make album-long statements. And he did this, with 1972’s "Music Of My Mind", it’s just that the white people didn’t find out. Stevie was playing by rock rules, but looking at the album cover, closing their minds to greatness, "Music Of My Mind" never received the accolades it deserved. Sure, Stevie opened the Stones’ tour, but most people were unfamiliar with the songs, his band was tight and he killed but the audience didn’t get it (I know, I was there…)

But then came "Talking Book".

Rihanna may put out an album every year, but "Music Of My Mind" was released on March 3, 1972, and "Talking Book" came out on the 28th of October of the same damn year!

1. "Superstition"

This was the single. It’s got a groove as rock steady as the ones in "Shoo-Be-Doo-Be-Doo-Da-Day" and "Signed, Sealed, Delivered (I’m Yours)", but it was slowed down, there was a sensuality that could not be denied.

But there was SO MUCH MORE!

First and foremost, there was the clavinet. A sound so new, this was the aural equivalent of the morphing in Michael Jackson’s "Black Or White" video.

Then there were the horns.

And the way Stevie YELLED!

Originally written for Jeff Beck, and eventually recorded by the guitarist with his group Beck, Bogert & Appice, "Superstition" was too good to give away, Stevie kept it for himself.

2. "Big Brother"

But one hit does not make you buy an album.

But this woman, I guess you could call her a girl back then, aged 19, who clung a bit too much and evidenced a bit too much of her New York City upbringing, cornered me one day on campus and said I HAD to hear "Talking Book", that I would love it. I didn’t go to her room, I should have, lord knows what would have transpired, but I did buy the album and what closed me was this track.

I started with side two, which opened with "Superstition", and then flowed into this.

"Big Brother" sounded like a SoCal country rock record. If it were made in the inner city. The guitar figure was infectious enough, but then there was the harmonica, the lyrics and the vocalization. I kept getting up and dropping the needle on this track over and over and over again. You should hear it on vinyl, it’s so RICH!

3. "Blame It On The Sun"

Other artists could have built entire careers on "Blame It On The Sun". It evidences heartbreak without being maudlin. Stevie was rocking out on "Superstition", prancing on "Big Brother" and all of a sudden he’s got this monstrous ballad, with the sneaky line "But my heart blames it on me" that turns your guts and bonds you to the track.

4. "Lookin’ For Another Pure Love"

What can I say is wrong with "Lookin’ For Another Pure Love" other than I like "Blame It On The Sun" better? Not only does this song follow "Blame It On The Sun" on the album, it follows it conceptually, he’s back in the game, he’s got some sunniness, but still some questions. "Lookin’ For Another Pure Love" is the quintessential album track, something that sneaks up on you as you play the side, that didn’t hook you at first but becomes part of your DNA.

5. "I Believe (When I Fall In Love It Will Be Forever)"

Now there’s a piano intro, the track is positively symphonic!

Shattered dreams, worthless years,
Here am I encased inside a hollow shell,
Life began, then was done,
Now I stare into a cold and empty well.

Not bragging, certainly not nonsense, the lyrics are truly heartfelt, but still the verse is no match for the chorus.

Isn’t that what we all want? To fall in love forever?

Playing the field is overrated.

But it’s the endless ending, a la "Hey Jude", that puts " I Believe (When I Fall In Love It Will Be Forever)" over the top. It’s positively joyous!

Meanwhile, Peter Frampton did a note perfect cover on "Frampton’s Camel". I bet many listeners had no idea it was a Stevie Wonder song.

6. "You Are The Sunshine Of My Life"

One of the great joys of my life was hearing my father sing along to "You Are The Sunshine Of My Life" on the beautiful music station and telling him it was a STEVIE WONDER SONG! Moe never cottoned to rock and roll. This was proof to him that my music had value, not that he acknowledged it (but he did love the Moody Blues’s "Days Of Future Passed"!)

"You Are The Sunshine Of My Life" was the coronation, Stevie was not only back, he was triumphant, the publicity kicked in, he became what he deserved to be, the biggest star in the land.

7. "Maybe Your Baby"

It’s so FUNKY! As if the music is being played through molasses. It’s sticky like one of those Ohio Players album covers. Then, the whole track almost goes sotto voce…

Maybe your baby done made some other plans.

And the electric guitar is wailing, however deep it is in the mix (and played by Ray Parker, Jr. of eventual "Ghostbusters" fame!) and all one can say is Stevie gives George Clinton a run for his money.

8. "You And I (We Can Conquer The World)"

Reminiscent of some of the schmaltzy cuts from his previous work, we listened because the rest of the album had enraptured us. Then again, the vocal treatment was unique, it made it sound like Stevie was singing to us from outer space.

9. "Tuesday Heartbreak"

It swings. It’s reminiscent of great Quincy Jones work. It’s light and breezy but you can’t help but move your body.

And then there’s the chorus:

I wanna be with you when the nighttime comes,
I wanna stay with you till the morning runs,
I wanna, baby, baby, baby, it’s alright.

You’ve got to hear Stevie sing "baby, baby, baby". It’s got all the sexual energy of someone who finally got in the pants of his desire and never wants to let go.

Remember the rush of falling in love and wanting to spend all your time with somebody, eating, showering, screwing, going to the movies? "Tuesday Heartbreak" sounds like that.


10. "You’ve Got It Bad Girl"

Like "Lookin’ For Another Pure Love" on the second side, "You’ve Got It Bad Girl" sneaks up on you. And it’s the subtle numbers that eventually become your favorites.

Stevie wrote all the songs, with a bit of lyrical help from Syreeta and Yvonne Wright, and played so many of the instruments. Then again, one must credit associate producers, engineers and programmers Malcolm Cecil and Robert Margouleff, they were responsible for so much of the innovative sound of "Talking Book".

Yes, "Talking Book" sounded not quite like anything else that had come before.

But it was just the beginning.

Thereafter came 1973’s "Innervisions", 1974’s "Fulfillingness’ First Finale" and 1976’s "Songs In The Key Of Life".

Although the double album "Songs In The Key Of Life" got the most positive response, I always believed it was about the trilogy of the prior three albums. No other act has gone on a run like this, either before or since, other than the Beatles.

And back then everybody realized it. Which is one of the reasons that Stevie Wonder is still revered today, despite his spotty output thereafter.

Then again, who wouldn’t be spent after such prodigious work?

If you want to know why Stevie Wonder is a legend today, start with "Talking Book". The files are good, the CD is better, but if you can lay your hands on the original vinyl album you’ll notice the Braille on the cover… Stevie Wonder delivered his world to us, and we’ve been forever enriched as a result. Stevie Wonder brought blacks and whites together, did almost as much for integration as Martin Luther King, Jr. And it all came down to the sound. You couldn’t shrug off "Talking Book", it was UNDENIABLE!

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