Stevie Wonder’s The Definitive Collection is now out on vinyl for the first time. The best-selling compilation has been remastered and features classics like “Superstition,” “Higher Ground,” “Signed, Sealed, Delivered I’m Yours,” and more. In addition to the release, the collection has just been certified 4x platinum by the RIAA.
The remastered 2LP package arrives in a gatefold package with Braille embossing, rare photos from the Motown Archives, track-by-track annotations, and an essay by Scott Regen, a Detroit DJ turned Motown staff writer and producer who penned the liner notes to Wonder’s first Greatest Hits album in 1968. Exclusive vinyl versions in an assortment of colors and designs, including a litho and an alternate album cover, are available at various retailers.
At 21 tracks, The Definitive Collection captures Wonder’s groundbreaking career, beginning with 1963’s “Fingertips – Pt. 2,” which became a No. 1 hit when Wonder was thirteen-years-old. The compilation includes early-career hits like “Uptight (Everything’s Alright),” “I Was Made To Love Her,” “For Once in My Life,” and “My Cherie Amour.” It also features the Down to Earth album closer “Hey Love.” The collection then dives into Wonder’s classic ’70s period with tracks like “You Are the Sunshine of My Life,” “Living For the City,” “Sir Duke,” and more.
Wonder’s ’80s records like Hotter Than July and In Square Circle are represented by tracks like “Master Blaster (Jammin’)” and “Part-Time Lover.” The collection also includes “I Just Called To Say I Love You” as well as “That Girl” and “Do I Do,” which first appeared on the 1982 compilation Stevie Wonder’s Original Musiquarium I.
From 1972 to 1976, Wonder was on a legendary hot streak, releasing five albums on Motown Records’ Tamla imprint: Music of My Mind, Talking Book, Innervisions, Fulfillingness’ First Finale, and Songs in the Key of Life. These records assured Wonder’s place in music history and awarded him with 12 Grammys as well as an additional one for Non-Classical Producer of the Year. This “classic period” is the subject of a new podcast, The Wonder of Stevie. The seven episode series is hosted by two-time Pulitzer Prize-winning culture critic Wesley Morris and features conversations with Wonder and a variety of A-list fans.
Order The Definitive Collection by Stevie Wonder on vinyl.