At The Close Of A Century

Superb box set - 4 discs exploding with well-chosen content, no filler, exceptional sound quality, elegant booklet thick with terrific photos and useful information, sharp packaging. In 56 years, Stevie Wonder has woven himself into the American flag, everyone has a favorite song by "Little Stevie," we feel, in a sense, that he belongs to us and we to him. Because of this, it is easy to forget that he has been a revolutionary and constantly evolving creative dynamo for decades, touching millions of listeners and influencing an untold number of musicians.Stevie Wonder and I are almost exactly the same age, born a week apart; I've had the pleasure of being present for every step of his journey. I remember being 13, listening to a transistor radio (look it up), and hearing Fingertips Part II blaring out of an AM radio station. The energy, excitement, and pure funk were irresistible. (Turns out Marvin Gaye was playing drums on that track!) The Top 40 years as Motown's child prodigy are covered particularly well in this box set.When Wonder turned 21, he made the smartest decision of his life, and acted with incredible courage. Barry Gordy was running a plantation at Motown, exercising his unique gift for exploitation with regal power. Like Marvin Gaye, Stevie Wonder battled for complete independence, total creative control and ownership of all his material - Motown heresy. His first album reflecting the new relationship, Music Of My Mind, was completely groundbreaking, and Talking Book, which followed, was otherworldly and nearly perfect. (Blame It On The Sun, from Talking Book, sadly did not make the cut here.) This raises another point. Even though this compilation has been collected with tremendous care, there are still omissions. (Where is With Each Beat Of My Heart?) Wonder has been so prolific and so consistently great that even 4 discs cannot do him justice; amazing.The disks move chronologically, walking you through the evolution of a man who embodies the concept of a "complete package." Certainly he's a gifted performer, and a wonderful singer who holds nothing back. But his ability to compose a hit song is nothing short of masterful; it seems so simple when he does it. Most significant of all, I think, is the ability to roam the emotional landscape fearlessly - inviting us inside. Wonder makes himself vulnerable in a way that is virtually unknown. He takes you as high as you can stand and swoops down low to the places that could break you in half. Most of all, Little Stevie embraces life as it is. (As a child he used to climb trees and make his mother crazy with fear.) Personally I'm fond of Ribbon In The Sky but frankly, with Stevie, you simply can't go wrong.

This compilation packs as about as much of Stevie's best as you'd want in a 4-CD package. You get all the major hits and more from 1963 to virtually the end of the 20th century. It's the essential chronological discography of his career from "Little Stevie" to a full-blown, all-time legend. A must for Stevie fans.

Box sets are supposed to be comprehensive. There are not very many individuals who could do such a set of works without some filler. Not so here. Amazingly, Stevie Wonder's set, aptly titled to reference the past century (since he has recorded in most of it) even at four discs could have added a fifth or a even a sixth without losing a single step. With the same number of discs as the two volumes of Original Musicquarium, this set seems to span a longer time, and still include more hits.It starts as it must with the joyous songs which made Little Stevie Wonder the young legend: "Fingertips", "Uptight" and "Shoo-Be-Do-Be-Doo-Da-Day". Then some more mature love songs like "I was Made to Love Her" and "My Cherie Amour", and then serious works from Fulfillingness First Finale and the masterpieces of Innervisions and Songs in the Key of Life. It also includes his later works from Hotter Than July and thereafter.Listening to all this make you realize just how much great music Wonder has recorded over an incredible four or five decades. Sadly, though, the inescapable conclusion which I reached is that most of the best of his body of work came earlier. It would be unfair of us to expect every album to be an Innerisions or a S.I.T.K.O.L. It is kinda sad, though to listen and learn that he has not come up much of late which is as good as the music of the sixties and seventies.It is a great set by any standards. Unless your library has each and every Stevie Wonder album, this is a worthwhile purchase.

Stevie Wonder is one of those rare artists that believes you can change the world through music (U2, the Clash, Bob Marley and others are like him). He believes that music is such a powerful force that it maybe the only thing that can unite the world. Stevie attempted and succeeded on many levels in doing that. His song, "Happy Birthday" actually help us get MLK day in the US. He also took risks in his career for being active in black and poor people causes. His work on behalf of Africa is deserving of praise. Such a good man, who is humble about music deserves to be called one of the greatest artists ever and this collection explains why. Each cd represents an era in Stevie's career. All the music is AWESOME, but his development is what set him apart from his peers. I mean, can we honestly say that Elvis got better as his career went along. No, we can't say that. But we can say that about Stevie. This collection shows why I think that Stevie Wonder is the BEST R&B and POP artist ever!!

Stevie! So enjoying this beautifully done project I didn't know I would also get a photo book with a couple of great articles about Stevie. As I always do there is one city that I play again and again and again and again because it's the songs I was into when I was a young girl. Gotta love Stevie

What a wonderful compilation of Stevie Wonder! In addition to 70 songs, there is a comprehensive book with Stevie's story that contained many facts I had no idea about. For instance--did you know he was nearly killed being driven to an engagement by his cousin? I also love the fact that the songs are pretty much in the order they were released, starting with Fingertips Pt 1 &2, and ending with How Come, How Long. By using this format, you can really see (no pun intended) how Stevie's music progressed and improved.

thanks very much have only heard half of it but it seems good up until now

Love Stevie wonder

This box is a treat. Nice packaging, informative booklet and four superb discs. Stevie Wonder is a genious if only for his output in the seventies. Add his hits of the sixties (and the eighties) and you're in the presence of a legend. A great product to discover a major artist

Got his around Christmas and although I mixed it up for the Edel Earbook version, I was not disappointed by the production of the 4 CD compilation and mini book that came with the box set. The music is timeless and a good selection of Wonder's contribution to the music world.

The reason why I buy box sets is because there are so many artists I like, its impossible to purchase and listen to every song or album. Therefore, the box set usually contains the best of the best of a chosen artist which enables me to span the artist's career. Stevie Wonder's at the close of the century is exactly what I was looking for to learn about his music and and parts of his life. Well worth the price.