That said, this collection is just not very good. The
sequencing is ridiculous (starting with the disposable
"Part Time Lover"?) and the track selection is questionable
(a lot of grade A tracks were left off so that...what?...they
could include "Ebony and Ivory"?) Ounce for ounce, Original
Musicquarium, a good if too-short compilation of the '70s
is a better bet. You could couple Original Musiquarium
with a '60s hits compilation (unfortunately, there's not
good definitive '60s set, but I guess you could go with
Greatest Hits Vol I [too bad Motown & Stevie haven't seen fit
to reissue the excellent 3LP "Looking Back" which DID cover
the '60s stuff properly) and get most of the essential Stevie
Wonder. But at that point, you'd still be missing the few
highlights from the 80s and 90s. For example, the brilliant
Overjoyed (good tune and dig that incredible phrasing) and
Stevie's terrific cover of Bob Marley's "Redemption Song" which
is available on no other compilation but this one.

At the end of the day, the Stevie Wonder compilation catalogue
is still something of a mess (due in no small part to the
fact that Stevie has veto power over any Motown reissue), and
IMHO you're left with only two good alternatives: The 4 CD
"End of a Century", which is quite good, even if it is also
completely obvious in track selection, or the 2CD Original
Musiquarium. Or, heck, go back and buy the '70s albums, since
they are truly all worth owning in their entirty anyway, then
maybe break down and buy In Circle Square because you HAVE
to own Overjoyed. Maybe.


Song Preview: Greatest Bits   October 26, 2003
who1zep (Kentucky Wildcats!)
12 out of 12 found this review helpful

This collection suffers from the same problem that afflicted Pat Benatar's "All Fired Up: The Best of ..." and David Bowie's "Singles Collection" -- if the record company could find a shorter version, they used it. What follows is the time for some of my favorite songs (not a complete list), with the version found on "At the Close of the Century" versus "Song Preview":

Superstition 4:26 > 4:02
Living For The City 7:23 > 3:41
Higher Ground 3:42 > 3:09
Boogie On Reggae Woman 5:13 > 4:09
Master Blaster (Jammin') 5:09 > 4:49
Part Time Lover 4:12 > 3:43

Here are some of the bigger songs missing from Song Preview that you'll find on Century:

Shoo-Be-Doo-Be-Doo-Da-Day
Until You Come Back To Me
For Once In My Life
Yester-Me, Yester-You, Yesterday
We Can Work It Out
If You Really Love Me
Superwoman
Isn't She Lovely
You Haven't Done Nothin'
...and a few others (Century is 4 CDs)

Don't fool around with this package -- get Century. Century also supplants "Original Musiquarium", which also had the full-length versions but is missing many tracks included on Century.


Nice Try   April 22, 2002
9 out of 9 found this review helpful

Stevie Wonder is one of the most spectacular artists still living today. I understand how hard it is to try to consolidate ALL of the major hits of such an artist. The task is mind-blowing. Yet you would think the people who put this together would at least start in a particular order (chronological maybe). Starting with square one is usually important, especially for new fans. After we're past that fact, then we see that they are missing some very important milestone songs. You might want to put an artist's first major hit on the album (FINGERTIPS)! Other songs were not nearly as important: "Love's Light in Flight", "Hold On to Your Dreams", and "Hey Love" to name a few could have easily been replaced with hits like: "For Once In My Life", "Knocks Me Off MY Feet" or even "Isn't She Lovely".

To 2 CD set's credit, there are some very commendable liner notes by someone obviously pretty educated (from Stanford). There are also rare songs like "Ebony and Ivory", "The Redemption Song", and quiet hits like "That Girl", "All I Do", and "Kiss Lonely Goodbye" which is not on the box set. This is a good CD if you just want to hear some Stevie Wonder (nothing wrong with that). For true fans, you may want to get a more extensive album (Looking Back, Essential, and At the Close of a Century). Although this CD set does not have everything, it has enough for me to say that I wouldn't trade it for the world. The rare tracks and selective arrangement make this an album to take into consideration.