Music
Store



Search Advanced SearchView Cart   Checkout   
 Location:  Home » Music » Psychedelic Rock » Stevie Wonder - Song Review: Greatest Hits  
Music Home

  • Music Lyrics
  • Top 10 Music
  • New Music Releases
  • Music News


  • Movie Store
  • Book Store
  • Game Store
  • Software Store
  • Tool Store
  • Shopping Mall
  • Categories
    Music
    Music DVDs
    Musical Instruments
    Related Categories
    • Psychedelic Rock
    Classic Rock
    Styles
    Music
    • General
    Pop
    Styles
    Music
    • General
    R&B
    Styles
    Music
    • Classic R&B
    R&B
    Styles
    Music
    • General
    Funk
    R&B
    Styles
    Music
    • Motown
    R&B
    Styles
    Music
    • General AAS
    Soul
    R&B
    Styles
    Music
    • General
    Rock
    Styles
    Music
    • Universal Music Enterprises: The Universal Soundtrack to Your Life
    Specialty Stores
    Music
    • CD Album
    CD
    Format (binding)
    Refinements
    Music
    • Main Album
    Edition (format)
    Refinements
    Music
    Stevie Wonder - Song Review: Greatest Hits
    Stevie Wonder - Song Review: Greatest Hits

    zoom enlarge 
    Artist: Stevie Wonder
    Label: Motown
    Category: Music

    List Price: $29.98
    Buy Used: $8.20
    You Save: $21.78 (73%)



    New (34) Used (34) from $8.20

    Avg. Customer Rating: 4.0 out of 5 stars 72 reviews
    Sales Rank: 10772

    Media: Audio CD
    Discs: 2
    Shipping Weight (lbs): 0.2
    Dimensions (in): 5.6 x 5 x 0.5

    MPN: 530767
    UPC: 731453076723
    EAN: 0731453076723
    ASIN: B000001ABD

    Release Date: December 10, 1996
    Availability: Usually ships in 1-2 business days

    Tracks:

      Disc 1
      • Part-Time Lover
      • I Just Called to Say I Love You
      • Superstition
      • Sir Duke
      • My Cherie Amour - Stevie Wonder, Cosby, Henry
      • I Was Made to Love Her - Stevie Wonder, Cosby, Henry
      • Overjoyed
      • Hey Love - Stevie Wonder, Broadnax, Morris
      • Signed, Sealed, Delivered I'm Yours - Stevie Wonder, Garrett, Lee
      • You Are the Sunshine of My Life
      • Ribbon in the Sky
      • Master Blaster (Jammin')
      • Living for the City
      • Uptight (Everything's Alright) - Stevie Wonder, Cosby, Henry
      • Lately
      • Do I Do

      Disc 2
      • Send One Your Love
      • Ebony and Ivory - Stevie Wonder, McCartney, Paul
      • All I Do - Stevie Wonder, Broadnax, Morris
      • That Girl
      • For Your Love
      • I Wish
      • You Will Know
      • Boogie on Reggae Woman
      • Higher Ground
      • These Three Words
      • Stay Gold - Stevie Wonder, Coppola, Carmine
      • Love Light in Flight
      • Kiss Lonely Good-Bye
      • Hold on to Your Dream - Stevie Wonder,
      • Redemption Song - Stevie Wonder, Marley, Bob

    Similar Items:

      • Songs in the Key of Life
      • Stevie Wonder - The Definitive Collection
      • Earth Wind & Fire: Greatest Hits
      • The Definitive Collection
      • Innervisions

    Editorial Reviews:

    Amazon.com
    Thirty or so of Stevie Wonder's biggest hits--many of them enduring classics--make up this double disc. That's the good news. The bad news is that they're sequenced here about as well (or maybe not) as your CD player's "random" function might do it. Leading off with "Part-Time Lover"--a major chart record, no doubt, but hardly the rouser you'd expect for an opener--is puzzling enough. It's when the programming starts veering from highlights of his self-produced period ("Sir Duke") to Motown assembly-line pieces ("My Cherie Amour") that the head-scratching really begins. And don't try to count the great moments that are missing. This will do in a pinch, but if you own no Stevie, be advised that better overviews of Wonder's career (the finest by far being the four-CD box At the Close of a Century) are available. --Rickey Wright


    Customer Reviews:   Read 67 more reviews...

    2 out of 5 stars A head scratcher..better compilations are available   December 23, 2001
     30 out of 34 found this review helpful

    First things first: Stevie Wonder's album output of the '70s is
    among the finest continuous strings in the history of
    popular recorded music. Of that there cannot be any
    argument. What can be argued is that there has never been
    a wholly satisfactory compiliation that summarizes his entire
    career, save for the 4CD set "End of a Century". Admittedly,
    it's a difficult task, since you need to cover the '60s
    Motown "factory" era, which yielded a lot of great pop/R&B
    singles, the '80s and '90s which yielded a few delights,
    though they are too sparsly scattered, and the '70s which
    are hard to distill at all, since the original albums are so consistently strong.

    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.


    5 out of 5 stars A breathtaking testament to an incomparable career   April 27, 2000
     20 out of 25 found this review helpful

    The 60's, 70's, 80's, 90's...R&B, pop, jazz, dance...piano, vocals, drums, harmonica...you name it, Stevie Wonder has conquered and excelled in it. And "Song Review," a 31-track retrospective of his career, is about as close to perfect as you can get.

    It's hard to say exactly what's the most striking: his intricate, layered production that lets you hear new nuances with each listen; his writing, full of lush and jazzy chord progressions and structures; or his voice, that remarkable instrument that can, with equal ease and success, joyously deliver a romantic love song or stir the soul with the pain and longing inspired by one of his commentaries on the wrongs of society.

    Of course, his funk is the most fun: modern groups like the Brand New Heavies or Jamiroquai still have yet to achieve the likes of "Superstition," "I Know," or "Boogie On Reggae Woman"...the rhythms and keyboard parts of these songs seep under your skin until your body is awash with the groove. The same can be said for his more pop-flavored material, such as the delightful "Sir Duke," and especially "That Girl," the ultimate in high-quality, 80's slickness.

    But Wonder's ballads are certainly the most compelling of his work. His voice has the quality to open up and simply ache, so when he sings the longing lyrics of "Overjoyed," paired with gorgeous chord progressions, it makes for one of the most beautiful ballads ever recorded. "You Are the Sunshine of My Life" and "Ribbon in the Sky" are timeless treasures, and "My Cherie Amour," Stevie's 1969 classic, still holds up as a classic that can bring out the romantic in anyone.

    As with most greatest-hits packages, some of the song selections are puzzling: where is "Isn't She Lovely," one of his biggest hits? And what about "Superwoman (Where Were You When I Needed You)"? Surely these two classics could have been included instead of the lackluster ballad "Stay Gold" and Stevie's adequate but not essential cover of Bob Marley's "Redemption Song." (And does anybody really need to give another listen to the ultimate in bland, mid-80's cheese, otherwise known as "Ebony & Ivory" with Paul McCartney?) Still, these are small complaints: for soul-stirring vocals, infectious musical landscapes and sheer songwriting brilliance, "Song Review: A Greatest Hits Collection" is a treasure to behold.


    5 out of 5 stars I LOVE STEVIE!   November 29, 1999
     19 out of 20 found this review helpful

    This is a definite treat for any Stevie Wonder fan. You will definitely get your fill. I was disappointed that this greatest hits collection did not include the WONDERful song "Isn't She Lovely" and the beautiful love song "As" both from the "Songs in the Key of Life" collection. I still gave it 5 stars though because I absolutely love Stevie. Peace!


    4 out of 5 stars Something for Everybody   February 5, 2000
     16 out of 16 found this review helpful

    Although Original Musiquarium & At The Close of A Century are better compilations,Song Review is a less expensive more well rounded collection,as well as a recommendation for the uninitiated.Unlike Musiquarium, that focuses on his brilliant 1972-1980 work,Song Review also features his 60's & 80's work.And for the Stevie fan,it featues the first appearance of Ebony & Ivory and Stay Gold(from The Outsiders) on a Stevie Wonder collection.Also a bonus are the single mixes of many songs making it a blessing when making Stevie mix tapes.The only problem is a "thrown together" feel of the sequencing,where different era & song styles don't mesh.And like many compilations,some essential songs aren't included in favor of others thats on every compilation(where's You Haven't Done Nothing, a #1 hit , If You Really Love Me,Shoo-Be-doo...)and the editing of the 10 minute plus Do I Do & the 6 Minute Lovelight In Flight would've left room for more songs.In all this should be a starting point for people getting into Stevie's Music.Then from there Innervision,Talking Book,Fullfillingness...you get the picture.


    4 out of 5 stars Its a tease   March 16, 2002
     13 out of 15 found this review helpful

    If you are a avid Stevie Wonder fan like myself you would consider yourself disappointed by the way Song Review is put together. My biggest problem is the songs are randonmly put together. This being said its hard for fans to see his musical progression from the 60's, 70's and 80's. Also with any Greatest Hits collection some of his most groundbreaking work is missing such "As", "Isn't she Lovely" among my personal favorites. Yet the cd isn't all bad as you can hear the beautiful ballads and roaring funk that Stevie Wonder has protrayed all through his incredible career.


    Proud member of the JimmyKat Network. Make sure you check out these other great JimmyKat network sites:

    Lyrics Database   Celebrity Blog   Celebrity Thing   Celebrity PC   Celebrity Latest   Celebrity Pro   Travel Photos   Quotes   Flash Games


    Is there a better
    price available?


    Find out: