Stevie Wonder At The Close Of A Century CD

Includes 96-page full-color booklet.
Personnel includes: Stevie Wonder (vocals, various instruments, harmonica, piano, Fender Rhodes piano, Clavinet, keyboards, Moog & ARP synthesizers, drums, cabasa, percussion, vocoder, sound effects); Luther Vandross (vocals); Dean Parks (acoustic & electric guitars); Babyface (acoustic guitar, keyboards, background vocals); Michael Sembello, Buzzy Feiton, Earl Klugh (guitar); Bobbi Humphrey (flute); Greg Phillinganes (piano, keyboards); Herbie Hancock (keyboards); James Jamerson (acoustic & electric basses); Nathan East (bass); Benny Benjamin, Uriel Jones (drums); Lenny Castro (congas); Sheila E. (percussion); Betty Wright, Michael Jackson, Minnie Ripperton, Paul Anka, George Benson, Philip Bailey (background vocals).
Producers include: Berry Gordy, Henry Cosby, Clarence Paul, Don Hunter, Harvey Fuqua.
Compilation producer: Harry Weinger.
Includes liner notes by David Ritz and Leonard Pitts Jr.
Digitally remastered using 24-bit technology by Kevin Reeves.
Personnel: Stevie Wonder (Fender Rhodes piano, drums); Dean Parks, Ben Bridges (guitar, acoustic guitar); Earl Klugh, Michael Sembello (guitar); Ralph Hammer (acoustic guitar); David T. Walker (electric guitar); Hank DeVito (steel guitar); Dorothy Ashby (harp); Bobbi Humphrey (flute); Hank Redd (saxophone, alto saxophone); Bob Malach (saxophone); Raymond Maldonado (trumpet, percussion); Steve Madaio, Larry Gittens (trumpet); Clarence Bell (organ); Greg Phillinganes, Herbie Hancock (keyboards); Malcolm Cecil, Robert Margouleff (ARP synthesizer, Moog synthesizer); James Jamerson (acoustic bass); Dennis Davis, Alvino Bennett, Raymond Lee Pounds (drums); Rocky Dzidzornu, Lenny Castro, Daniel Ben Zebulon (congas); Sheila Wilkerson (bongos); Yusuf Roahman (shaker); Nathan Alford, Jr., Sheila E., Nathan Watts, Earl DeRouen, Bobbye Hall (percussion); Robert A. Arbittier (computer); Minnie Riperton, The Jackson 5 (background vocals).
Audio Mixer: Kevin Reeves.
Arrangers: Clarence Paul; Paul Riser; Stevie Wonder; David Van De Pitte.
He's been called one of the most influential performers and songwriters of the century, but until 1999 Stevie Wonder didn't even have a box set to call his own. Such was the reissue campaign at Motown that, until very recently, some of the best pop music of the '60s sounded poorer in reissue form than when it was first played on AM radio. In 1996, the long-awaited Stevie Wonder digital-age hits package Song Review reached the shelves, but it didn't even follow compilation etiquette (that is, chronological order). Finally, At the Close of a Century made everything right -- complete with digital remastering, near-perfect sound, complete coverage of his epic career, an attractive design, and copious liner notes and pictures. The box, a four-disc set spanning 1962 to 1996, debuts with "Fingertips, Pts. 1 & 2," the long-unheard seven-minute version of his first hit. The first disc includes every hit that fans can remember, including great-sounding versions of "Uptight (Everything's Alright)" and "Hey Love," plus plenty of moderate hits they may not remember, like his definitive cover of the Beatles' "We Can Work It Out." Disc two features more than a dozen of his biggest hits, including "Superstition," "You Are the Sunshine of My Life," "Living for the City," "Higher Ground," and "Boogie On Reggae Woman." Disc three begins with no less than nine tracks from Songs in the Key of Life, his standout double album from 1976. Right into the '80s and '90s, Stevie Wonder remained at the top of the charts, with hits like "Rocket Love," "Master Blaster (Jammin')," "Happy Birthday," "I Just Called to Say I Love You," and "Part-Time Lover." It took far too long, but Motown finally issued a box set worthy of Stevie Wonder's continuing artistry. ~ John Bush
The 4-CD set AT THE CLOSE OF A CENTURY is a chronological history of Stevie Wonder's commercial successes. The first CD documents his early Motown years onEntertainment Weekly (12/17/99, p.81) - "...Not a dud among them - boxed sets don't get much better than this....in a word, magnificent..." - Rating: A+
Q (1/01, p.95) - Included in Q's "5 Best Re-Issues of 2000".
Q (5/00, pp.122-3) - 5 stars out of 5 - "...The most consistent and intriguing artist America has produced....70 clunker-free tracks....Only the absolute cream is here..."
CMJ (2/7/00, p.24) - "...This remarkable collection contains most of his familiar classics, focusing on material from the 70s....Stevie at his funkiest can rival any singer-songwriter of any era..."
The Source (3/00, p.258) - "...a wonderfully exhaustive crash course on r&b music....this retrospective is a must-have. It's a firm testament to Wonder's unquestionable genius..."
Mojo (Publisher) (5/00, p.96) - "...His career demonstrates [that] genius has no off-switch....his abundant natural gifts were driven by twin urges of innovation and emancipation..."
NME (Magazine) (3/25/00, p.40) - 8 out of 10 - "...The definitive voice of soul rapture....[this is] incontrovertibly fantastic music."