Talking Book is the fifteenth studio album by American singer, songwriter, and musician Stevie Wonder, released on October 28, 1972, by Tamla, a subsidiary of Motown Records. This album and Music of My Mind, released earlier the same year, are generally considered to mark the start of Wonder's "classic period". The sound of the album is sharply defined by Wonder's use of keyboards and synthesizers.
The album peaked at number three on the Billboard Top LPs chart and finished at number three on Billboard's year-end chart for 1973. "Superstition" reached number one on the Billboard Hot 100 and Hot Soul Singles charts, and "You Are the Sunshine of My Life" hit number one on the Hot 100 and Easy Listening charts. Talking Book earned Wonder his first Grammy Award, with "You Are the Sunshine of My Life" winning Best Male Pop Vocal Performance at the 16th Grammy Awards; "Superstition" also won Best Male R&B Vocal Performance and Best R&B Song. Often included in lists of the greatest albums of all time, Talking Book was voted number 322 in the third edition of Colin Larkin's All Time Top 1000 Albums (2000), and Rolling Stone ranked it number 59 on its list of the 500 Greatest Albums of All Time.
IMO Stevie is at his best when he does the funky soul numbers. Superstition is one of his most iconic songs, with killer guitar hooks and I love his funky snarling voice. But this album is marred by syrupy maudlin commercial tracks meant to sell records such as You are the sunshine, You and I, Looking for another pure love, and I believe. Yuck. If it had more Superstition it would be a 4 but the dreck pulls it down unfortunately
Lovely relaxed vocals but the lyrics are too sickly sweet for my tastes and a bit repetitive. Superstition is amazing. Stevie Wonder's real name is Stevland Morris. 3/5
Arguably Stevie Wonder's best album, although I prefer "Innervisions" and "Songs in the Key of Life." Inarguably among one of the 1001 greatest albums of all time. "Maybe Your Baby" is an electro jam that feels contemporary in 2021. "Superstition" is an unskippable track for all people and all times.
For every bit of magic on this album, there's something a little powderpuff about much of the rest of the material. I know we are all supposed to consider Stevie Wonder a genius, but Innervisions aside I'm not sure he's ever hit that kind of consistency. The funk-soul equivalent to Iron Maiden, then; stellar moments and a hogshead of filler
I went down the rabbit hole with Stevie Wonder after listening to this.... he has so many more catchy hits than I realized, many that have been covered so many times..... my favorite will always be 'Don't you worry 'bout a thing' but my newest discovery rivals my favorite - - 'Pastime paradise'; I'd never listened to the original, only the cover - Gangster's paradise
nuh uh. how can this guy be blind. theres no way. now i have no excuse to be shit at anything. im not even blind, only slightly fat.
fav songs: youre the sunshine of my life, maybe your baby, youve got it bad girl, blame it on the sun, i believe.
One of my all time favourite songs on this album - Superstition. So was looking forward to this, but i am sorry this song couldnot carry the rest of the album. It mostly sounded like lounge music to me. 2 Stars
This is the album that has "Superstition" on it, the rest of the album is pretty forgettable electronic keyboard and sleepy soulless blabbering. Songs just boring and don't go anywhere, like an essay written to pad length.
Stevie has an ass ton of funk in his left hand. His 70's output is unrivaled in the funk/soul/r&b genre in my opinion. This was like seeing an old friend when it popped up this morning.
I feel like Stevie was hanging out with the other producers of this album saying, I like the song Maybe Your Baby, but I think it needs a groovy fuzzed out guitar solo. And they said, well Stevie, who you gonna call?
this is one of my favourite albums of all time! a smile came to my face when i saw this was our next album to listen to ! every song unfolds so well together one after another! literally every single song is perfect !!! 5/5
Typical Stevie Wonder album, Some of the best music ever and some of the most self indulgent crap on the same disk. Loved some of it but hated that I didn't love it all.
I love me some Stevie, and seeing him on this list will likely surprise no one.
I think I actually own this record, but hadn't listened to it before today. I own and have listened to Songs in the Key of Life, and Hotter Than July, the latter of which I bought in a head shop in Macomb along with a book on how propaganda was making men's fashion more feminine (I threw away the book, still have the record).
Anyway, based on my limited experience with his discography, Stevie's music is super consistent, and a joy. When I go back to hosting game nights again, I will be sure to dust off my copy of Talking Book.
My personal enjoyment: 4/5
Did it belong on this list: 5/5
Undoubtedly a genius, sometimes his tracks are just too cheesy. However, when he wants to get funky then his squelching synths and cry baby bass is amazing. Best Tracks: Maybe Your Baby; Tuesday Heartbreak; Superstition
An album of two halves. The well known tracks are some of Stevie's best. The album tracks are a bit bland and dull, frankly. However, any record with a song as strong as I Believe can't be all bad, right? For me, Innervisions is a better record for the cohesion and clarity of purpose.
I'm not sure what they hype about this album is. Stevie slowed it down way too much through the vast majority of this.
Superstition is miles ahead of anything else on the album. The rest of this is completely skippable.
1.10 stars
The Good: We don’t have to read!
The Bad: Is that because we too are blind??
The Ugly: The album cover…
YES!!! Finally!!!
After roughly a 2 week drought with only 1* or 2* albums, I finally got all exited with today’s offering.
What can I say? I’ve been listening to this album since, at least, 1976, potentially before, but my memory there is a little clouded.
I love this album to death. Probably top 3 albums ever.
Talking Book spoke to me when I did not even understand the English language. Even today, just listening to the music gives me goosebumps.
I used to play this album on one of those 3-in-1 contraptions, that closed like a small suitcase: 2 shitty speakers, a radio that received about half the channels as the antenna was shit, a cassette player that just did what it was supposed to do… eat cassettes when you didn’t want it to, and the record player with a needle that could poke holes into your soul!
I wish I still had that record.
I wish I still had that 3-in-1.
I wish I could go back and just hang out for a while back in those lovely ‘70s years…
I wish…
While reading some of the comments from other listeners I felt the need to have a chat with them—though my initial reaction was that I should slap some sense into them, until I realized that I might be lambasting their favorite albums…
So people think that this album has too many catchy hooks, that it is sappy, filled with “sellable” songs… Go listen to the album again. Listen to the words on Big Brother, which today is applicable still, for all races.
Anyway, 5* with a +++++
Absolutely outstanding and unique view of Stevie’s music. Not being super familiar with his work outside of any of the hits, this really helped me appreciate a bit more of the work that I guess was not considered as “commercial” at the time.
Stevie Wonder has a tendency to almost always live up to his last name, and this album marked a period where he really hit his stride. Smooth soul spiced with funky jazz, and a poetry in his lyrics that speak to the human condition in a subtly different way than most artists before or after him. This one's a 4.49/5 for me that I'll round down, if only because his next two albums get better and better.
Excellent Stevie album. Hard to dislike. I'm not so much into the slower ballady numbers, but its not like they're bad.
Fave Tracks: Maybe Your Baby, Tuesday Heartbreak, Superstition, I Believe (When I Fall in Love It Will Be Forever)
4/5
Smooth. Stevie Wonder defined easy listening. That synth/organy sound is awful though. Is that the clarinet? Not a fan. Total elevator music sound. Am I ever going to consciously choose this? No. Is Stevie Wonder classic? Sure. And everyone knows the hits. But it’s really not all that great.
Oh, my heart. It's hard to say anything about this album that hasn't already been said before. Genius, perfection, classic -- take your pick. Of the collection of music I have, this is in the top 10 for me. Wonder's whole "classic"/"imperial" period in the 70's is one of the most creative bursts of musical energy ever released. We're all lucky to live in it's aftermath and enjoy all the fruits this period bore. This album, Innervisions, and Songs in the Key of Life all have permanent homes in my mind and heart, but if I had to choose just one of those three however... (what a Sophies choice!!) this is probably my favorite. It's so tight. Not a note out of place, not a beat where it shouldn't be, and in my mind Stevie had it all planned that way. There's not an ounce of filler on this album. Every song is a distinct and clear rendition of an emotion. Some of these emotions are so pure, in the right context, it just fills you up.
The opener "You Are the Sunshine of My Life" is adoration. "Maybe Your Baby" is the early stages of heartbreak and paranoia. The feeling of impending loss. "You and I" is a mature reflection of a long relationship. A deep, textured love. "Tuesday Heartbreak" is the bargaining and pleading after a breakup. Begging. "You've got it Bad Girl" is the confident acknowledgement of a mutual interest and a blossoming relationship. Confidence. Why is she so coy? "Superstition", the creative peak of this album, is a reflection on trying to see things for what they are. A demand to be realistic and clear eyed -- to stop making excuses. Clarity. Resolve. "Big Brother" is a very political song. It's a condemnation of the establishment/government and Stevie's frustration and deep well of generational anger are palpable. Frustration and anger. "Blame it on the Sun" is regret. A powerful wail of self-hate. How could he have been so stupid? "Lookin' for Another Pure Love" is resignation. She's left and gone. "I Believe..." Is hope. What a majestic song. The funky coda at the end is so perfect. Hope becomes a question mark "Don't you wanna fall in love again?" as the track fades out.
Sorry I gushed so hard, but this is a "must hear". No opinion, just fact. Stevie Wonder may not know blue from green, but he sees music and how it speaks about our emotions more clearly than any of us. He wrote this book of emotions to talk to us. He can't read the words on the page, but heard what it said and transposed it for our ears and hearts on to this album.
Perfection.
It's been almost two years since I got a Stevie Wonder album from the generator. I am due to revisit Songs in the Key of Life after getting it as album #13 on my journey. But for today, we got another treat from Stevie's "classic period." While this period of fully-realized albums technically started with Music of My Mind, it was Talking Book, released later in the year, that got a lot of the accolades, and for good reason.
This album illustrates an artist who gained complete creative control over their work and reached the emotional maturity to meet those weighted expectations. Stevie sang with reverence and was genuinely earnest in his wide range of expressions through his songwriting. I can hear his affection towards his then-wife, Syreeta Wright, on "You Are the Sunshine of My Life", his frustration at a cheating partner on "Maybe Your Baby", his soft-spoken passion on "You and I (We Can Conquer the World)", his envy on "Tuesday Heartbreak", his reservedness on "You've Got it Bad Girl", his anxiety on "Superstition", his frustrations at the government in the Orwellian-inspired "Big Brother", his sorrow on "Blame It on the Sun", his looming jealousy on "Lookin' for Another Pure Love", culminating in his optimism for true love on "I Believe (When I Fall in Love It Will Be Forever)". The tracklist was thoughtfully laid out to convey the changes in mood Stevie went through, and it felt like a complete story in and of itself.
The other aspect of Stevie's musicianship to highlight is his virtuosity. Looking at the individual song credits, it is amazing how he played nearly every instrument, taking full advantage of synthesizers and keyboards to bring on that delicious, funky sound. The warm Fender Rhodes of "You Are the Sunshine of My Life", the iconic combo of the Hohner cabinet and Moog bass on "Maybe Your Baby", "Supersitition", and "Big Brother", the haunting T.O.N.T.O. synthesizer on "You and I (We Can Conquer the World)" and "Blame It on the Sun", his polyrhythmic drumwork across the whole album, simply divine throughout. Of course, the rest of the personnel did a spectacular job on record as well, including the background vocals on "You Are the Sunshine of My Life" and "Tuesday Heartbreak", and the electric guitar play from the likes of a young Ray Parker Jr. on "Maybe Your Baby" and Jeff Beck on "Lookin' for Another Pure Love".
There's not much else to say, as Talking Book is a spectacular record from the beginning of Stevie Wonder's successful run, and it holds up remarkably well.
From 1971's Where I'm Coming From to 1980's Hotter Than July is Stevie Wonder's imperial phase or, as they say now, when he 'went god mode'. Even within that nine year, eight albums sweet spot, three albums manage to stand out as greatest among the great. Innervisions, Songs In The Key Of Life and Talking book form the absolute pinnacle of this outstanding artist's output. And out of those three, Talking Book just edged it. It is breathtakingly good, from You Are The Sunshine Of My Life, over Superstition to I Believe (When I Fall In Love ...), this is an album where everything is simply perfect. Wonder also started finding his voice here as a representative of black America, diving into his cultural history and circumstances as well as personal. In that, it forms a perfect pair with Marvin Gaye's equally monumental What's Going On. One of the greatest records ever made.
Wonder's magical album run in the early seventies is kind of amazing, even if the albums have not totally impacted me. In this listen to Talking Book I was mesmerized more than ever. Perhaps I need a multiple listen guideline for these albums. In particular, the interplay of the multiple organs/keys on many tracks. The big 3 tracks here are just top Wonder on any list. I'm close to a 5 here, more of a 4.5 but bumping up for the perfect vibe.
Talking Book
5 star banger.
Never noticed the sobbing sounds around 1.47 of You are the Sunshine of my Life when he sings ‘lonely’. Great opening track, love the laid back melody, rightfully a classic. Always loved Maybe Your Baby, the tension that the intro and verse build before the relatively subdued chorus is fantastic.
I love the Theremin sounding synth on You and I, and the song itself is great, one of his best ballads I think. And I love the whole atmosphere of Tuesday Heartbreak. I don’t know what I’m talking about but it feels like he’s singing slightly behind the beat, giving it an lovely unhurried swing. Love You’ve Got it Bad Girl, not sure why it but it always sounded like California to me.
Superstition. Can’t really say anything that’s not been said, but I’d recommend the One Song podcast in this song, the stems from the drums are amazing.
Big Brother is another sunny sounding song to me even though it’s quite a bleak lyric, but I love the melody and harpsichord style synth.
Blame it on the Sun is probably my least favourite song on the album, but it’s still a very good 70s Stevie ballad.
Lookin For Another Pure Love on the other hand is great, one I didn’t appreciate when I first heard the album but now I love.
And then I Believe, which is just an utterly joyous and fantastic love song, one of my absolute favourite Stevie songs.
Obviously it can’t be anything but a 5, even if a couple of songs don’t quite reach the heights of the others as a whole album it’s one of the greatest ever.
📖📖📖📖📖
Playlist submission: I Believe (When I Fall In Love it Will Be Forever)
When I bought this on CD it was from the "low price oldies" section - for context, that's equivalent in time to buying the first Kayne album today, christ! Lots of interesting synth sounds and squelchy Moog bass (all played by Stevie) decorate some excellent tunes; these are outrageously experimental given how poppy they sound. I love the funky numbers and the sappy ones equally. It's not quite Innervisions, but that's not really a criticism
The best record of his career, and a monster of an album with chart hits and influential songs spilling out all over the place. I have always loved this record. I still do.
The two songs opening each side are excellent and very well known hits. For me, Superstition is his best song.
Ray Parker will always be better known for his Ghostbusters song but his guitar on Maybe Your Baby is top shelf and really works well with the funkiness. Stevie delivers the electric piano and clavinet that makes Tuesday Heartbreak. I've never heard those instruments deliver a cool and funky vibe like this. Stevie's vocals on You and I might be his best on the LP.
Jeff Beck's guitar on Looking for Another . . . is also quite good as one would expect from Jeff.
I didn't know Stevie for his political songs. Big Brother is quite good and the words "You've killed all our Leaders" are particularly poignant given this album was made less than 5 years after Martin Luther King and Bobby Kennedy were murdered.
Different songs on this LP have very different features that make them soar. They are all good songs for very different reasons. An album that pulls this off meets my definition of a 5.
As an afterthought, it's a great picture on the cover.
Beautiful album. It’s like a love-child of funk and country but raised by classical. It’s soft and gentle but also thoughtful. Stevie Wonder has a perfect voice and he also has poignant lyrics. This album delivers pretty heavy stuff like love and heartbreak and rebirth and belief and faith but it’s done so lite and breezy. Stevie Wonder is a genius.
Top tracks
You are the sunshine of my life
Big brother
You and I
Tuesday Heartbreak
Iconic track
Superstition
The album starts with calming chords and a soft groove. Then the groove heats up and stays strong. Each song has unique instruments and melodies that keep this a very interesting album all the way through.
I'm familiar with some of his more famous songs because Stevie Wonder is, well, iconic to say the least but never actually listened to a full album by him. Lemme just say I'm kicking myself for missing out and this Aussie gives Talking Book five lamingtons out of five.
“When you believe in things that you don’t understand, then you suffer.”
This is my first time listening to this full album. I’d heard Superstition but that was about it.
I’m having trouble thinking of words to describe how this album is making me feel. It’s smooth and funky. In a single word, groovy. The instrumentation is high quality craftsmanship and Stevie Wonder’s voice is something to behold.
My single complaint is some of the repetition within the individual songs reached a point of annoyance for me. (Thinking of the line “Maybe your baby done made some other plans.” On the second track “Maybe Your Baby”) It’s a small annoyance, because overall this album is the fix for what ails you.
I can see myself getting in a mood to return to this album.
For me, Stevie Wonder is at his best when he’s funky. The ballads don’t really do a whole lot for me, even though I think they are well produced and usually are pretty gorgeous instrumentally. It’s the funk, though…that sweet, elastic funkiness with the synthetic bass and clavinet. It’s so good.
Stevie Wonder is a musical genius.
[wipes nose]
(That’s a reference that like 4 people will get.)
Much of this is unsurpassable. Superstition sits next to Sweet Jane in having a riff that I can conceive continuing forever.
There’s schmaltz on here, by my own measure, where the music is not great enough to sublimate lyrical sentimentality. Lookin’ For Another Pure Love is schmaltz; I Believe (When I Fall In Love It Will Be Forever) is majestic.
Of all the jazz-funk-soul greats of the 20th century, Stevie Wonder is the only one who just never really resonated with me. I swear if you took away the singing half of these songs sound like Nintendo Wii lobby music.
So, my expectations were mixed as ‘Superstition’ is a belter but I really dislike ‘You are the sunshine… ‘. Turns out that was a rather accurate ratio for this album. Either he’s being super funky (love the squelchy keyboard thing) or writing some awesome melodies, or it’s a godawful corny ballad, with nothing inbetween. It’s kinda like Russian Roulette in album form.
Superstition is an all time great song. Shame the rest of the album sounds nothing like it. Not bad, just gives you a glimpse of some of his best work for one song and the rest is mid.
Loveeee Superstition so went in expecting to love this hyped up album but a little disappointed by the rest of it! vocals are great and relaxed but a lot of it just feels very shmaltzy sentimental and kitchy… this is more about personal preference I’m sure but the overly soppy love stuff just got samey and boring to me, overall not a bad album by any means great voice and some songs but as a whole expected this to wow me far more
How did I already get another Stevie Wonder album from such an exhaustive list? This one was too slow and cheesy for me, should've been called Blabbering Book. Superstition is good but not enough to carry the rest of the setlist. Maybe alright for chillin' in a lounge but not my cup of tea (too much honey).
If someone told me to close my eyes and imagine what a Stevie Wonder album sounded like, never having listened before, I probably would have come up with this actually.
"Don't worry about a thing/ 'Cause every little thing gonna be alright"
Variety: 4 Adequacy: 5 Listenability: 5 Uniqueness: 5 Emotionality: 5 = 4.8 rounded up to a 5
We finally made it! Not to make any promises before listening ( it has been a while after all), but I'm pretty confident this will be a guaranteed 5 star for me. This one is absolutely loaded with great songs, and not a dud among them. Heard a lot of this as a kid on terrestrial radio, but wasn't til maybe my 20s (?) that I gave the album a full listen to all the way through. When I got rid of most of my LPs a few years ago Stevie's bunch of albums were among the last to go, and I had to reconsider more than once. Really looking forward to this one.
THE TRACKS
Side one
"You Are the Sunshine of My Life" - What an opener. As joyful a song as any I can think of and it transcends any sort of sappiness with the killer instrumentation. Not even the Minutemaid Orange Juice commercials I remember as I kid could kill this song's greatness.
"Maybe Your Baby" - Damn... The funk coming off this one is powerful. That synth organ that sounds almost like it's underwater, and when the female vocals drop in, the song hits another level. It even peters out with style.
"You and I (We Can Conquer the World)" - There is not much media that effects me emotionally. This is one of them ( not the last one either from Mr. Wonder, or even the last one from this album ). What a deceptively simple song. Wonder goes less is better on this one, and pulls off the trick of getting your full attention after the musical display of those first two tracks. And despite the positive lyrics, the music itself has a somber, thoughtful quality.
"Tuesday Heartbreak" - Even his throwaway tracks would be the best song on anyone else's album. A quality he shares with a very few elite ( future collaborator Paul McCartney comes to mind). Four love songs in a row and this doesn't feel stale at all.
"You've Got It Bad Girl" - The ascending and descending vocal hooks on this one remain a pleasure. Stevie gets a lottle more serious on this one, and we end side one with a damn fine closer, that prepares us for the less lovery dovey side two.
Side two
"Superstition" - Man. A contender for a place in the top 10 songs of the 20th century in my opinion. Every part of this song is gold, but the horns are key for me. I could listen to this one on repeat for an hour and no get bored.
"Big Brother" - Stevie gets political here and loses nothing in the musicality. The almost plaintive sounding harmonica (?) almost serves as a counter vocal. My favorite percussion on the album. And those lyrics still hit hard - "I don't even have to do nothin' to you
/You'll cause your own country to fall". Damn...
"Blame It on the Sun" - Can we even call this a deep cut? Does this album have any?
"Lookin' for Another Pure Love" - Has there ever been a more chill breakup song?
"I Believe (When I Fall in Love It Will Be Forever)" - This one gets me to. When those drums kick in the clouds open up and the sunlight shines down. Even if just briefly. Hope How many times has this been covered. I'm betting a lot. Another stone cold classic, and an all time great album closer.
HIGHLIGHTS
- All of it
LOWLIGHTS
- None of it
FINAL THOUGHTS
One of the hardest thing for any of these albums to overcome is how difficult it is to sound unique in any way. To stand out even among all the amazing music from this decade is no small feat and no one - NO ONE - sounded like Wonder. I can only imagine what this must have been like to hear at the time on the radio, especially for people more familiar with his earlier stuff. Also going to guess that this guy should have gotten a piece of the action on all the synth sales that were no doubt driven by musicians hearing this and wanting to copy its sound. Without this stuff do we get all the amazing P-Funk stuff later on?
PLAYLIST ALTERATIONS
- None
You Are the Sunshine of My Life - 4.5/5
Maybe Your Baby - 3.5/5
You and I - 4/5
Tuesday Heartbreak - 4/5
You've Got It Bad Girl - 4/5
Superstition - 5/5
Big Brother - 4.5/5
Blame It on the Sun - 4.5/5
Lookin' for Another Pure Love - 4.5/5
I Believe (When I Fall in Love It Will Be Forever) - 4.5/5
I hadn't listened to Stevie Wonder outside of the occasional hits, but digging into this first album (which isn't even the best one he put out!) made me appreciate him all the more. Superstition is an all-timer for sure, but the whole B side essentially roped me in to giving this a 5. Looking forward to his other albums if this one is this good.
Overall: 5/5
Favorites: Superstition, Blame It on the Sun, Lookin' for Another Pure Love, I Believe
Uma das poucas verdadeiras crianças prodígio, Talking Book já era um dos meus favoritos dele e essa revisitação o tornou ainda melhor, o disco já começa com "You are the sunshine of my life" e não deixa a peteca cair, o disco é popular por causa do clássico "Superstition" ainda que minha favorita seja "Blame it on the sun". Inoxidável e uma das razões do sobrenome do Stevie ser Wonder
I am very happy to have been treated to two Stevie Wonder albums this week. I love this one for funky jams like Maybe Your Baby and classic single Superstition, and finishing with one of the best closing tracks of all time. There’s a beautiful tenderness here. I would add a lot of this album to various wedding playlists.
Incredible album from a master of the genre. Silky smooth vocals as always, but what really set this one apart for me was the instrumentation. I’ve loved every Stevie album on this list so far, but the creativity and variety on this one was truly special. Easy 5.