A
law should be enacted that says that in order to put out an collection
of your greatest hits, you should actually have hits. I guess actual greatness
is optional, but hits are definitely mandatory. Artists who
either haven't been around that long or haven't produced a great deal of
quality material somehow manage to lump together some old songs and call
it a greatest hits album. For example, on a recent trip to the Megastore,
I actually came across a new album with the oxymoronic title of "Jon Secada's
Greatest Hits". Quick: name thirteen Jon Secada hit songs. I didn't
think so. Maybe he's trying to make up for being six years early for the
Latin Music Explosion of '99.
One man who isn't lacking greatness or hits is Stevie Wonder. He
is one the most enduring and influential* artists
in the history of music. He has also released thirty-two albums,
so purchasing a compilation album is probably the way most of us will get
our hands on his hits. And when it comes to delivering his best work, the
two cd set, "Stevie Wonder~Song Review" gets it a little more than
half right..
If it didn't open with "Part-Time Lover" and "I Just Called
To Say I Love You", I'd say that the first disk is perfect.. The list of
tracks below speaks for itself. You'll probably never hear fourteen songs
this good in a row again. What I really want to talk, though, is the second
half of this album. Although it features Stevie's best from the 80's ("Ebony
& Ivory"?, "That Girl", "Send One Your Love") and 90's ("These
Three Words", "For Your Love") and the 70's classics "I Wish" "Higher Ground",
near the end the hits stop coming. Instead I get five relatively obscure,
recently released soundtrack singles to round out the album. I could
think of at least ten quality tracks, that could and should have been placed
in those spots. The liner notes of this cd end with the statement "The
best of Stevie Wonder is yet to come." That may be true, but the end of
a thirty dollar greatest hits album was not the place to try and prove
it. Everybody knows that the best of Stevie Wonder came in the 70's anyway.
Even
with thirty-one tracks and a total length of nearly two and a half
hours, this album still feels incomplete. The first disk is excellent,
but the same songs can be found for less on "Original Musiquarium Vol.
1." If you really want it all , you're better off waiting for a box set
than buying "Song Review".
* "I Wish" was sampled earlier this year by The
Artist Formerly known as The Fresh Prince for "Wild, Wild West". "Lately"?
Covered by Jodeci in '93. "Ribbon In The Sky"? Boyz II Men wannabes Intro
remade that one same year. "Higher Ground"? Red Hot Chlli Peppers
in '89. "That Girl" was sampled by the "late" Tupac Shakur on the
track "So Many Tears". A vocal interpolation of "Living For The City" was
used for "The City" by Wu Tang Clan. "Sir Duke": A Tribe Called Quest for
the track "Footprints". "Boogie On Reggae Woman": K-Solo's "Everybody
Knows Me". There's more, but I'll stick to tracks that are included on
the album I'm speaking of. If you want to know the full extent of classic
soul and r&b's "influence" on hip-hop and today's r&b, I encourage
you to visit the Encyclopedia
Breakannica.
Disk 1
1) Part-Time Lover
2) I Just Called To Say I Love You
3) Superstition
4) Sir Duke
5) My Cherie Amour
6) I Was Made To Love Her
7) Overjoyed
8) Hey Love
9) Signed, Sealed, Delivered I'm Yours
10) You Are The Sunshine Of My Life
11) Ribbon In The Sky
12) Master Blaster (Jammin')
13) Living For The City
14) Uptight
15) Lately
16) Do I Do
Disk 2
1) Send One Your Love
2) Ebony & Ivory
3) All I Do
4) That Girl
5) For Your Love
6) I Wish
7) You Will Know
8) Boogie On Reggae Woman
9) Higher Ground
10) These Three Words
11) Stay Gold
12) Love Light In Flight
13) Kiss Lonely Good Bye
14) Hold On To Your Dream
15) Redemption Song