For those unaware, Motown/UMe have just announced the first-ever vinyl release of Stevie Wonder’s all-time best selling hits set, The Definitive Collection (due out December 6th, 2024).

The 21-track, double album kicks off with the No. 1 live 1963 smash, “Fingertips – Pt. 2,” and takes us through Wonder’s timeless hits “Uptight (Everything’s Alright)” “For Once in My Life,” “My Cherie Amour,” “You Are the Sunshine of My Life,” “Superstition,” “Higher Ground,” “Sir Duke,” “I Just Called to Say I Love You,” “Part Time Lover,” and more.

The 2LP set is newly remastered and housed in a beautiful gatefold package with rare photos from the Motown Archives, full track-by-track annotations and a celebratory essay by Scott Regen, a Detroit DJ who became a Motown staff writer and producer and who wrote the liner notes to Wonder’s first Greatest Hits album in 1968.

Side A:
1. Fingertips – Pt. 2
2. Uptight (Everything’s Alright)
3. Hey Love
4. I Was Made To Love Her
5. For Once In My Life
6. My Cherie Amour
7. Signed, Sealed, Delivered I’m Yours

This best-selling hit collection from one of the most awarded musicians of all time, opens on the pure, unadulterated, harmonica-driven magic of Fingertips – Pt. 2, the vibrantly joyous, foot-taping delights of Uptight (Everything’s Alright), and the classic serenading ballad Hey Love, and then we are brought forth the wondrous bass playing of James Jamerson that drives I Was Made To Love Her, the soul, blues, pop of For Once In My Life, the side rounding out on the sweepingly elegant My Cherie Amour and one of the greatest song ever put together, the heartwarming Signed, Sealed, Delivered I’m Yours.

Side B:
1. You Are the Sunshine Of My Life *
2. Superstition
3. Higher Ground *
4. Living For The City

Flipping the vinyl over and we next get the exquisite You Are the Sunshine Of My Life and that is backed seamlessly by a song that the guitar legend, Jeff Beck, created the funky drum riff for that pulsates throughout this brilliantly vibrant track Superstition, the solid funk-tastic track Higher Ground, closing on Stevie taking us to Church on the all-embracing Living For The City.

Side C:
1. You Haven’t Done Nothin’
2. Boogie On Reggae Woman *
3. I Wish
4. Sir Duke
5. Master Blaster (Jammin’) *

Swapping out the vinyl LPs, up next is the contagious rhythms of You Haven’t Done Nothin’ (complete with the Jackson 5 on backing vocals) and the soul, funk, disco, and jazz-hued Boogie On Reggae Woman, and they are backed by the now infamous bass line that throbs throughout I Wish, his joyful shoutout to jazz legend Duke Ellington on Sir Duke, this side rounding out on the infectious rhythmic reggae of Master Blaster (Jammin’).

Side D:
1. That Girl
2. Do I Do *
3. I Just Called To Say I Love You *
4. Overjoyed
5. Part-Time Lover *

Once again flipping the vinyl over, and we next get the genius lyrical storytelling of That Girl and a track that owes a lot to Michael Jackson’s Don’t Stop Til You Get Enough, the pulsating Do I Do, before lovingly bringing us the smoothly romantic, worldwide gem I Just Called To Say I Love You, the beautifully crafted Overjoyed along next, the collection closing as a whole on the alternately peppy, haunting and ethereal pop of Part-Time Lover (complete with Luther Vandross on backing vocals).

* single version

Stevie Wonder, the extraordinary singer/songwriter, the youngest ever recipient of the Kennedy Center Honors, has earned 25 GRAMMY® Awards in a remarkable career, including a record-breaking three Album of the Year honors in four years.

With a catalog that is one of the richest treasure troves in American music, his songs are still revered and influential today and his longevity as one of the world’s most respected and beloved artists is well-earned.

Recently released is The Wonder of Stevie, a seven-episode podcast covers Stevie Wonder’s iconic legacy with a focus on his “classic period,” from 1972-1976, when the musician, songwriter, and singer released a streak of five albums on Motown Records’ Tamla imprint that forever changed American music.

This run of creativity garnered Wonder 12 Grammy Awards for the music on these iconic albums, a 13th Grammy for himself as Non-Classical Producer of the Year, sold more than 10 million albums, and secured his place as one of the most important American musicians and songwriters in history.

Hosted by two-time Pulitzer Prize-winning culture critic, Wesley Morris, featuring exclusive conversations with Stevie Wonder and a wide range of A-list fans, all seven episodes of The Wonder of Stevie are now available.

Official Purchase Link

www.steviewonder.net