Despite its critical success, Music Of My Mind had stalled outside the top 20 in the Billboard album chart and failed to produce any hit singles. It was with this in mind that Motown released 'Superstition' against Wonder's wishes.
Originally intended for Jeff Beck, Stevie had cut his own version, and it became his first US number 1 since 'Fingertips' a decade earlier. The track fully realised the funk which Wonder had gradually been embracing. The song is incredibly tight, a neat drum beat holding for a few bars before the legendary clavinet line comes in, followed by short, sharp horns and Stevie's dynamic vocals.
You Are The Sunshine Of My Life
Talking Book was criticised to some extent for an over-dependence on ballads. The opening track, 'You Are The Sunshine Of My Life', sent Stevie back to number 1 and was eventually covered by a host of singers, including Frank Sinatra. With its warm keyboard sounds the song crossed over in to the mainstream audience Stevie had not truly engaged since the late 60s.
'You And I' is sweetened by wonderful and atmospheric synthesizer work, whilst 'Blame It On The Sun' suggests reasons for his impending split from Syreeta whilst featuring some impressive choral vocal arrangements. The album closes with 'I Believe (When I Fall In Love It Will Be Forever)'. Starting slow and reflective, Stevie gets lost in the thoughts of what could be, building in to a rapturous refrain to sing the album out. After early failures, Wonder was becoming adept at changing a song musically but maintaining its overall theme.
Big Brother
The rest of the album features more tight funk in 'Maybe Your Baby' - another example of the incredible clavinet work only Stevie was capable of - great Moog bass and a slightly eerie restrain on 'You Got It Bad Girl', burning desire and longing in the fantastic 'Tuesday Heartbreak', and the aforementioned Jeff Beck playing guitar on the uplifting 'Lookin' For Another Pure Love'.
'Big Brother' is the first truly political song of Wonder's that hits the right buttons. His choice for the first single, the track uses ideas from Orwell's 1984 and adapts them to the social plight of early 70s America, a place which had never seen the true fruition of Lyndon Johnson's Great Society. The hollowness inherent in politician's claims is tackled here, and would become a recurring theme for Wonder. This is all backed by harmonica and the same guitar-like synths from 'Happier Than The Morning Sun' which create a pleasant musical sound to contrast with the cynical lyrics.
Talking Book as an album was the first genuine smash-hit long-player of Stevie's career. An R&B number 1 and peaking at number 3 on the pop charts, it was the fulfilment of the increasing promise he had been showing over the previous four years. The growing sophistication of his arrangements, and the groundbreaking melodic content he was producing from the ARP and Moog synthesizers with the aid of Malcolm Cecil and Robert Margouleff, was producing commercially viable music whilst not making any limitations on how far he could push himself - exactly what he had coveted.
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