76. Stevie Wonder, Talking Book (Motown, 1972)
Whenever I hear people ridiculously waxing rhapsodic about Justin Timberlake as if he were the second coming, I just want to play them what Stevie Wonder did when he was Justin's age. Granted, it does kick off with borderline-sappy "You Are The Sunshine of My Life", but it's immediately followed by "Maybe Your Baby", a wonderfully weird six minute funk workout that looks forwards and back again (listen for his gleeful, electronically-altered "I'm a little boy!" towards the end). "Superstition" makes any Wonder album essential, but the three thematically sequenced lesser-known songs are arguably better. "Blame It On the Sun" seethes with heartbreak and resignation, "Looking For Another Pure Love" lazily gets him back on his feet, but "I Believe (When I Fall In Love Forever)" is the prize--as unabashedly devotional and euphoric a love song you're ever likely to hear.
Whenever I hear people ridiculously waxing rhapsodic about Justin Timberlake as if he were the second coming, I just want to play them what Stevie Wonder did when he was Justin's age. Granted, it does kick off with borderline-sappy "You Are The Sunshine of My Life", but it's immediately followed by "Maybe Your Baby", a wonderfully weird six minute funk workout that looks forwards and back again (listen for his gleeful, electronically-altered "I'm a little boy!" towards the end). "Superstition" makes any Wonder album essential, but the three thematically sequenced lesser-known songs are arguably better. "Blame It On the Sun" seethes with heartbreak and resignation, "Looking For Another Pure Love" lazily gets him back on his feet, but "I Believe (When I Fall In Love Forever)" is the prize--as unabashedly devotional and euphoric a love song you're ever likely to hear.
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