Stevie Wonder
Talking Book

Let me preface this. “Talking Book” along with two other albums (perhaps “London Calling” and “The Velvet Underground & Nico”) might be part of the trinity of my (musical) upbringing. Yes, I come from these ten songs, listened to many years ago for an entire summer through one of those orange tapes, with the beautiful SIAE violet stamp, grainy from the sand that constantly infiltrated my Walkman, slowed down by the tears the listening induced in me. Tears of joy, shared sorrow, pure emotion. This is the "talking book," the sprout of a blind black boy who, celebrating ten years of apprenticeship as a singer/musician at one of the most influential record labels of the time, Motown, decides it's time to grow up.

After albums and albums released according to the dictates of the era, that is, with a couple of chart-busting singles and the remaining tracks functioning as fillers, a turning point arrives. Following the example of colleagues Isaac Hayes and Marvin Gaye, Steveland Morris (later to become known as "Stevie Wonder" for his prodigious debut at just over twelve years old) signed a new contract in 1971 for his upcoming works that guaranteed him full artistic control and responsibility for his output. After the initial, blazing insights of "Where I'm Coming From" and especially the visionary "Music of My Mind," no one could have expected a "Talking Book" the following year. A concept album? Well, if one's life can be a concept, this is one of the greatest concept albums ever. And it's just the first in an illustrious series of works ("Innervisions," "Fulfillingness' First Finale," up to the pinnacle of "Songs in the Key of Life") that would wonderfully unfold from this one. Stevie is no longer the child who used to enjoy banging pots in the kitchen while his mother was cooking, no longer just one of the best living harmonica and keyboard players, he is now ready to reveal something new, brand new. And he makes sure that the final product is fully enjoyable for us. This is where Wonder, finally expanding his compositional spectrum (consisting mainly of love songs and gritty social denunciations), positions himself as the direct heir and ultimate product of black music. Consider it as you wish; a cross between Hendrix, Sly Stone, and an innate pop taste? Perhaps, but genius doesn't require many explanations. The genius is such for succeeding where few or none can.

In this case, to skillfully blend with wisdom, class, and experimental fervor the sensitivity and elegance of the most melodic pop-soul with the energy and boldness of the hottest funk. On the cover, Stevie is in an arid, almost volcanic landscape: something seems about to explode. And he, in a flaming tunic (and with an afro hairstyle that in the future will have epigones almost as much as the legendary riff of "Superstition") responds to this panicked boiling with an absorbed look, silently listening to what the earth has to say to him. A modern-day Moses bringing back the unwritten tables of new light music from the mountaintop? In a sense yes, with "ten commandments" that are not so much to be described, but to be listened to and loved. Hymns to God of spiritual novelty (for a rock record, I mean), enamorments sung with many voices ("You are the apple of my eye" says Stevie - certainly oblivious of the missing diopters - to his beloved in the magnificent "You Are the Sunshine of My Life"), personal failures, jams with shouted, sweaty grooves, folk tales about ghettoization and the Orwellian big brother (before Diamond Dogs and Daria Bignardi)… "Talking Book" is an album to be judged with the heart, which will capture and translate your deepest feelings into beauty. But it will also excite "simple" music lovers, for the perfect performances, for the sound details scattered throughout the album, left under our eyes just to be noticed, to give us small musical wonders that grow in us with each listen, bringing us well-being and maybe "serving" a purpose. Take care of works like this, they are rare.

P.S.: Note that the "Talking Book" cassette had a different tracklist, which - as often happened in the past - favored the immediate listening of the two successful singles. It is not worse than the current one present on the compact disc, on the contrary, I recommend it and bring it to your attention.

SIDE A 1. Superstition 2. You Are the Sunshine of My Life 3. You And I 4. I Believe (When I Fall in Love It Will Be Forever) 5. You’ve Got It Bad Girl

SIDE B 1. Tuesday Heartbreak 2. Big Brother 3. Blame It On The Sun 4. Lookin’ for Another Pure Love 5. Maybe Your Baby

Happy listening.