Maps of Music

Talking Book (1972)

Where the lyrics of Talking Book take you, and where it was really made.

Talking Book is credited with starting Stevie Wonder's classic period, and its title came from a remark by associate producer Malcolm Cecil.

Key places

Recorded at Electric Lady, New York (1972)

Recording site Electric Lady Studios — Listed in the source as a recording location for Talking Book, at Electric Lady in New York City. No session date is given for this place. Google Maps · Apple Maps

How to get there: See the map for directions.

Recorded at Crystal Sound, Hollywood (1972)

Recording site Crystal Sound (Hollywood) — Listed in the source as a recording location for Talking Book, at Crystal Sound in Hollywood. No session date is given for this place. Google Maps · Apple Maps

How to get there: See the map for directions.

Recorded at Record Plant, Los Angeles (1972)

Recording site Record Plant (Los Angeles) — Listed in the source as a recording location for Talking Book, at Record Plant in Los Angeles. No session date is given for this place. Google Maps · Apple Maps

How to get there: See the map for directions.

Recorded at AIR, London (1972)

Recording site AIR (London) — Listed in the source as a recording location for Talking Book, at AIR in London. No session date is given for this place. Google Maps · Apple Maps

How to get there: See the map for directions.

Album story

Overview

• Talking Book: fifteenth studio album by Stevie Wonder
• Released 27 October 1972 by Tamla, a subsidiary of Motown Records
• Generally considered, with Music of My Mind (1972), the start of Wonder's "classic period"
• Sound sharply defined by Wonder's keyboards and synthesizers
• Wonder played most instruments himself; guests included Jeff Beck, Ray Parker Jr., David Sanborn and Buzz Feiten

Background

• Released after Wonder toured with the Rolling Stones in 1972
• Much of the material was recorded at the same time as Music of My Mind
• Wonder had more artistic freedom from Motown and relied less on Berry Gordy for musical direction
• Often seen as the start of his move from youthful prodigy to independent, experimental artist

Recording

• Robert Margouleff and Malcolm Cecil, associate producers and engineers, also worked on Music of My Mind, Innervisions and Fulfillingness' First Finale
• Their layered use of Clavinet, Fender Rhodes, ARP and Moog instead of a string orchestra helped define the album's sound
• Clavinet Model C on "Superstition" is widely regarded as one of the definitive tracks using the instrument

Cover

• Cover photo taken by Robert Margouleff in Los Angeles
• Wonder pictured with cornrows, jewelry and African-style robes in a "quasi-Biblical desert landscape"
• Original pressings carried the title and Wonder's name embossed in braille

Sources: en.wikipedia.org

Tracklist

Sources: musicbrainz.org

Artist

Formation

• Stevland Hardaway Morris, known as Stevie Wonder, was born May 13, 1950 in Saginaw, Michigan, and became blind shortly after birth.
• He signed with Motown's Tamla label at age 11 in 1961, receiving the name Little Stevie Wonder.
• His single "Fingertips" topped the Billboard Hot 100 when he was 13, the youngest solo artist ever to do so.

Career

• Music of My Mind and Talking Book (1972) marked the start of his classic period, moving away from the Motown sound toward synthesizer- and keyboard-driven music.
• Innervisions, Fulfillingness' First Finale and Songs in the Key of Life (1973–1976) won three consecutive Grammy Awards for Album of the Year, and he is the only artist to have done so.
• In the 1980s he campaigned to make Martin Luther King Jr.'s birthday a federal holiday and scored several number-one hits, including "Ebony and Ivory" and "I Just Called to Say I Love You".
• He has sold more than 100 million records and won 25 Grammy Awards, the most by a male solo artist.

Sources: en.wikipedia.org

Reception

At release

• Rolling Stone: Vince Aletti called Talking Book "ambitious" and "richly-textured"
• Aletti wrote that even at its dreamiest the music has a glowing vibrancy
• Aletti described the album as exceptional and exciting, the work of a now quite matured genius
• The Village Voice: Robert Christgau said Talking Book was closer to a perfect album
• Christgau praised the album as a delight combining the energy of Dylan and the Stones with the accessibility of a Carole King

Reappraisal

• Christgau's Record Guide: Rock Albums of the Seventies (1981) said the album found Wonder taking artistic control and breaking through
• Christgau highlighted "Superstition" as a translation of Wonder's way of knowledge into political analysis
• The New Rolling Stone Album Guide (2004): J. D. Considine called the album a pop tour de force
• Colin Larkin's All Time Top 1000 Albums (2000): ranked number 322
• Rolling Stone 500 Greatest Albums of All Time: number 90 in 2003, number 59 in 2020

Records

• Billboard top albums chart: peaked at number 3
• Billboard year-end chart for 1973: number 3
• Top R&B Albums: first Wonder album to reach the top, where it stayed three weeks
• "Superstition": number 1 on the Billboard Hot 100 and Hot Soul Singles charts
• "You Are the Sunshine of My Life": number 1 on the Hot 100 and Easy Listening charts
• 16th Grammy Awards: Wonder's first Grammy, with "You Are the Sunshine of My Life" winning Best Male Pop Vocal Performance
• 1974 Grammys: three awards in total, including Best Male R&B Vocal Performance and Best R&B Song for "Superstition"

Sources: en.wikipedia.org

Trivia

• The album was the first one purchased by former US president Barack Obama.
• The title came from Malcolm Cecil saying the album should be called Talking Book.
• Margouleff later recalled that it was hard to get Wonder to choose the songs because there were so many.
• The original packaging's braille message was only embossed in braille until the 2000 release.
• At the same 1974 Grammys, Wonder's next album Innervisions won Album of the Year.

Sources: en.wikipedia.org

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