At the Close of a Century

Disc 1
1	Fingertips, Pts. 1-2 6:58
2	Uptight (Everything's Alright) 2:56
3	Nothing's Too Good for My Baby 2:46
4	Blowin' in the Wind 3:08
5	A Place in the Sun 2:53
6	Hey Love 2:47
7	I Was Made to Love Her 2:40
8	Until You Come Back to Me (That's What I'm Gonna Do) 3:03
9	I'm Wondering 2:58
10	Shoo-Be-Doo-Be-Doo-Da-Day 2:49
11	You Met Your Match 2:41
12	For Once in My Life 2:51
13	I Don't Know Why 2:51
14	My Cherie Amour 2:55
15	Yester-Me, Yester-You, Yesterday 3:05
16	Never Had a Dream Come True 3:14
17	Signed, Sealed, Delivered I'm Yours 2:40
18	Heaven Help Us All 3:14
19	We Can Work It Out 3:18
20	If You Really Love Me 3:00
21	Never Dreamed You'd Leave in Summer 2:56
22	Superwoman (Where Were You When I Needed You) 8:08
23	I Love Every Little Thing About You 3:56
Disc 2
1	Superstition 4:28
2	You Are the Sunshine of My Life 2:59
3	You and I (We Can Conquer the World) 4:39
4	I Believe (When I Fall in Love It Will Be Forever) 4:52
5	Too High 4:36
6	Visions 5:23
7	Living for the City 7:23
8	Golden Lady 4:59
9	Higher Ground 3:42
10	All in Love Is Fair 3:42
11	Don't You Worry 'Bout a Thing 4:45
12	He's Misstra Know It All 5:36
13	You Haven't Done Nothin' 3:25
14	Heaven Is 10 Zillion Light Years Away 5:02
15	Too Shy to Say 3:29
16	Boogie on Reggae Woman 5:14
17	Creepin' 4:20
Disc 3
1	Sir Duke 3:54
2	I Wish 4:13
3	Knocks Me off My Feet 3:36
4	Pastime Paradise 3:29
5	Isn't She Lovely 6:36
6	Ngiculela-Es Una Historia-I Am Singing 3:49
7	If It's Magic 3:12
8	As 7:08
9	Another Star 8:22
10	Send One Your Love 4:04
11	All I Do 5:15
12	Rocket Love 4:39
13	I Ain't Gonna Stand for It 4:40
14	Master Blaster (Jammin') 5:09
15	Lately 4:06
16	Happy Birthday 5:56
Disc 4
1	That Girl 5:15
2	Ribbon in the Sky 5:38
3	Do I Do 10:30
4	Love Light in Flight 6:55
5	I Just Called to Say I Love You 4:23
6	Overjoyed 3:46
7	Part-Time Lover 4:12
8	Go Home 5:20
9	You Will Know 5:01
10	Skeletons 5:24
11	Gotta Have You 6:28
12	These Three Words 4:55
13	For Your Love 5:00
14	How Come, How Long 5:11

Barnes & Noble

From the cotton-candy sweetness of "Hey Love" to the social commentary of "Living for the City" and "Happy Birthday," the unofficial theme song of the movement to establish a Martin Luther King Jr. national holiday, Stevie Wonder is an icon in the American cultural landscape. Fittingly, Motown Records has released AT THE CLOSE OF A CENTURY, a 70-track box set of his greatest hits. Unlike previously released overviews, CENTURY spans the entire four decades of Wonder's recordings, from 1962 to the mid-'90s. Disc One is stocked with tunes from Little Stevie Wonder's adolescent years, including his first hit, 1962's harmonica-pumping "Fingertips Pts. 1 & 2," and a 1967 version of "Until You Come Back to Me (That’s What I’m Gonna Do),” later remade by Aretha Franklin. Wonder's early songs alternately snap with enthusiasm ("Uptight (Everything’s Alright)" and "Signed, Sealed, Delivered I’m Yours") and sway with romanticism ("My Cherie Amour" and "For Once in My Life"). But it was after leaving Motown's sometimes-confining creative reins that Wonder went on to make soul -- and pop -- music history with a string of brilliant albums, beginning with the ambitious 1972 MUSIC OF MY MIND. Wonder ruled the decade from that point on, reaching even higher ground with the follow-up TALKING BOOK (1972), the near-perfect INNERVISIONS (1973), the double-LP masterpiece SONGS IN THE KEY OF LIFE (1976), and the pop success HOTTER THAN JULY (1980). With period essentials like "Superwoman (Where Were You When I Needed You)," "You Are the Sunshine of My Life," "Superstition," "Golden Lady," and "Sir Duke," this collection offers a window into Wonder's heightened social awareness as well as his innovations with the Moog synthesizer. Even in his later period, Wonder was adept at keeping his ear on the pulse of popular music, evident with "Part-Time Lover" from the platinum-selling IN SQUARE CIRCLE (1985) and the tepid yet hugely successful movie soundtrack contribution, "I Just Called to Say I Love You." The compilation's finale, "How Come, How Long," a duet with Babyface -- this generation's soulman, with an R&B Midas touch that rivals Wonder's -- symbolizes a metaphorical passing of the torch and is a telling tribute to the enduring legacy of black musicianship at the century's end. On the eve of the new millennium, this must-have collection is right on time. Brett Johnson

All Music Guide

He's been called one of the most influential performers and songwriters of the century, but until 1999 Stevie Wonder didn't even have a box set to call his own. Such was the reissue campaign at Motown that, until very recently, some of the best pop music of the '60s sounded poorer in reissue form than when it was first played on AM radio. In 1996, the long-awaited Stevie Wonder digital-age hits package Song Review reached the shelves, but it didn't even follow compilation etiquette (that is, chronological order). Finally, At the Close of a Century made everything right -- complete with digital remastering, near-perfect sound, complete coverage of his epic career, an attractive design, and copious liner notes and pictures. The box, a four-disc set spanning 1962 to 1996, debuts with "Fingertips, Pts. 1 & 2," the long-unheard seven-minute version of his first hit. The first disc includes every hit that fans can remember, including great-sounding versions of "Uptight (Everything's Alright)" and "Hey Love," plus plenty of moderate hits they may not remember, like his definitive cover of the Beatles' "We Can Work It Out." Disc Two features more than a dozen of his biggest hits, including "Superstition," "You Are the Sunshine of My Life," "Living for the City," "Higher Ground," and "Boogie On Reggae Woman." Disc Three begins with no less than nine tracks from Songs in the Key of Life, his standout double album from 1976. Right into the '80s and '90s, Stevie Wonder remained at the top of the charts, with hits like "Rocket Love," "Master Blaster (Jammin')," "Happy Birthday," "I Just Called to Say I Love You," and "Part-Time Lover." It took far too long, but Motown finally issued a box set worthy of Stevie Wonder's continuing artistry. John Bush