Stevie Wonder - Greatest Hits
Motown had little idea what to do with the young Stevie Wonder, as this remaster of his firstGreatest Hitsalbum makes plain. A (great) novelty instrumental, "Fingertips, Part 2," provided Wonder's first hit in 1963, so the company's production line ran the concept into the ground with campy pieces like "Hey Harmonica Man" and "Work Out Stevie, Work Out." Fortunately, the selections here also include the killer singles that appeared after his work righted itself: "Uptight (Everything's Alright)," "I Was Made to Love Her," and Dylan's "Blowin' in the Wind." A mixed bag, but an intriguing look at how this eventual great artist survived the marketplace in his early years.--Rickey Wright