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Live at the Talk of the Town (1970)

Where the lyrics of Live at the Talk of the Town take you, and where it was really made.

For decades this live album was released only in the UK, and US listeners got it only in 2005 through iTunes.

Key places

Recorded at the Talk of the Town nightclub (1970)

Live show Wild Bunch Studios (London) — The album was recorded live at the Talk of the Town nightclub in London. The club in Westminster is now known as the Hippodrome. The map point marks central London, so it may not match the exact building. Google Maps · Apple Maps

How to get there: See the map for directions.

Album story

Overview

• Live at the Talk of the Town is a 1970 live album by Stevie Wonder
• Released on the Tamla (Motown) label
• Recorded at the Talk of the Town nightclub in London
• It is the third live collection by the singer-songwriter
• Originally released only in the UK
• Released in the US only in 2005 via iTunes, as part of The Complete Stevie Wonder collection

Background

• It is the follow-up to his preceding live release, Stevie Wonder Live
• The final track, Signed, Sealed, Delivered I'm Yours, introduces Wonder's next studio album, Signed, Sealed and Delivered
• The venue is a nightclub in Westminster, now known as the Hippodrome

Recording

• Recorded live at the Talk of the Town nightclub in London
• The track listing has eleven songs
• It includes Pretty World, Never Had a Dream Come True, Shoo-Be-Doo-Be-Doo-Da-Day, My Cherie Amour and Alfie
• It also includes Drum Solo, Bridge over Troubled Water, I Was Made to Love Her and For Once in My Life
• The album closes with Signed, Sealed, Delivered I'm Yours

Sources: en.wikipedia.org · fr.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

• AllMusic reviewer Steve Kurutz wrote that Stevie Wonder had not yet turned 21 but fully took on a creative role at Motown
• The album was released only in the United Kingdom at first
• Its release was on the Tamla (Motown) label
• It is the third live collection by the singer-songwriter
• It followed his earlier live release, Stevie Wonder Live

Reappraisal

• The album was not released in the United States until 2005
• The 2005 US release came via iTunes
• That release was part of The Complete Stevie Wonder collection
• The album is presented as a document of Wonder's early live work at Motown
• Kurutz's AllMusic review is the critical view on record in the sources

Records

• The copyright line reads Ⓟ 1970 Motown Record Corporation
• Discogs notes state the pressing was printed in West Germany
• The track listing has eleven songs
• Tracks include Pretty World, Never Had a Dream Come True, Shoo-Be-Doo-Be-Doo-Da-Day and My Cherie Amour
• Other tracks include Alfie, Drum Solo, Bridge over Troubled Water and I Was Made to Love Her
• Yester-Me, Yester-You, Yesterday and For Once in My Life complete the middle of the set
• Signed, Sealed, Delivered I'm Yours is the closing track

Sources: en.wikipedia.org · fr.wikipedia.org · www.discogs.com

Trivia

• The album is the follow-up to Stevie Wonder Live, Wonder's previous live release.
• The recording venue is a Westminster nightclub that is now known as the Hippodrome.
• The final track introduces the next studio album, Signed, Sealed and Delivered.
• The discogs notes say the copy was printed in West Germany.
• The album was originally only released in the UK, and only reached US listeners in 2005 via iTunes.

Sources: en.wikipedia.org · fr.wikipedia.org · www.discogs.com

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