However, there are precious few compilations that encompass both of these phases, at least for vinyl enthusiasts. In 2020, there was Number 1's, but that double-LP was slightly hampered by its concept. Indisputable classics like "Hey Love", "For Once In My Life", and "My Cherie Amour" didn't hit number one on any charts, so they weren't included. Strangely, "Blowin' in the Wind" and "Shoo-Be-Doo-Be-Doo-Da-Day", which did top the US R&B charts, weren't present either. Those errant number ones hadn't made the party for 2002's The Definitive Collection CD either, but the three aforementioned classics did. Maybe that's why The Definitive Collection became Wonder's biggest selling hits comp, and it's certainly why it's the one that's being reissued on vinyl this year.
There's little to say about what's included that's worth saying. You know Stevie Wonder is brilliant. You know his biggest hits are brilliant. You may also know that any hits compilation should be nothing more than an entry point. He had too many magnificent hits in the sixties to fit onto one side of a record (seek out the triple-LP Looking Back). Almost every one of the albums he released from Music of My Mind through Hotter Than July is absolutely essential. But as a tidy sampler of Wonder's two most significant phases, The Definitive Collection is the best.
Sound-wise, it might also be the best. Played against my old copies of Looking Back and those essential seventies albums on Tamla, the stuff on this new pressing sounds punchier, clearer, and more fully dimensional, with better defined bass. There's a little light distortion and sibilance on some of the earlier material, but overall, this is a pretty definitive presentation of The Definitive Collection.
