Stevie Wonder

It would be hard to underestimate the influential legacy of Stevie Wonder, a 1989 inductee
into the Rock & Roll Hall of Fame. After recording a stack of '60s singles that helped define
the sound of Motown, Wonder was also the artist who broke that mold by succeeding with
a more personal and political style of music. Still, it's easy to understand the reticence that
has let Wonder go eight years between major releases. Like Prince, whom Won... More >

Sure you can take him for granted. He's as set in his ways as Neil Young or John Updike, his lyrics complacent mush even when he's preaching against handguns or "man's inhumanity to man." But overlaying track after track alone in his studio, he's a font of melody, a wellspring of rhythm, a major modern composer. So if at some level you've heard all this before, that doesn't mean it's worn out its welcome. And the seven-minute groove-sound workout "Cold Chill" will make you check back to make sure he's ever been better. (Grade: A-)