Wonder

"Music is possibly the only human endeavor that has the potential to match nature's evanescent splendor," writes composer Jordan Pal in the liner notes for Into the Wonder, a new album featuring two of his compositions, performed by the Gryphon Trio and the Thunder Bay Symphony Orchestra (TBSO) under Arthur Post.

This book explores and explains scientific mysteries and principles, leavened with tongue-in-cheek humor and an abundance of illustrations. Chapters are short, but give an understanding of technology and science not available elsewhere.

This book explores and explains scientific mysteries and principles, leavened with tongue-in-cheek humor and an abundance of illustrations. Chapters are short, but give an understanding of technology and science not available elsewhere.

"I Was Made To Love Her" was Stevie Wonder's contribution to the musical landscape in the summer of 1967, spawning the title track hit single in the US and the UK, co-written by Wonder. The album contains a handful of other Wonder co-writes along with cover songs by Ray Charles, Smokey Robinson, Otis Redding and others.

Stevie Wonder had a record-breaking year in 1984 thanks to the song "I Just Called To Say I Love You" from this soundtrack. The song won an Academy Award, went to number one on charts around the world, and became Motown’s all time biggest-selling single internationally. The soundtrack album, containing other songs from Wonder and featuring Dionne Warwick, sold a million copies in the US and was certified gold or platinum in several other countries. This wasn’t Wonder's first foray into movie music: he had previously recorded the soundtrack to the documentary "The Secret Life Of Plants" in 1979.

Released in 1968 by an 18-year-old Stevie Wonder, "For Once In My Life" yielded the number two hit single title track and the top 10 song "Shoo-Be-Doo-Be-Doo-Da-Day" which Wonder co-wrote. A lush, energetic album, sees 'Little' Stevie Wonder singing a workout's worth. Not to be confused with the more broadly creative Stevie of later years, this is the vintage singing-sensation Stevie. It's a thrill to hear. While the studio instrumentation is standard fare for the time, Wonder plays happily off the backing with saucily bent notes and hearty falsettos that make these pop tunes wail.

This 16-song set presents the hits Wonder scored after he negotiated artistic control for himself in the 1970s. It's a wondrous collection, ranging from the driving pop-funk of "Superstition" and the streetwise "Living for the City" to the sweet "You Are the Sunshine of My Life," now a pop standard. In addition to the hits, Musiquarium includes four great new songs, two of which ("Do I Do" and "That Girl") would go on to become hits soon enough. In the years since this set was originally released, Wonder's output has been spotty at best, but Musiquarium reminds us that Stevie Wonder is a giant of soul and pop. –David Cantwell