''Stevie Wonder's Original Musiquarium I'' is a compilation album by R&B/

soul The soul is the purported Mind–body dualism, immaterial aspect or essence of a Outline of life forms, living being. It is typically believed to be Immortality, immortal and to exist apart from the material world. The three main theories that ...

musician

Stevie Wonder Stevland Hardaway Morris (; Judkins; born May 13, 1950), known professionally as Stevie Wonder, is an American and Ghanaian singer-songwriter, musician, and record producer. He is regarded as one of the most influential musicians of the 20th c ...

that was released in 1982 by

Motown Records Motown is an American record label owned by the Universal Music Group. Founded by Berry Gordy, Berry Gordy Jr. as Tamla Records on January 12, 1959, it was incorporated as Motown Record Corporation on April 14, 1960. Its name, a portmanteau ...

. It collects eleven Top-40 hit singles and five album tracks, including four previously unreleased tracks, from 1972 to 1982. The album peaked at No. 4 on the ''Billboard'' 200, at No. 1 on the

Top R&B Albums Top R&B/Hip-Hop Albums is a music chart published weekly by '' Billboard'' magazine that ranks R&B and hip-hop albums based on sales in the United States and is compiled by Luminate. The chart debuted as Hot R&B LPs in the issue dated January 30, ...

chart in the U.S., and went to No. 8 in the UK. It has been certified

gold Gold is a chemical element; it has chemical symbol Au (from Latin ) and atomic number 79. In its pure form, it is a brightness, bright, slightly orange-yellow, dense, soft, malleable, and ductile metal. Chemically, gold is a transition metal ...

by the

RIAA The Recording Industry Association of America (RIAA) is a trade organization that represents the music recording industry in the United States. Its members consist of record labels and distributors that the RIAA says "create, manufacture, and/o ...

. The four new songs were issued as singles to promote the album, with " That Girl" and " Do I Do" reaching the top 10 and top 20 of the US pop chart and number one and two on the R&B chart, respectively.

Critical reception

Robert Palmer of ''

The New York Times ''The New York Times'' (''NYT'') is an American daily newspaper based in New York City. ''The New York Times'' covers domestic, national, and international news, and publishes opinion pieces, investigative reports, and reviews. As one of ...

'' described ''Stevie Wonder's Original Musiquarium'' as "an impressive album" where "the songs flow into one another and are grouped loosely into four categories - protest funk on Side One, sophisticated ballads and lightly swinging rhythm tunes on Side Two, tributes to various influences and inspirations on Side Three, and dance tunes with jazz-like chord structures on Side Four." Stephen Thomas Erlewine of ''

Allmusic AllMusic (previously known as All-Music Guide and AMG) is an American online database, online music database. It catalogs more than three million album entries and 30 million tracks, as well as information on Musical artist, musicians and Mus ...

'' wrote "Wonder remains a quintessential album artist, but this record is a terrific snapshot of the highlights."

Content

Eleven previously released tracks were taken as singles from their respective albums, with " Higher Ground" and "

Master Blaster (Jammin') "Master Blaster (Jammin')" is a 1980 song by American singer-songwriter Stevie Wonder, released as the lead single from his nineteenth studio album, '' Hotter than July'' (1980). It was a major hit, spending seven weeks at number one on the US ...

" released before the LP. "

Isn't She Lovely "Isn't She Lovely" is a song by Stevie Wonder from his 1976 album, '' Songs in the Key of Life''. The lyrics celebrate the birth of his daughter, Aisha Morris. Wonder collaborated on the song with Harlem songwriter and studio owner Burnetta "Bunny ...

" was not released as a single from ''

Songs in the Key of Life ''Songs in the Key of Life'' is the eighteenth studio album by American singer, songwriter and musician Stevie Wonder. A double album, it was released on September 28, 1976, by Tamla Records, a division of Motown. It was recorded primarily at ...

'', while "

Superstition A superstition is any belief or practice considered by non-practitioners to be irrational or supernatural, attributed to fate or magic (supernatural), magic, perceived supernatural influence, or fear of that which is unknown. It is commonly app ...

", "

You Are the Sunshine of My Life "You Are the Sunshine of My Life" is a 1973 single released by Stevie Wonder. The song became Wonder's third number-one single on the ''Billboard'' Hot 100 chart and his first number-one on the Easy Listening chart. It won Wonder a Grammy Award ...

", " You Haven't Done Nothin'", " I Wish", and " Sir Duke" all topped the ''Billboard'' Hot 100. "

Living for the City "Living for the City" is a 1973 single by Stevie Wonder from his '' Innervisions'' album. It reached number 8 on the ''Billboard'' Hot 100 chart and number 1 on the R&B chart. ''Rolling Stone'' ranked the song number 104 on their 2004 list of ...

" and " Boogie On Reggae Woman" appear in slightly different versions to those on their albums, and "You Are the Sunshine of My Life" is the single mix with the horns added. The

double album A double album (or double record) is an audio album that spans two units of the primary medium in which it is sold, typically either records or compact disc. A double album is usually, though not always, released as such because the recording ...

covers Wonder's "classic period" running from 1972 to 1980, compiling tracks that appeared on every album from '' Music of My Mind'' through '' Hotter than July''. It also included four new songs, each tagged on as the last track on each album side: "

Front Line A front line (alternatively front-line or frontline) in military terminology is the position(s) closest to the area of conflict of an Military, armed force's Military personnel, personnel and Military technology, equipment, usually referring to ...

"; " Ribbon in the Sky"; " That Girl"; and " Do I Do". The latter track features a solo by

bebop Bebop or bop is a style of jazz developed in the early to mid-1940s in the United States. The style features compositions characterized by a fast tempo (usually exceeding 200 bpm), complex chord progressions with rapid chord changes and numerou ...

innovator

Dizzy Gillespie John Birks "Dizzy" Gillespie ( ; October 21, 1917 – January 6, 1993) was an American jazz trumpeter, bandleader, composer, educator and singer. He was a trumpet virtuoso and improvisation, improviser, building on the virtuosic style of Roy El ...

. The album's title is a

portmanteau In linguistics, a blend—also known as a blend word, lexical blend, or portmanteau—is a word formed by combining the meanings, and parts of the sounds, of two or more words together.

of "music" and "aquarium".

Track listing

All songs written by

except "Front Line" by Wonder and Gary Byrd.

Charts

Weekly charts

Year-end charts

Certifications

References

{{Authority control 1982 compilation albums Stevie Wonder compilation albums Albums produced by Stevie Wonder Tamla Records compilation albums