Stevie Wonder - Redemption Songs (2010)

I'm not the only person to comment on the dearth of Stevie Wonder rarities that are available on the internet, and so for me to manage to post a third collection is something of an achievement. In 2003 a Japanese CD appeared called 'Lost Treasures', which purported to contain rarities, demos, unreleased tracks, live recordings and TV appearances from the 1960's to the 1990's, although on closer inspection it turned out that 60's tracks were just alternate takes of some of his singles, and the rest were either late 70's or early 90's recordings, but despite that there were some extremely hard to find tracks on there, so it was definitely worth getting. I always felt that it was a bit long at 21 tracks, and so decided to prune it down by removing the few songs that had been taken from 'The Secret Life Of Plants' (for some reason), as well as excising a couple of demos which weren't really up to the audio quality of the rest of the music. I decided to leave the four new songs from 'Original Musiquarium' as I don't listen to those nearly enough, and while doing all that I found a few extra rarities that I could add, which means that rather than cutting it down it actually ends up at nearly one and half hours of music, but I'm happier that everything on here is now of a universally high standard. A number of the songs were recorded to raise funds for various charities, and there are also his contributions to tribute albums to Curtis Mayfield, Marvin Gaye, Berry Gordy, and Maya Angelou, all of which just emphasises the generous nature of the man. It's rounded off with some exclusive recordings for film soundtracks, a band demo for a song gifted to Michael Jackson for his 'Off The Wall' album, and an extended alternate take of the classic 'Superstition', and so you end up with a superb collection of some of his hardest to find material, providing even more evidence of the genius that is Stevie Wonder.    

Track listing

01 Front Line (from 'Original Musiquarium' 1979)
02 Kiss Lonely Goodbye (from the soundtrack of 'The Adventures Of Pinocchio' 1996)
03 All About The Love Again (from 'Change Is Now - Renewing America's Promise' 2009) 
04 I Can't Help It (live in studio demo for Michael Jackson's 'Off The Wall' 1979)
05 Do I Do (from 'Original Musiquarium' 1979)
06 I'm The One Who Loves You (from 'A Tribute To Curtis Mayfield' 1994)
07 Superstition (long version 1972) 
08 If I Ever Had A Chance To Love You (from 'A Tribute To Maya Angelou')
09 Keep Our Love Alive (anti-apartheid song recorded 1990)
10 That Girl (from 'Original Musiquarium' 1979) 
11 Redemption Song (from the soundtrack of 'Get On The Bus' 1996)
12 (You're My) Dream Come True (from 'A Tribute To Berry Gordy' 1995)
13 Feeding Off The Love Of The Land (from 'Nobody's Child' charity album 1990)
14 Stubborn Kind Of Fellow (from 'Inner City Blues: The Music of Marvin Gaye' 1995)
15 Stay Gold (from the soundtrack of 'The Outsiders' 1983)
16 Ribbon In The Sky (from 'Original Musiquarium' 1979)
17 Time To Love/Bridge Over Troubled Water (from 'Hope For Haiti Now' charity album 2010)