Signed Sealed Delivered

Stevie Wonder | Format: Audio CD

Product Details

• Audio CD (February 3, 1992)
• Number of Discs: 1
• Label: Motown
• ASIN: B000001ADD
• Also Available in: Audio CD  |  Audio Cassette  |  Vinyl  |  MP3 Download
• Average Customer Review: 4.4 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (17 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #69,121 in Music (See Top 100 in Music)

Editorial Reviews

Stevie's unmistakable harmonica sound put a whole new spin on the Beatles' We Can Work It Out on this 1970 classic. That became a hit as did Heaven Help Us All and, of course, the title smash, one of his all-time classics!

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

11 of 12 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars A hidden gem in Stevie's catalog!, October 9, 2005

By 

D. Lee (Baltimore, Md United States) - See all my reviews
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This review is from: Signed Sealed Delivered (Audio CD)

Man this album is good! I mean really, really good! When you open up the cd case, in the upper right hand corner of the cover it reads, "The Motown Sound", which basically means that you are in for a taste of the world's greatest rhythm section and some of the catchiest and most infectious harmonies ever captured on record (of which The Funk Brothers, led by bass virtuoso James Jamerson, were primarily responsible). But of course, that goes without saying if you're at all familiar with Motown. I basically assumed that all of Stevie's albums prior to re-negotiating his contract and gaining full creative control over his material pretty much had the same flaw that many Motown albums from that period had: several brilliant outstanding singles with some left over material used to fill the album out. That is NOT the case with this outstanding piece of work. Don't let that cheesy album cover turn you away, because this is a young Stevie Wonder in top form here, which means that this is likely one of the greatest albums that you'll ever hear. Not that there is no filler at all but even the "lesser" material here, and there is very little (two songs tops) , are still solid efforts. Stevie Wonder is probably the single greatest composer/songsmith in the history of popular music, not to mention one of the greatest vocalists. There may not be a whole lot here in terms of innovation, especially compared to his later work, but Stevie's sense of song here is so incredibly strong that he excels in every aspect of songcraft to the point that I have to simply sit back and marvel. Just listen to everything about "Sugar", especially Stevie's drumming...!!! Songs on this album range from the warm, melodic, and contemplative "Never had a Dream Come True" and "Heaven Help us All" to the hard rockin' "Signed, Sealed, Delivered, I'm yours" and his outstanding cover of The Beatles' "We Can Work It Out". Most Beatles covers by other artist leave much to be desired to put it kindly, but Stevie not only matches The Beatles here, he and The Funk Brothers actually manage to out do their original. Other highlights include "Anything you want me to do" which once again makes me marvel and wonder how it is even humanly possible for someone to have such a strong basic sense of melody (the same can easily be said of the absolutely phenomenal "Something to Say"), and the near awe-inspiring "Joy". This album is not as groundbreaking or innovative as some of his work, but it's still extremely solid, and easily just as essential as some of his later work from the 70's. So, you're in for a real treat if you make it a part of your collection.

10 of 12 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars First Class Delivery, February 14, 2001

By 

Thomas Magnum (NJ, USA) - See all my reviews
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This review is from: Signed Sealed Delivered (Audio CD)

Signed, Sealed & Delivered is a great album from Stevie Wonder. The title track is among his most popular with its ringing guitars, blazing horns, southern fried sound and fiery vocals it is a r&b classic. Many of the songs point towards his movement into more social and political commentary. His cover of the Beatles' "We Can Work It Out" turns it from a song about a love relationship into a song about racial unity. "Never Had A Dream Come True" is another song about inequality. The album's most moving and emotional song is "Heaven Help Us". The song has a powerful orchestral movement and is a plea for change. The album showed a more mature artist and is a forerunner of the work he would explore later in the decade.

3 of 3 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars The Genius Taking Form, October 29, 2009

By 

M. Jones - See all my reviews
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This review is from: Signed Sealed Delivered (Audio CD)

I just received a copy of this cd after having long since worn out the album, 8-track & cassette, ok, so i dated myself. This was the 1st album where you could start seeing the transition that was taking place in his career. Their are certain albums that you look back on and think, Wow! This was the one that changed everything and that's the way I feel about "Signed, Sealed & Delievered". Stevie had been one of the cornerstones for Motown, along with Smokey Robinson, Holland, Dozier, Holland, Marvin Gaye, etc. Motown was the "Hit" making record company whose influence reached far and wide and was one of the main reasons for the formation of and the pre-cursor to many of the bands and artists who would be a part of the "British Invasion" that was soon to come.

That being said, Stevie had always been held back from expressing his deepest knowledge of music by the "Hit" making formula of Berry Gordy & his writing staff. Now, I'll be the first to admit that I loved all the wonderful hits that were produced at that time and each was a part of the overall historical signifigance that made up "Hitsville USA". However, artists like Stevie & Marvin Gaye were not, at that time, allowed to produce the epic and historical albums they later would in the 1970's. Their creative flow was stifled by Gordy and there was a storm brewing between Motown and Wonder that was soon to come to a head. He was 20 and his contract with Motown was about to expire, he knew that the time had come to begin taking the steps necessary to become the Avatar he was soon to become.

In one of the true strokes of sheer genius, he allowed his contract to expire, took his own money and wrote, produced, recorded and marketed the first album which he had complete artistic control over "Where I Am Coming From". That album began to wet the appetite of Motown's biggest competitors who already knew Stevie was a master but had no idea that he possessed the incredible skills witnessed on that album. When Motown came to the bargining table Stevie had several chips in his pocket to throw on the table and with that, Gordy decided to give in and grant Stevie total artistic freedom and full control and rights over his music.

This album is a wonderful example of that transition period and of course was produced by the master himself. Great songs and a tight funky groove through and through and the title track "Signed, Sealed & Delivered" is worth the price of admission by itself! After this album, Stevie would enter into a period of unmatched musical & lyrical brilliance that would change not only how music was produced but performed. There have been few times in music history that one person changed how it's viewed and accepted, this was one of those rare occasions. This is a great starting point for anyone just beginning their journey into the "wonder" world of this musical legend as you get to hear the genesis of who he would eventually become.