I Was Made To Love Her (1967)

I Was Made To Love Her (1967)

Following the chart-topping success of the original song “I Was Made To Love Her” — very ostensibly co-written with Wonder’s mother — Motown commissioned Stevie’s seventh album to keep the momentum around the single going. Unfortunately, the rest of the record lacks the floor-filling, goosebump-raising excitement and heft of the title track. Competent but faithful covers of “My Girl,” “Respect” and “Please Please Please” feel so perfunctory and bore hours into the album’s 33-minute runtime. Still, it’s worth the price of admission for the lead track, which reaffirms to the world that 17-year-old Stevie has a lot to add to the conversation as a writer, and Motown is on the precipice of letting him do just that. Watch out, world.