| Up-Tight | ||||
|---|---|---|---|---|
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| Studio album by | ||||
| Released | May 4, 1966 | |||
| Recorded | 1965–1966; 1962 ("Contract on Love"); 1964 ("Pretty Little Angel") | |||
| Studio | Hitsville U.S.A., Detroit, Michigan | |||
| Genre | Soul | |||
| Length | 32:52 | |||
| Label | Tamla | |||
| Producer |
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| Stevie Wonder chronology | ||||
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| Singles from Up-Tight | ||||
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| Review scores | |
|---|---|
| Source | Rating |
| AllMusic |   [1] |
| Pitchfork | 9.5/10[2] |
Up-Tight (shown as Up-Tight Everything's Alright on the cover) is a 1966 album by American singer Stevie Wonder, released by Motown on the Tamla label. It was his fifth studio release.
Up-Tight was recorded at Motown's studio Hitsville U.S.A.inDetroit. It includes two earlier recordings, the 1962 single "Contract on Love" and the un-issued 1964 single "Pretty Little Angel".
Also included on the album are "Nothing's Too Good for My Baby", another Wonder co-write, and a cover of folk star Bob Dylan's "Blowin' in the Wind", which made Wonder popular with crossover audiences, and a cover of the standard "Teach Me Tonight", featuring vocals by The Four Tops.
Stevie was backed by the Funk Brothers, the legendary, but uncredited, early period Motown Records studio musicians, creators of the famous, recognisable '60s Motown sound. Motown's in-house female backing group, The Andantes, also accompany Wonder on the album. Backing vocalist Pat Lewis stepped in (as a replacement for one of the singers who couldn't make it to one of the recording sessions) and recorded with the group.
"Pretty Little Angel" was listed as a single release in 1964. The track was mastered for single release in the fall of 1964 but not issued at that time. However, some copies were pressed two years later when the track was reconsidered for single release. These copies, of which there are very few, were pressed with the later style Tamla label (i.e. the post globes label) that was introduced in the US during the second half of 1966. The recording was again withdrawn when "A Place In The Sun" was considered superior.
The album was released on May 4, 1966, on Motown Records' Tamla label. The album features the U.S. Top 5 single "Uptight (Everything's Alright)", which Wonder co-wrote with Sylvia Moy and Henry Cosby.[3]
The album reached No. 33 on the Billboard Pop Albums chart and No. 2 on the R&B Albums chart.[4][5]
| Chart (1966) | Peak position |
|---|---|
| USBillboard 200[4] | 33 |
| USTop R&B/Hip-Hop Albums (Billboard)[5] | 2 |
