Lester Cohen/Wonder Productions 1971 represented an inflection point in Stevie Wonder’s career. The prodigious singer, songwriter, producer and multi-instrumentalist had already put out more than a dozen albums and scored nearly as many Top 10 hits. But he had been part of the famously regimented Motown system for the entirety of his career. Now that he turned 21, his contract with Berry Gordy had expired, granting Wonder new freedoms. So when he heard Zero Time, an album full of swirling, keening electronics and smeared, warped effects recorded by Tonto’s Expanding Head Band, he decided to seek out the men behind the record in New York City. The resulting partnership led to four LPs released between 1972 and 1974 —