A Time To Love

Stevie Wonder

Product Details

• Audio CD (October 18, 2005)
• Number of Discs: 1
• Label: Motown
• ASIN: B0001MSGX0
• Also Available in: Audio CD  |  MP3 Download
• Average Customer Review: 4.4 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (144 customer reviews)
• Amazon.com Sales Rank: #65,382 in Music (See Bestsellers in Music)

Editorial Reviews

Amazon.com

Stevie Wonder took more than ten years to give a studio successor to Conversation Peace but A Time to Love feels fresher than we had any right to expect after such a long wait. For starters, the guests are well picked: They include Bonnie Raitt (playing slide guitar on "Tell Your Heart I Love You"), gospel singer Kim Burrell (on "If Your Heart Cannot Be Moved"), India Arie (on the title track), and Wonder's own daughter, Aisha Morris (whom listeners may remember as the source of her dad's delight in Songs in the Key of Life--"Isn't She Lovely"). Last but not least, Prince plays elegant, minimal funky guitar and En Vogue perform swoony backup vocals on first single "So What the Fuss," a classic pared-down dance number graced with Wonder's trademark socially conscious lyrics. It's on tracks like these--sounding as if they could be from anytime between 1975 and now--that Wonder shows he's still got the golden touch. He remains a sterling melodicist ("Moon Blue" is a killer ballad), and the harmonica intro on "From the Bottom of My Heart" is among the loveliest he's created. Of course a Wonder album wouldn't be complete without saccharine ballads, and he delivers there too ("Passionate Raindrops," "Can't Imagine Love Without You"). Still, this is a solid effort from one of America's premier artists. --Elisabeth Vincentelli

Product Description

Japanese pressing of A Time To Love, which is the 28th studio album from the legendary singer/songwriter, includes the single 'So What The Fuss' and features guest appearances from Kim Burrell, Aisha Morris, India Arie, Prince & En Vogue. This pressing includes a Japanese only bonus track which you download from PC sight with password in the package.The bonus track is limited, and you can access it till Apr, 2006. Motown. 2005. --This text refers to an out of print or unavailable edition of this title.

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Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

111 of 116 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Stevie's Back, October 18, 2005

By	Thomas Magnum (NJ, USA) - See all my reviews (TOP 50 REVIEWER)

Stevie Wonder's A Time To Love has been slated to be released several times in the past year or so. But it kept being pushed back and one wondered if it would ever be taken off the shelf. Usually that doesn't bode well for albums, but that is not the case here. This album is the best he's done since maybe Hotter Than July. The album finds him mixing the best of his musical traits, his social awareness and his sweet love songs. Mr. Wonder is a notorious perfectionist, but his attention to detail in the production real shines. The songs are magnificently arranged and crafted, especially the love songs. Mr. Wonder sings them with an all-knowing confidence of someone who isn't new to the game. The opening song, "If Your Love Cannot Be Moved", is a dramatic opening that is a duet with Kim Burrell and features some rhymes from old-school legend Doug E. Fresh. "Sweetest Somebody I Know" is a great mid-tempo number while "Moon Blue" & "From The Bottom Of My Heart" are more syrupy. "How Will I Know" is a jazzy number that he duets with his daughter Aisha Morris (who made her recording debut as the baby crying on the song she inspired 1976's "Isn't She Lovely). The song is especially appealing because there a sense of joy and fun that Mr. Wonder lets out while singing with his daughter (who sounds a bit like Alicia Keys). "My Love Is On Fire" (which features great flute work by Hubert Laws) & "Passionate Raindrops" have tremendous orchestration and "So What The Fuss" is as funky as anything he's done since the 70's. Mr. Wonder saves the best for last in the sprawling nine-minute title track. It is a duet with India.Arie (and features old fried Sir Paul McCartney on guitar) that has a sweeping string arrangement and the message of peace and love is as sincere and convincing as any social lyric Mr. Wonder has recorded. This album has it all and don't be surprised if the year-end accolades pile up high for this first-rate effort. Let's hope it is less than a decade before Mr. Wonder graces us with another album.

11 of 11 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Genius Never Dies, It Only Gets Better!!!!, December 2, 2005

By	Bryan Payton "Big B.P." (Oakland, CA) - See all my reviews (REAL NAME)

Without question, this new album by Stevie Wonder is one of the best albums that Stevie has ever done. And that's saying a lot, because all of Stevie's albums are good, and most of his albums are better than good. His songwriting skills are still top notch, as well as his production skills. And of course, Stevie still has that vocal magic, and his vocals are as good as ever. All of the songs on this album are strong, but the ones that I like the most are tracks no. 2,3,4,5,7,9,14, and 15.

You know, I'm getting kind of tired of hearing people who have critiqued this album to say that it's not as strong as his albums of the seventies and early eighties. Let me tell you something: if this album was released in the seventies, then we'd place this album on the same pedelstal of his great albums of the seventies. It's really unfair to compare the albums of today to the albums of the seventies, because the taste for music was different then it is today. The listeners of today don't have the depth and musical intellect that the listener had in the seventies. Today, all you got to do is have a bass line with a drum machine with the lyrics talkin about sex and you'll sell a million records. The music of today is pitiful, and these so called R&B artist of today can learn a lot from Mr. Wonder. One listen to this album and they'll know what true musical genius is all about!!!!!

13 of 14 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Stevie doesn't need to do remakes, December 30, 2005

By	LaZeric Freeman "TruSoulDJ" (Hammond, IN USA) - See all my reviews

How dare one reviewer suggest that Stevie do remakes and sing other writer's songs? Part of his charm is the fact that he writes and produces all of his own music.

And what's this continuing theme of calling his ballads "syrupy". So, what do you guys want? You want this writer of some our greatest love songs to start writing songs that appeal to the Little Kim (in jail) and Dr Dre (slapped a woman) generation? Give me a break.

And enough with the references to The Beatles being the greatest of all time ... Yes they were good, but the greatest? I love Paul on his own more and its debatable whether or not the underappreciated Monkees had better songs than the Beatles, considering that they managed to stay together much longer and release albums in the 60s, 80s and 90s.

But back to Stevie ... So many acts rely on other writers for their words and music. But Stevie, Elton and Billy Joel are in a class all their own. That's why we wait 10 or more years for their next releases. And stop comparing his current product to his 70s work. Each album should stand on its own merit. Besides, while HOTTER THAN JULY was a nice album, it definitely wasn't his best. Check out CHARACTERS for imaginative lyrics, IN SQUARE CIRCLE for absolutely pretty melodies, CONVERSATION PEACE for non stop variety and NATURAL WONDER, a live concert celebrating the span of Wonder's career. And if that's still not good enough, go out and make your own CD.

TruSoulDJ