|
Whereabouts (10/10)-a very underrated song4. Overjoyed (10/10)-One of Stevie's best ballads, in the same vein as "Lately"10. "In Square Circle" was the first Stevie Wonder album that I had heard. Innervisions, Songs In The Key of Life, hence the four star rating), but this is a great album in its own right. Go Home (9/10)-Should have been a bigger hit9. In my opinion, "It's Wrong (Apartheid)" is his best protest song (better than "Dark 'n Lovely" from Characters and "Happy Birthday" from Hotter than July) that Stevie has ever done.Ranking the songs1. I Love You Too Much (8/10)-an OK song,but sounds like filler to me3.
Land of La La (8/10)-see above8. Spiritual Walkers (8/10)-great beat, but that's about it7.
This album definitely sounds like it was made in the 1980s (it does sound dated), but Stevie was still writing beautiful songs. Never in Your Sun (9/10)-Stevie gets down on the harmonica6.
This album does not compare to his 70's output (i.e. Stranger on the Shore Of Love (7/10)-probably the weakest cut on the album5.
It's Wrong (Apartheid) (20/10)-a great way to end the album, and the album's best song. I see this album as the bridge between the 70s Stevie and the Stevie of today.
Part Time Lover (10/10)- one of Stevie's best songs2.
The instrumentation on "Stranger On The Shore Of Love" boarders on corny but the song is wonderfully constructed. His humanitarianism,also linked to his mistrust of President Reagen (and for proper reasons). Being a long time admirerer of Stevie Wonder and his music and having listened to this album many,many,many times yet never bothered to review it. Interestingly enough when this recording dropped in 1985 Stevie had already been performing songs from it on SNL a couple years earlier and,fact is it actually sounded a couple years old. "It's Wrong (Aparteid)",outside it's "afro-electric" sound is a potent reminder of Stevie's main activities of the time;performing for USA/Africa related charity events and protesting against aparteid in South Africa. In this case it kind of flattens out a lot of the music,and it's most noticable on the funkier songs here such as "Spiritual Walkers",apparently about Jehovah's Witnessess and "I Love You Too Much" which actually,aside from some typically beautiful melodic major/minor chord refrains is pretty clipped and electronic sound anyway. "Whereabouts" is actually a very good ballad,not that different from "Overjoyed" in the way it gives Stevie an opportunity to excersise his melodically jazzy songwriting style and trademark feel for chord progressions that made his type of soul/funk so distinctive.
"Land Of La La" is actually an attempt at a fairly straight ahead new wave song but,at the same time Stevie's emotionally involved vocal style contrasts very heavily with the often chilly style of 80's new wave/synth pop and even though it doesn't work in every way it could've been a lot worse than it was. The same goes for "Go Home",especially with Larry Gitten's echoed trumpet after the refrain and it's one of the earliest songs I knew from this album.
Two significant downside to that were two musical qualities that were more typical of it's release year:the use of a then sound flattening DDD production and a somewhat overuse of synclavier and digital keyboards. "Never In Your Sun" is a place where the electronic flavor of the album works wonderfully,especially with the percussive use of the drum machines.
The first thing I want to say is it took Stevie several years to complete this album (he released Original Musiquarium I and The Woman In Red: Selections From The Original Motion Picture Soundtrack during the wait) and considering this syndrome had become a very common with Stevie during the mid to late 70's expectations were very mixed. Done in the instrumental style of using clavinets,live drumming,ARP's along with plenty of echos and reverbs it would've been a sure fire classic.
So while the follow up album Characters has a stronger sound in many ways than this and doesn't suffer quite as bad from the heavily dated electronics as this one does there is,as with almost every Stevie Wonder album a lot here to admire and respect. The general production of this album does,in fact sound much more in keeping with 1983,which is appropriate considering most of this music actually hailed from that year.
As far as the rhythm is concerned "Part Time Lover" is very much classic Holland/Dozier/Holland Motown arrangement with an old time "cheatin' heart" type blues lyric.That combination had been done in the past and actually it worked pretty well in the 80's even if,again the sound was missing a certain spunk due to the instrumental alterations.
Spiritual Walkers is worth the price by itself. Like most Stevie albums, this one took me a few listens before it grew on me. But it was well worth it.
But, I wasn't surprised that all the other songs held up brilliantly against those two and the third single, "Go Home." It's clear that Stevie was determined to continue being himself in close step with the time, without feeling the slightest need to produce another "I Just Called to Say I Love You." The man's obviously got clearer vision than most people with two good eyes.I'm guessing that Stevie relied heavily upon the Yamaha DX7 and Synclavier II synthesizers (the other also used for most of the sequencing) for the majority of the record. The same can be said for Stevie's reflection on Evangelists ("Spiritual Walkers") and people seeking greener pastures ("Land of La La").Additional reflections: Possibly my first taste of the material on this record (even before hearing "Part-Time Lover") may have been hearing "Land of La La" as a background song during a local cable ad.
In between, I remember fantasizing that Stevie was singing "Spiritual Walkers" during a shoe commercial. Years later, I discovered that the version of "It's Wrong" I'd always heard wasn't a full-length version (I imagine it was shortened to accommodate the 45-minute vinyl edition).
This record is my favorite Stevie Wonder offering of all time. It's only a nice coincidence that the closing cut on this record is a most adept and direct critique of South Africa's policy of Apartheid, simply saying, "It's Wrong." Whatever the reason, the presence of this song only adds to the record and its topical significance.
HA. I enjoy everything this unmistakable genius is responsible for, but In Square Circle is the album I like best.I first heard it when I was around six years old, and it had me at the opening bars of "Part-Time Lover." I'd already heard that song and "Overjoyed" on the radio when my parents got the album.
He only utilized his acoustic piano on two of the album's gorgeous ballads, "Whereabouts" and the much-underrated, underexposed "Overjoyed." But, that's not a complaint; I grew up during the 80's, and Stevie's music is one of the reasons I enjoy the sounds made by synthesizers and drum machines.Interestingly, his Academy Award acceptance speech for "I Just Called to Say I Love You" (in which he expressed his support of Nelson Mandela) led to his music being banned from South Africa.
Considering that this album came out in 1985 it's not that strange that some of the songs rely on synthesizers and drum machines which sound rather dated today but "In Square Circle" is considerable better then the soundtrack album he made two years ealier for the film "The Woman In Red" and some of the songs here are simply outstanding. It's about finding that special one and to feel "Overjoyed" by that experience and hoping that the other person feel the same about you. It's the last good album from Stevie Wonder. In 1985 Stevie Wonder came back with his first studio album in 5 years to most fans excitement. In particular "Overjoyed", "I Love You Too Much" and "Wherabouts" are hidden gems that proved that Wonder still had it. A brilliant ballad called "Overjoyed" that could have been released today probably takes the price as the best song. There isn't that much more to say other then if you like most of his music you're gonna like this one aswell even if it's not among his better albums.
For alot of people this was probably the first exposure to Stevie Wonder's greatness. As a whole, "In Square Circle" is a good enough purchase with plenty of memorable songs. The last three songs, "Strangers in the Shore Of Love", "Never In The Sun" are quite forgettable midtempo/lovesongs while "Spiriual Walkers" is a synthesizer friendly pop song. If you listen closely to the end of the verse, you can hear Luther Vandross's humming. Two funky numbers with "Go Home" that was a #10 hit and good for the dancefloor and "Land of La la" which probably got a double meanming when it talks about finding fame and success in LA and then sings land of La LA in the hook which stand for something else.
Wonder had taken the 80's by storm and scored more hits then ever but his creativity had subsided to give room for pure Pop instead of Soul. "Wherabouts" may not have the catchyness but it's lyrics are wonderful about a man trying to capture the moments in the past where everything was working fine for him with love and happyness. Other good songs are the South African influnced "It's Wrong (Apartheid)" with African chants and drums which deal about the obvious thing stated in the title. Here you find the catchy uptempo "Part Time Lover" a huge hit that topped the billboard charts and is one of his alltime best. Second song "I Love You Too Much" is another great number, a love song where Wondeer prove he still got it.
|
