In_Square_Circle

<i>In Square Circle</i>

In Square Circle

1985 studio album by Stevie Wonder

In Square Circle is the twentieth studio album by American singer-songwriter Stevie Wonder, released in 1985. The album features the hit singles "Part-Time Lover" (No. 1), "Go Home" (No. 10), "Overjoyed" (No. 24), and "Land of La La" (No. 86). The album earned Wonder a Grammy for Best Male R&B Vocal Performance at the 1986 Grammy Awards.

Quick Facts In Square Circle, Studio album by Stevie Wonder ...
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In Square Circle made the top five on the Pop Albums chart, and spent 12 weeks at number one on the Top R&B Albums chart. On the UK Albums Chart, it peaked at number five.

Reception

Spin called the album, "a pleasant muttering packaged as a Major Statement. Where's the energy and comedy of the man who turns into a mercurial mimic on stage? The lights are on, but nobody's home."[5]

Track listing

All songs written, produced and arranged by Stevie Wonder.

Side one

  1. "Part-Time Lover" – 4:09
  2. "I Love You Too Much" – 5:30
  3. "Whereabouts" – 4:17
  4. "Stranger on the Shore of Love" – 5:01
  5. "Never in Your Sun" – 4:07

Side two

  1. "Spiritual Walkers" – 5:12
  2. "Land of La La" – 5:14
  3. "Go Home" – 5:18
  4. "Overjoyed" – 3:43
  5. "It's Wrong (Apartheid)" – 3:29

Notes

  • On CD and Streaming editions of the album, "It's Wrong (Apartheid)" runs for 6:52

Personnel

Musicians

"Part-Time Lover"

  • Stevie Wonder – lead vocal, synthesizers, drums
  • Luther Vandross – lead vocal, background vocal
  • Syreeta Wright – background vocal
  • Philip Bailey – background vocal
  • Keith John – background vocal
  • Melody McCully, Billy Durham, Peter Byrne, Renee Hardaway, Darryl Phinnessee – background vocal

"I Love You Too Much"

  • Stevie Wonder – lead vocal, background vocal, synthesizers, drums, percussion

"Whereabouts"

  • Stevie Wonder – lead vocal, synthesizers, drums, percussion
  • Keith John – background vocal
  • Darryl Phinnessee – background vocal
  • Deniece Williams – background vocal
  • Howard Smith – background vocal

"Stranger on the Shore of Love"

  • Stevie Wonder – lead vocal, background vocal, synthesizers, drums, harpsichord, accordion

"Never in Your Sun"

  • Stevie Wonder – lead vocal, background vocal, synthesizers, drums, percussion, harmonica

"Spiritual Walkers"

  • Stevie Wonder – lead vocal, Yamaha CS-80 synthesizer, drums, percussion
  • Edwin Birdsong – Yamaha CS-80 synthesizer
  • Larry Gittens – trumpet
  • Bob Malach – saxophone
  • Janice Moore, Cheta Akins, Carolyn Garrett, Ruthell Holmes, Kay Gibbs, Valencia Cox – background vocal

"Land of La La"

  • Stevie Wonder – lead vocal, background vocal, synthesizers, electric piano, percussion, drums
  • Ben Bridges – guitar
  • Rick Zunigar – guitar
  • Renee Hardaway – background vocal

"Go Home"

  • Stevie Wonder – lead vocal, background vocal, synthesizers, drums, vocoder
  • Bob Malach – saxophone
  • Larry Gittens – trumpet

"Overjoyed"

  • Stevie Wonder – lead vocal, background vocal, acoustic piano, environmental percussion (incl.: crickets, bird sounds, ocean, pebbles in pond, stone dropped, crushing leaves), Yamaha CS-80 synthesizer
  • Earl Klugh – guitar
  • Paul Riser – string arrangement

"It's Wrong (Apartheid)"

  • Stevie Wonder – lead vocal, synthesizers, drums, percussion, kora
  • Musa Dludla, Thandeka Ngono-Raasch, Linda Bottoman-Tshabalala, Muntu Myuyana, Lorraine Mahlangu-Richards, Fana Kekana, Tsepo Mokone – background vocal

Technical personnel

  • Stevie Wonder – producer, performer, writer, composer
  • Bob Bralove, Brad Buxer, Abdoulaye Soumare – synthesizer programming
  • Gary Olazabal – synthesizer programming, recording engineer, associate producer, audio mixing
  • Bobby Holland – photography (album cover/booklet), concept designer (album cover)
  • Renee Hardaway – concept designer (album cover)
  • Johnny Lee – art direction (album cover)

Notable performances

"Go Home" was performed during the 1986 Grammy Awards ceremony as part of a synthesizer jam with Thomas Dolby, Herbie Hancock, and Howard Jones.[6] It was also performed, along with "Overjoyed," on the May 7, 1983, episode of Saturday Night Live, which Wonder hosted.[7]

Charts

More information Chart (1985–1986), Position ...

Certifications

More information Region, Certification ...

See also

References

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    AllMusic review
  2. [2]
    Christgau, Robert. Consumer Guide Reviews: In Square Circle. The Village Voice. Retrieved 2010-05-08.
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    "Stevie Wonder: Album Guide | Rolling Stone Music". Rolling Stone. Archived from the original on 2013-04-06. Retrieved 2017-09-01.
  5. [5]
    RJ Smith (December 1985). "Spins". Spin. No. 8. p. 29.
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    YouTube: "Synthesizer Showdown at the 1985 Grammys"
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    "May 7, 1983". The SNL Archives. Retrieved 3 May 2015.
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  31. [31]
    "American album certifications – Stevie Wonder – In Square Circle". Recording Industry Association of America. Retrieved 2013-09-26.
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