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 .
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
"Part-Time Lover " – 4:09
"I Love You Too Much" – 5:30
"Whereabouts" – 4:17
"Stranger on the Shore of Love " – 5:01
"Never in Your Sun" – 4:07
Side two
"Spiritual Walkers" – 5:12
"Land of La La" – 5:14
"Go Home " – 5:18
"Overjoyed " – 3:43
"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)
"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
Weekly charts
Year-end charts
Certifications
See also
References
^ AllMusic review
^ Christgau, Robert. Consumer Guide Reviews: In Square Circle . The Village Voice . Retrieved 2010-05-08.
^ "In Square Circle" . Rolling Stone . 24 October 1985. Archived from the original on 22 June 2018. Retrieved 1 September 2017 .
^ "Stevie Wonder: Album Guide | Rolling Stone Music" . Rolling Stone . Archived from the original on 2013-04-06. Retrieved 2017-09-01 .
^ RJ Smith (December 1985). "Spins". Spin . No. 8. p. 29.
^ YouTube: "Synthesizer Showdown at the 1985 Grammys"
^ "May 7, 1983" . The SNL Archives . Retrieved 3 May 2015 .
^ Kent, David (1993). Australian Chart Book 1970–1992 . St Ives, NSW : Australian Chart Book. ISBN 0-646-11917-6 .
^ "austriancharts.at Stevie Wonder – In Square Circle " (ASP) . Hung Medien (in German). Retrieved 2014-04-27 .
^ Library and Archives Canada. Archived 2014-02-01 at the Wayback Machine Retrieved 2014-04-27
^ "dutchcharts.nl Stevie Wonder – In Square Circle " (ASP) . dutchcharts.nl . MegaCharts . Retrieved 2014-04-27 .
^ a b Oricon Album Chart Book: Complete Edition 1970-2005 . Roppongi , Tokyo : Oricon Entertainment. 2006. ISBN 4-87131-077-9 .
^ "charts.nz Stevie Wonder – In Square Circle " (ASP) . Hung Medien . Recording Industry Association of New Zealand . Retrieved 2014-04-27 .
^ "norwegiancharts.com Stevie Wonder – In Square Circle " (ASP) . Hung Medien . VG-lista. Retrieved 2014-04-27 .
^ "swedishcharts.com Stevie Wonder – In Square Circle " (ASP) (in Swedish). Retrieved 2014-04-27 .
^ "Stevie Wonder – In Square Circle – hitparade.ch" (ASP) . Hung Medien (in German). Swiss Music Charts. Retrieved 2014-04-27 .
^ "Official Albums Chart Top 100" . Official Charts Company . Retrieved May 14, 2021.
^ "Stevie Wonder Chart History (Billboard 200)" . Billboard . Retrieved May 14, 2021.
^ "Album Search: Stevie Wonder – In Square Circle " (in German). Media Control. Retrieved 2014-04-27 .[dead link ]
^ "RPM Top 100 Albums of 1985" . RPM . Archived from the original on July 23, 2012. Retrieved February 20, 2013 .
^ "Les Albums (CD) de 1985 par InfoDisc" (in French). infodisc.fr. Archived from the original (PHP) on October 27, 2012. Retrieved February 20, 2013 .
^ "RPM Top 100 Albums of 1986" . RPM . Retrieved February 20, 2013 .
^ 年間アルバムヒットチャート 1986年(昭和61年) [Japanese Year-End Albums Chart 1986] (in Japanese). Oricon. Archived from the original on 2013-11-02. Retrieved 2014-04-27 .
^ "Billboard.BIZ – Year-end Charts – Billboard 200 – 1986" . billboard.biz. Archived from the original on 2012-12-09. Retrieved 2014-04-27 .
^ "Canadian album certifications – Stevie Wonder – In Square Circle" . Music Canada . Retrieved 2013-09-26 .
^ "French album certifications – Stevie Wonder – In Square Circle" (in French). InfoDisc. Select STEVIE WONDER and click OK.
^ "IFPIHK Gold Disc Award − 1988" . IFPI Hong Kong. Retrieved November 30, 2019 .
^ "New Zealand album certifications – Stevie Wonder – In Square Circle" . Recorded Music NZ . Retrieved 20 June 2019 .
^ Solo Exitos 1959-2002 Ano A Ano: Certificados 1979-1990 . Iberautor Promociones Culturales. 2005. ISBN 8480486392 .
^ "British album certifications – Stevie Wonder – In Square Circle" . British Phonographic Industry . Retrieved 2013-09-26 .
^ "American album certifications – Stevie Wonder – In Square Circle" . Recording Industry Association of America . Retrieved 2013-09-26 .
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