''Conversation Peace'' is the 22nd album released by American musician Stevie Wonder, on the Motown label in 1995. The album was Wonder's first full-length non-soundtrack studio album since 1987's ''

Characters Character or Characters may refer to: Arts, entertainment, and media Literature * ''Character'' (novel), a 1936 Dutch novel by Ferdinand Bordewijk * ''Characters'' (Theophrastus), a classical Greek set of character sketches attributed to The ...

''. This album yielded the hits "For Your Love" (a Grammy winner for Wonder for Best R&B Male Vocal Performance) and the

reggae Reggae () is a music genre that originated in Jamaica in the late 1960s. The term also denotes the modern popular music of Jamaica and its diaspora. A 1968 single by Toots and the Maytals, " Do the Reggay" was the first popular song to use ...

-flavored "Tomorrow Robins Will Sing". This album also saw Wonder reuniting with

Robert Margouleff Robert Margouleff is an American record producer, recording engineer, electronic music pioneer, audio expert, and film producer. Career The Birth of TONTO Margouleff was an early customer, friend and collaborator of fellow New Yorker and music in ...

, who assisted during Wonder's "classic period" from 1972 to 1974. Wonder wrote about 40 songs in 1993 after being invited to stay for six weeks in

Ghana Ghana (; tw, Gaana, ee, Gana), officially the Republic of Ghana, is a country in West Africa. It abuts the Gulf of Guinea and the Atlantic Ocean to the south, sharing borders with Ivory Coast in the west, Burkina Faso in the north, and To ...

by President

Jerry John Rawlings Jerry John Rawlings (22 June 194712 November 2020) was a Ghanaian military officer and politician who led the country for a brief period in 1979, and then from 1981 to 2001. He led a military junta until 1992, and then served two terms as the de ...

. A number of these songs were eventually shaped into album form. Motown announced in August 1993 that ''Conversation Peace'' would be released later that year; however, Wonder continued to work on the album through 1994 until its release in March 1995, when ''Vibe'' magazine reported that the album had been in development "off and on for at least the past four" years. A circulating outtake from these sessions, "Ms and Mr Little Ones", was later released on ''

Natural Wonder ''Natural Wonder'' is a live album by American musician Stevie Wonder, released in 1995 and recorded in Osaka, Japan and Tel Aviv, Israel. The tour featured different symphony orchestras at some venues, conducted by touring conductor Henry Panio ...

''.

Reception

Critics felt that the album was a return to Wonder's classic period of the 1970s. John Milward in a 1995 review in ''

Rolling Stone ''Rolling Stone'' is an American monthly magazine that focuses on music, politics, and popular culture. It was founded in San Francisco, California, in 1967 by Jann Wenner, and the music critic Ralph J. Gleason. It was first known for its ...

'' gave it four stars and felt that while the album is "reminiscent" of Wonder's classic albums, its "lean execution" gives it a "modern sound". While the quality of the work was appreciated,

Greg Kot Greg Kot (born March 3, 1957) is an American music journalist and author. From 1990 until 2020, Kot was the rock music critic at the ''Chicago Tribune'', where he covered popular music and reported on music-related social, political and busines ...

of the ''

Chicago Tribune The ''Chicago Tribune'' is a daily newspaper based in Chicago, Illinois, United States, owned by Tribune Publishing. Founded in 1847, and formerly self-styled as the "World's Greatest Newspaper" (a slogan for which WGN radio and television a ...

'' and Jean Rosenbluth of the ''

Los Angeles Times The ''Los Angeles Times'' (abbreviated as ''LA Times'') is a daily newspaper that started publishing in Los Angeles in 1881. Based in the LA-adjacent suburb of El Segundo since 2018, it is the sixth-largest newspaper by circulation in the U ...

'' felt that the style was a bit too familiar and well-worn to be interesting, though Robert Christgau of ''

The Village Voice ''The Village Voice'' is an American news and culture paper, known for being the country's first alternative newspaper, alternative newsweekly. Founded in 1955 by Dan Wolf (publisher), Dan Wolf, Ed Fancher, John Wilcock, and Norman Mailer, th ...

'' gave it an "A−" and remarked that while listeners may have "heard all this before, that doesn't mean it's worn out its welcome." Stephen Thomas Erlewine gave it two-and-a-half stars in a retrospective review for

Allmusic AllMusic (previously known as All Music Guide and AMG) is an American online music database. It catalogs more than three million album entries and 30 million tracks, as well as information on musicians and bands. Initiated in 1991, the databa ...

and felt the music wasn't contemporary enough to get radio play.

Track listing

All songs written and composed by Stevie Wonder, except where noted. # "Rain Your Love Down" – 6:08 # "Edge of Eternity" – 6:04 # "Taboo to Love" – 4:25 # "Take the Time Out" – 5:05 # "I'm New" – 5:41 # "My Love Is with You" – 5:54 # "Treat Myself" (Wonder, Stephanie Andrews) – 4:55 # "Tomorrow Robins Will Sing" (Wonder, Edley Shine) – 4:46 # "Sensuous Whisper" – 5:47 # "

For Your Love "For Your Love" is a rock song written by Graham Gouldman and recorded by English group the Yardbirds. Released in March 1965, it was their first top ten hit in both the UK and the US. The song was a departure from the group's blues roots ...

" – 5:00 # "Cold Chill" – 6:53 # "Sorry" – 6:15 # "Conversation Peace" – 6:39

Personnel

Personnel involved in the album include: * Stevie Wonder – Guitar, arranger, keyboards,

vocals Singing is the act of creating musical sounds with the voice. A person who sings is called a singer, artist or vocalist (in jazz and/or popular music). Singers perform music (arias, recitatives, songs, etc.) that can be sung with or withou ...

, background vocals, multi-instruments, mixing *

Anita Baker Anita Denise Baker (born January 26, 1958) is an American singer-songwriter. She is one of the most popular singers of soulful ballads, especially renowned for her work during the height of the quiet storm period in the 1980s. Starting her career ...

–

Background vocals A backing vocalist is a singer who provides vocal harmony with the lead vocalist or other backing vocalists. A backing vocalist may also sing alone as a lead-in to the main vocalist's entry or to sing a counter-melody. Backing vocalists are us ...

* Ollie Brown – Conductor * Lenny Castro –

Percussion A percussion instrument is a musical instrument that is sounded by being struck or scraped by a beater including attached or enclosed beaters or rattles struck, scraped or rubbed by hand or struck against another similar instrument. Ex ...

* Ernie Fields, Jr. –

Tenor saxophone The tenor saxophone is a medium-sized member of the saxophone family, a group of instruments invented by Adolphe Sax in the 1840s. The tenor and the alto are the two most commonly used saxophones. The tenor is pitched in the key of B (while ...

Nolan Shaheed Nolan Shaheed (born Nolan Andrew Smith, Jr.; July 18, 1949 in Pasadena, California) is an American jazz musician, specializing in the cornet and trumpet, and a world record holding masters athlete. Masters athletics Shaheed has been in the mas ...

Trumpet The trumpet is a brass instrument commonly used in classical and jazz ensembles. The trumpet group ranges from the piccolo trumpet—with the highest register in the brass family—to the bass trumpet, pitched one octave below the standard ...

* Ray Brown -

* Fernando Pullum -

* Jorge Arciniega -

Fred Wesley Fred Wesley (born July 4, 1943) is an American trombonist who worked with James Brown in the 1960s and 1970s and Parliament-Funkadelic in the second half of the 1970s. Biography Wesley was born the son of a high school teacher and big band lead ...

Trombone The trombone (german: Posaune, Italian, French: ''trombone'') is a musical instrument in the brass family. As with all brass instruments, sound is produced when the player's vibrating lips cause the air column inside the instrument to vibrate ...

* Reggie Young -

Ladysmith Black Mambazo Ladysmith Black Mambazo are a South African male choral group singing in the local vocal styles of '' isicathamiya'' and '' mbube''. They became known internationally after singing with Paul Simon on his 1986 album '' Graceland'', and have won ...

– Background vocals *

– Mixing * Branford Marsalis –

Saxophone The saxophone (often referred to colloquially as the sax) is a type of Single-reed instrument, single-reed woodwind instrument with a conical body, usually made of brass. As with all single-reed instruments, sound is produced when a reed (mouthpi ...

Greg Phillinganes Gregory Arthur Phillinganes (born May 12, 1956) is an American keyboardist, singer-songwriter, and musical director based in Los Angeles, California. A prolific session musician, Phillinganes has contributed the role of keyboards to numerous alb ...

–

Keyboards Keyboard may refer to: Text input * Keyboard, part of a typewriter * Computer keyboard ** Keyboard layout, the software control of computer keyboards and their mapping ** Keyboard technology, computer keyboard hardware and firmware Music * Musi ...

* Melvin "Wah Wah" Ragin –

Guitar The guitar is a fretted musical instrument that typically has six strings. It is usually held flat against the player's body and played by strumming or plucking the strings with the dominant hand, while simultaneously pressing selected strin ...

* Ben Bridges - Guitar solo on "Cold Chill" *

Nathan Watts Nathan or Natan may refer to: People *Nathan (given name), including a list of people and characters with this name *Nathan (surname) *Nathan (prophet), a person in the Hebrew Bible * Nathan (son of David), biblical figure, son of King David an ...

– Bass, background vocals, associate producer *

Deniece Williams Deniece Williams (born June Deniece Chandler; June 3, 1951) is an American singer. She has been described as "one of the great soul voices" by the BBC. She is best known for the songs " Free", " Silly", "It's Gonna Take a Miracle" and two ''Bil ...

– Background vocals *

The Winans The Winans are an American gospel quartet from Detroit, Michigan consisting of brothers Marvin, Carvin, Michael and Ronald Winans. Members ''Please refer to the Winans family page for more detail on the individual members.'' About: Origins & Mu ...

- Background vocals *

Syreeta Wright Syreeta Wright (February 28, 1946 – July 6, 2004), who recorded professionally under the single name Syreeta, was an American singer-songwriter, best known for her music during the early 1970s through the early 1980s. Wright's career heights we ...

– Background vocals *

Take 6 Take 6 is an American a cappella gospel sextet formed in 1980 on the campus of Oakwood College in Huntsville, Alabama. The group integrates jazz with spiritual and inspirational lyrics. Take 6 has received several Grammy Awards as well as Dove ...

- Background vocals * The Artist Formerly Known As Prince - credited.

Charts

Weekly charts

Year-end charts

Certifications

References

External links

Stevie Wonder interview
by Pete Lewis, ''Blues & Soul'', March 1995 {{Authority control Stevie Wonder albums 1995 albums Motown albums Albums produced by Stevie Wonder New jack swing albums