| Conversation Peace | ||||
|---|---|---|---|---|
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| Studio album by | ||||
| Released | March 21, 1995 | |||
| Recorded | 1993–1995 | |||
| Genre | R&B | |||
| Length | 73:32 | |||
| Label | Motown | |||
| Producer | Stevie Wonder | |||
| Stevie Wonder chronology | ||||
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| Singles from Conversation Peace | ||||
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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. This album yielded the hits "For Your Love" (aGrammy winner for Wonder for Best R&B Male Vocal Performance) and the reggae-flavored "Tomorrow Robins Will Sing". This album also saw Wonder reuniting with Robert Margouleff, 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 by President Jerry John Rawlings. A number of these songs were eventually shaped into album form.[1][2] Motown announced in August 1993 that Conversation Peace would be released later that year;[3] 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.[4]
| Review scores | |
|---|---|
| Source | Rating |
| AllMusic |    [5] |
| Chicago Tribune | [6] |
| Entertainment Weekly | B−[7] |
| Los Angeles Times | [8] |
| NME | 7/10[9] |
| The New York Times | (favorable)[10] |
| Rolling Stone | [11] |
| Stereo Review | (favorable)[12] |
| The Village Voice | A[13] |
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 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".[11] While the quality of the work was appreciated, Greg Kot of the Chicago Tribune and Jean Rosenbluth of the Los Angeles Times felt that the style was a bit too familiar and well-worn to be interesting,[6][8] though Robert ChristgauofThe Village Voice 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."[13] Stephen Thomas Erlewine gave it two-and-a-half stars in a retrospective review for Allmusic and felt the music wasn't contemporary enough to get radio play.[5]
All songs written and composed by Stevie Wonder, except where noted.
Personnel involved in the album include:
Weekly charts[edit]
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Year-end charts[edit]
|
| Region | Certification | Certified units/sales |
|---|---|---|
| Japan (RIAJ)[31] | Gold | 158,000[29] |
| United States (RIAA)[32] | Gold | 500,000^ |
|
^ Shipments figures based on certification alone. | ||
