In Square Circle

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
Studio album by
Stevie Wonder
ReleasedSeptember 13, 1985
Recorded1984–85
StudioWonderland Studios
(Los Angeles, California)
Genre
Length46:00 (LP)
49:22 (CD)
LabelTamla
ProducerStevie Wonder
Stevie Wonder chronology
The Woman in Red
(1984)		 In Square Circle
(1985)		 Characters
(1987)
Singles from In Square Circle
  1. "Part-Time Lover"
    Released: August 24, 1985
  2. "Go Home"
    Released: October 1985
  3. "Overjoyed"
    Released: January 1986
  4. "Land of La La"
    Released: April 1986
  5. "Stranger on the Shore of Love"
    Released: July 1986
Professional ratings
Review scores
SourceRating
AllMusic[1]
Robert ChristgauB+[2]
Rolling Stone(favorable)[3]
The Rolling Stone Album Guide[4]

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

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

Certifications
Certifications for In Square Circle
Region CertificationCertified units/sales
Canada (Music Canada)[25] 2× Platinum 200,000^
France (SNEP)[26] Gold 100,000*
Hong Kong (IFPI Hong Kong)[27] Gold 10,000*
Japan (Oricon Charts) — 596,000[12]
New Zealand (RMNZ)[28] Gold 7,500^
Spain (PROMUSICAE)[29] Platinum 100,000^
United Kingdom (BPI)[30] Gold 100,000^
United States (RIAA)[31] 2× Platinum 2,000,000^

* Sales figures based on certification alone.
^ Shipments figures based on certification alone.

See also

References
  1. AllMusic review
  2. Christgau, Robert. Consumer Guide Reviews: In Square Circle. The Village Voice. Retrieved 2010-05-08.
  3. "In Square Circle". Rolling Stone. 24 October 1985. Archived from the original on 22 June 2018. Retrieved 1 September 2017.
  4. "Stevie Wonder: Album Guide | Rolling Stone Music". Rolling Stone. Archived from the original on 2013-04-06. Retrieved 2017-09-01.
  5. RJ Smith (December 1985). "Spins". Spin. No. 8. p. 29.
  6. YouTube: "Synthesizer Showdown at the 1985 Grammys"
  7. "May 7, 1983". The SNL Archives. Retrieved 3 May 2015.
  8. Kent, David (1993). Australian Chart Book 1970–1992. St Ives, NSW: Australian Chart Book. ISBN 0-646-11917-6.
  9. "austriancharts.at Stevie Wonder – In Square Circle" (ASP). Hung Medien (in German). Retrieved 2014-04-27.
  10. Library and Archives Canada. Archived 2014-02-01 at the Wayback Machine Retrieved 2014-04-27
  11. "dutchcharts.nl Stevie Wonder – In Square Circle" (ASP). dutchcharts.nl. MegaCharts. Retrieved 2014-04-27.
  12. Oricon Album Chart Book: Complete Edition 1970-2005. Roppongi, Tokyo: Oricon Entertainment. 2006. ISBN 4-87131-077-9.
  13. "charts.nz Stevie Wonder – In Square Circle" (ASP). Hung Medien. Recording Industry Association of New Zealand. Retrieved 2014-04-27.
  14. "norwegiancharts.com Stevie Wonder – In Square Circle" (ASP). Hung Medien. VG-lista. Retrieved 2014-04-27.
  15. "swedishcharts.com Stevie Wonder – In Square Circle" (ASP) (in Swedish). Retrieved 2014-04-27.
  16. "Stevie Wonder – In Square Circle – hitparade.ch" (ASP). Hung Medien (in German). Swiss Music Charts. Retrieved 2014-04-27.
  17. "Official Albums Chart Top 100". Official Charts Company. Retrieved May 14, 2021.
  18. "Stevie Wonder Chart History (Billboard 200)". Billboard. Retrieved May 14, 2021.
  19. "Album Search: Stevie Wonder – In Square Circle" (in German). Media Control. Retrieved 2014-04-27.
  20. "RPM Top 100 Albums of 1985". RPM. Archived from the original on July 23, 2012. Retrieved February 20, 2013.
  21. "Les Albums (CD) de 1985 par InfoDisc" (in French). infodisc.fr. Archived from the original (PHP) on October 27, 2012. Retrieved February 20, 2013.
  22. "RPM Top 100 Albums of 1986". RPM. Retrieved February 20, 2013.
  23. 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.
  24. "Billboard.BIZ  – Year-end Charts – Billboard 200 – 1986". billboard.biz. Archived from the original on 2012-12-09. Retrieved 2014-04-27.
  25. "Canadian album certifications – Stevie Wonder – In Square Circle". Music Canada. Retrieved 2013-09-26.
  26. "French album certifications – Stevie Wonder – In Square Circle" (in French). InfoDisc. Select STEVIE WONDER and click OK. 
  27. "IFPIHK Gold Disc Award − 1988". IFPI Hong Kong. Retrieved November 30, 2019.
  28. "New Zealand album certifications – Stevie Wonder – In Square Circle". Recorded Music NZ. Retrieved 20 June 2019.
  29. Solo Exitos 1959-2002 Ano A Ano: Certificados 1979-1990. Iberautor Promociones Culturales. 2005. ISBN 8480486392.
  30. "British album certifications – Stevie Wonder – In Square Circle". British Phonographic Industry. Retrieved 2013-09-26.
  31. "American album certifications – Stevie Wonder – In Square Circle". Recording Industry Association of America. Retrieved 2013-09-26.
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