The Good: Socially conscious, Easy to listen to, Decent production
The Bad: Repetitive sound, Short
The Basics: Good, but dated, In Square Circle is an odd combination of Stevie Wonder's social conscious and some terribly mundane music.
My male Artist Of The Month, Stevie Wonder, has a slew of albums to choose from and some of them are decent, some overrated, some classic. When I finally made it to his album In Square Circle, I found myself at something of a dilemma. In Square Circle is a good album and it sounds essentially '80s with its pounding drums, synthesizers and catchy pop lyrics. As a function of the time, it is quite a good work. But now, years later, the album holds up poorly over multiple repetitions and is very hard to recommend outside of the nostalgia value.
The contradiction comes in the importance of the album both in Stevie Wonder's repertoire and as a musical historical document. Wonder's song "Part-Time Lover" was a huge hit on the charts and it still sounds good today. Songs like "It's Wrong (Apartheid)" illustrate that while the political forces in the United States might have been slow to react to the struggles in South Africa, many - like Stevie Wonder - were working to raise awareness. And for those reasons alone, there is some value to In Square Circle that might not be evident just by listening to the album.
With only ten tracks, clocking out at 49:19, In Square Circle is hardly an extensive work by Stevie Wonder. It is, however, very much his musical vision and he worked hard to push his sound to both accommodate and set trends in the mid-1980s. Wonder wrote, produced and arranged the album and so his level of creative control was pretty much complete. As well, he provides the lead vocals on every track and plays several instruments on the album. The result is that Wonder presents an album that is musically rich with virtually every track being packed with instrumental sounds, beats that are pounding and synthesizer-driven tracks that came to define the piano/keyboard sound of individuals and groups that were driven by those instruments in the mid-1980s.
Vocally, Stevie Wonder does not stretch himself on In Square Circle. Instead, this album showcases what he has and what he has become comfortably and popularly known for. His vocals are safely in the mid-range, not too deep, not high. He has some significant lung capacity, which he brings out on songs like "Whereabouts" and he has the ability and enthusiasm to present energetic songs like "Overjoyed" like no one else does.
Of course, it probably helps Wonder maintain his enthusiasm when he is singing his own material. On In Square Circle, Wonder has a weird dichotomy of socially conscious and lawless. He opens the album with his infidelity anthem "Part-Time Lover" and closes it with the smart and powerful "It's Wrong (Apartheid)." And in between, he sings pop songs about love, spirituality and the way the world was changing.
In fact, Wonder presents some songs that have a story-song quality to them that is seldom utilized in pop-rock music. For example, on "Land Of La La," Wonder tells a story (through song) about the differences between the towns and the big cities in the '80s. He sends a musical protagonist on a journey from "You were brought up in a small town / Where everyone greeted with a morning smile / I mean the place was so free from crime / You could leave your front door open" to "You get off the bus, pick up a paper / And look through the classified . . . Then you turn around to pick up the duffel bag / That you brought along / But much to your surprise you find / Your bag has taken off walking" ("Land Of La La"). It takes a pretty impressive mind to make a song that is both interesting, sounds good and make statements of social relevance about crime in big cities! Stevie Wonder does it, though!
His social conscious comes through most clearly on "It's Wrong (Apartheid)." This seems like a pretty safe subject for a musical artist to sing about, but in the 1980s, there was a general attitude of isolationism. The United States was focusing on itself and trying (publicly, at least) to not get involved with problems in other nations. Still, Stevie Wonder evaluated the apartheid problem and felt compelled to sing "The wretchedness of Satan's wrath / Will come to seize you at last / 'cause even he frowns upon the deeds you are doing / And you know deep in your heart / You've no covenant with God / 'cause he would never countenance people abusing / You know apartheid's wrong (Qha), wrong (Qha) / Like slavery was wrong (Qha), wrong (Qha) / Like the holocaust was wrong (Qha), wrong (Qha)" ("It's Wrong (Apartheid)"). The forcefulness of the lyrics and the directness of a celebrity like Wonder speaking out on the subject helped to raise awareness in the United States and through that, pressure was exerted on politicians to create change. Wonder deserves a lot of credit for his writing and presentation of that.
Unfortunately for In Square Circle and Stevie Wonder, not all of the songs are that intelligent or forthright. Instead, there are songs like "Whereabouts" which are singsongy, repetitive and droll. The album mixes up smart songs with songs with lyrics like "I'm trying to find my whereabouts, what shall I do / When nothing seems to follow through / In me, trying to find my whereabouts, I'm turning blue / But wait I may have found a clue / My whereabouts are somewhere in yesterday with you" ("Whereabouts"). And while the poetics might not seem initially terrible, the song's lines are repeated so often in the short song as to be draining and promote the appearance that Wonder is just phoning in the track. The rhyme scheme - like many on this album - is obvious and that is unfortunate.
As well, In Square Circle suffers some, in ways many Stevie Wonder albums do not, from a lack of musical originality. Every track - and it is mostly upbeat sounding or cool, mellow tracks - has a full, rich sound, but it seems creatively stunted. On this album, Stevie Wonder does not use quirky or obscure instruments. Every track is dominated by safe, familiar instruments like the piano, keyboards and the very typical snare drums. The result is an album that has a typical '80's pop-funk feel to it, without much more than what one initially expects it to have.
The result is an album that breaks even at slightly above average in its quality, but is still a tough sell outside those who are looking for a new-to-them 80's pop-rock sound. I suppose In Square Circle is ideal for those who have worn out their copies of Thriller and Bad but don't want something too new to their ears.
The best track is "It's Wrong (Apartheid)" and the low point is the mundane lilting of "Whereabouts."
For other works by Stevie Wonder, please be sure to visit my reviews of:
The Jazz Soul Of Little Stevie
Eivets Rednow
Music Of My Mind
Stevie Wonder’s Original Musiquarium I
Conversation Peace
Natural Wonder
The Definitive Collection
A Time To Love
6.5/10
For other music reviews, please check out my Music Index Page!
© 2012, 2009 W.L. Swarts. May not be reprinted without permission.
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