A Time to Love (album)

A Time to Love is the twenty-third studio album by Stevie Wonder, his first since 1995's Conversation Peace. Originally to have been completed in 2004, it was finally released to stores on October 18, 2005, following an exclusive digital release on Apple's iTunes Music Store on September 27.

A Time to Love
Studio album by
Stevie Wonder
ReleasedSeptember 27, 2005 (iTunes)
October 18, 2005 (physical)
Recorded2004–2005
GenreBallad, rhythm and blues
Length77:41
LabelMotown
ProducerStevie Wonder
Stevie Wonder chronology
Natural Wonder
(1995)		 A Time to Love
(2005)
Singles from A Time to Love
  1. "So What the Fuss"
    Released: 2005
  2. "From the Bottom of My Heart"
    Released: 2006

The first single, issued in April 2005, was "So What the Fuss", which featured Prince on guitar and En Vogue on backing vocals. Follow-up singles included "Positivity" with his daughter Aisha Morris, "From the Bottom of My Heart" and "Shelter in the Rain".

The song "Shelter in the Rain" was in tribute to his first wife, singer Syreeta Wright, who died of cancer the year before this album was released. Wonder was quoted as saying he would've had Wright singing lead on "Shelter", had she lived.

Wonder makes a brief reference to singer Minnie Riperton in the song "Positivity".

Reception
Professional ratings
Aggregate scores
SourceRating
Metacritic66/100[1]
Review scores
SourceRating
Allmusic[2]
Blender[3]
Entertainment WeeklyC[4]
Los Angeles Times[5]
New York Timesmixed[6]
PopMattersfavorable[7]
Rolling Stone[8]
Slant[9]
StylusB−[10]
The Village VoiceA–[11]

His first new studio album in a decade, the album was received with generally positive reviews, despite its having been delayed several times during the year of its release. In 2005, Wonder won the Best Male Pop Vocal Performance in the Grammy Awards for "From the Bottom of My Heart". This was his fourth win in this category. Wonder last won this award twenty-nine years earlier in 1976 for Songs in the Key of Life. His other wins in this category were in 1973 ("You Are the Sunshine of My Life") and 1974 (Fulfillingness First Finale).

Track listing

All tracks are written by Stevie Wonder, except where noted.

No.TitleWriter(s)Length
1."If Your Love Cannot Be Moved" (featuring Kim Burrell) 6:11
2."Sweetest Somebody I Know" 4:31
3."Moon Blue"Wonder, Akosua Busia6:44
4."From the Bottom of My Heart" 5:11
5."Please Don't Hurt My Baby" 4:40
6."How Will I Know" (featuring Aisha Morris) 3:39
7."My Love Is on Fire" (featuring Hubert Laws on flute) 6:16
8."Passionate Raindrops" 4:50
9."Tell Your Heart I Love You" 4:30
10."True Love" 3:32
11."Shelter in the Rain" (featuring Kirk Franklin) 4:19
12."So What the Fuss" (featuring En Vogue and Prince) 5:04
13."Can't Imagine Love Without You" 3:45
14."Positivity" (featuring Aisha Morris) 5:07
15."A Time to Love" (featuring India.Arie and Paul McCartney on guitar)Wonder, India Arie Simpson9:17

Charts
Chart (2005) Peak
position
Belgian Albums (Ultratop Wallonia)[12] 93
Danish Albums (Hitlisten)[13] 15
Dutch Albums (Album Top 100)[14] 51
Finnish Albums (Suomen virallinen lista)[15] 27
French Albums (SNEP)[16] 19
German Albums (Offizielle Top 100)[17] 43
Italian Albums (FIMI)[18] 16
Japanese Albums (Oricon)[19] 12
Norwegian Albums (VG-lista)[20] 9
Spanish Albums (PROMUSICAE)[21] 81
Swedish Albums (Sverigetopplistan)[22] 9
Swiss Albums (Schweizer Hitparade)[23] 24
UK Albums (OCC)[24] 24
US Billboard 200[25] 5

Certifications
Region CertificationCertified units/sales
Japan (RIAJ)[26] Gold 88,000[27]
United Kingdom (BPI)[28] Silver 60,000^
United States (RIAA)[29] Gold 469,000[30]

^ Shipments figures based on certification alone.

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References
  1. "Critic Reviews for A Time to Love". Metacritic. Retrieved February 20, 2013.
  2. "Allmusic review".
  3. "Blender review". Archived from the original on 2008-12-12.
  4. "Entertainment Weekly review". October 24, 2005.
  5. "Los Angeles Times review". Archived from the original on 2013-02-01.
  6. Ratliff, Ben (October 17, 2005). "New York Times review". The New York Times.
  7. "PopMatters review".
  8. "Rolling Stone review".
  9. "Slant review". Archived from the original on 2008-05-06.
  10. "Stylus review". Archived from the original on 2009-05-26.
  11. Christgau, Robert (November 1, 2005). "Consumer Guide". The Village Voice. Retrieved March 11, 2019 – via robertchristgau.com.
  12. "Ultratop.be – Stevie Wonder – A Time 2 Love" (in French). Hung Medien. Retrieved November 15, 2020.
  13. "Danishcharts.dk – Stevie Wonder – A Time 2 Love". Hung Medien. Retrieved November 15, 2020.
  14. "Dutchcharts.nl – Stevie Wonder – A Time 2 Love" (in Dutch). Hung Medien. Retrieved November 15, 2020.
  15. "Stevie Wonder: A Time 2 Love" (in Finnish). Musiikkituottajat – IFPI Finland. Retrieved November 15, 2020.
  16. "Lescharts.com – Stevie Wonder – A Time 2 Love". Hung Medien. Retrieved November 15, 2020.
  17. "Offiziellecharts.de – Stevie Wonder – A Time 2 Love" (in German). GfK Entertainment Charts. Retrieved November 15, 2020.
  18. "Italiancharts.com – Stevie Wonder – A Time 2 Love". Hung Medien. Retrieved November 15, 2020.
  19. "Highest position and charting weeks of A Time to Love by Stevie Wonder (スティービー・ワンダー-リリース-ORICON STYLE-ミュージック)". oricon.co.jp (in Japanese). Oricon Style. Retrieved 2012-01-16.
  20. "Norwegiancharts.com – Stevie Wonder – A Time 2 Love". Hung Medien. Retrieved November 15, 2020.
  21. "Spanishcharts.com – Stevie Wonder – A Time 2 Love". Hung Medien. Retrieved November 15, 2020.
  22. "Swedishcharts.com – Stevie Wonder – A Time 2 Love". Hung Medien. Retrieved November 15, 2020.
  23. "Swisscharts.com – Stevie Wonder – A Time 2 Love". Hung Medien. Retrieved November 15, 2020.
  24. "Stevie Wonder | Artist | Official Charts". UK Albums Chart. Retrieved November 15, 2020.
  25. "Stevie Wonder Chart History (Billboard 200)". Billboard. Retrieved November 15, 2020.
  26. "Japanese album certifications – スティーヴィー・ワンダー – タイム・トゥ・ラヴ" (in Japanese). Recording Industry Association of Japan. Select 2005年12月 on the drop-down menu
  27. Oricon Album Chart Book: Complete Edition 1970-2005. Roppongi, Tokyo: Oricon Entertainment. 2006. ISBN 4-87131-077-9.
  28. "British album certifications – Stevie Wonder – A Time to Love". British Phonographic Industry. Select albums in the Format field. Select Silver in the Certification field. Type A Time to Love in the "Search BPI Awards" field and then press Enter.
  29. "American album certifications – Stevie Wonder – A Time to Love". Recording Industry Association of America. Retrieved February 20, 2013. If necessary, click Advanced, then click Format, then select Album, then click SEARCH. 
  30. "Wonder Embarking On Rare Tour In Late Summer". billboard. Retrieved January 7, 2013.
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