Jungle Fever (soundtrack)

Jungle Fever is a soundtrack album by American R&B singer-songwriter, producer, and multi-instrumentalist Stevie Wonder, recorded for the film Jungle Fever. It was released by the Motown label on May 28, 1991.

Jungle Fever
Soundtrack album by
Stevie Wonder
ReleasedMay 28, 1991
GenrePop, R&B[1]
Length51:06
LabelMotown
ProducerStevie Wonder, Nathan Watts
Stevie Wonder chronology
Characters
(1987)		 Jungle Fever
(1991)		 Conversation Peace
(1995)
Singles from Jungle Fever
  1. "Gotta Have You"
    Released: May 1991
  2. "Fun Day"
    Released: June 1991
  3. "These Three Words"
    Released: September 1991

Critical reception
Professional ratings
Review scores
SourceRating
AllMusic[2]
Chicago Tribune[3]
Christgau's Consumer Guide[4]
Entertainment WeeklyC[1]
Q[5]
Rolling Stone[6]
The Rolling Stone Album Guide[7]

Jungle Fever received lukewarm reviews from critics.[7] Reviewing for Entertainment Weekly in 1991, Bill Wyman said the album lacks worthwhile hooks and lyrics, and that Wonder's style of arrangement sounds "more and more dated as the years go by".[1] In a positive review, Rolling Stone magazine called Jungle Fever a "welcome return to form" and said that Wonder has not "sounded so freewheeling, confident and engaging" since his 1980 album Hotter Than July.[6] The Chicago Tribune wrote that it is "as direct and consistently tuneful as anything he has done in recent years".[3] Robert Christgau of The Village Voice cited "Fun Day" and the title track as highlights and referred to Wonder as "a genius even if that's what he's selling".[8]

In a retrospective review for AllMusic, Stephen Thomas Erlewine cited Jungle Fever as "Wonder's best work in years ... a considerable improvement from his bland late-'80s albums", although he said Wonder can be too sentimental on ballads such as "These Three Words".[2] J. D. Considine wrote in The Rolling Stone Album Guide (2004) that it is "lightweight but likeable".[7] In his 2000 Consumer Guide book, Christgau gave the album a three-star honorable mention, which indicated "an enjoyable effort consumers attuned to its overriding aesthetic or individual vision may well treasure".[4]

Track listing

All songs written by Stevie Wonder, except "Chemical Love", lyrics by Stephanie Andrews.

  1. "Fun Day" – 4:41
  2. "Queen in the Black" – 4:46
  3. "These Three Words" – 4:54
  4. "Each Other's Throat" – 4:17
  5. "If She Breaks Your Heart" (sung by Kimberly Brewer) – 5:03
  6. "Gotta Have You" – 6:26
  7. "Make Sure You're Sure" – 3:30
  8. "Jungle Fever" – 4:55
  9. "I Go Sailing" – 3:58
  10. "Chemical Love" – 4:26
  11. "Lighting Up the Candles" – 4:09

Personnel

Credits adapted from album’s liner notes.[9]

See also

Singles

Three singles were released from the soundtrack. The first and the biggest hit single was "Gotta Have You" (Hot 100 #92, R&B #3), with the second single "Fun Day" (R&B #6, UK #63) and the final single "These Three Words" (R&B #7).

Covers

The Foreign Exchange covered the song "If She Breaks Your Heart" on their 2008 album, Leave It All Behind with Yahzarah performing lead vocals.

References
  1. Wyman, Bill (June 21, 1991). "Music from the Movie 'Jungle Fever' Review". Entertainment Weekly. New York (71). Retrieved October 21, 2014.
  2. Erlewine, Stephen Thomas. "Jungle Fever - Stevie Wonder". AllMusic. Retrieved October 21, 2014.
  3. Anon. (1991). "Stevie Wonder Music From the Movie `Jungle Fever'". Chicago Tribune (June 13). Retrieved October 21, 2014.
  4. Christgau, Robert (2000). Christgau's Consumer Guide: Albums of the '90s. Macmillan. pp. xvi, 339. ISBN 0312245602.
  5. "Review". Q. London (August). 1991. Retrieved October 21, 2014.
  6. "Review". Rolling Stone. New York (August 8). 1991. Retrieved October 21, 2014.
  7. Considine, J. D. (2004). "Stevie Wonder". In Brackett, Nathan; Hoard, Christian (eds.). The New Rolling Stone Album Guide (4th ed.). Simon & Schuster. pp. 885, 887. ISBN 0-7432-0169-8.
  8. Christgau, Robert (1991). "Consumer Guide". The Village Voice (July 30). New York. Retrieved October 21, 2014.
  9. Music From The Movie "Jungle Fever" (booklet). Motown. 1991.
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