Various Artists - Conception: An Interpretation of Stevie Wonder's Songs

Aside from his tremendous powers of performance, Stevie Wonder stands as one of the greatest songwriters of the late 20th century, probing the joyous peaks and depressing valleys of love and relationships. The Motown tribute album Conception: An Interpretation of Stevie Wonder's Songs has its highs and lows as well; with Stevie himself in the producer's chair (along with new-era Motown exec Kedar Massenburg), the album certainly has a lot of promise. It boasts plenty of neo-soul balladeers -- India.Arie, Mary J. Blige, Brian McKnight, Joe, Musiq -- as well as mainstream stars like Eric Clapton and John Mellencamp, who took musical cues from classic Stevie Wonder LPs like Talking Book or Songs in the Key of Life. But since there's little chance of matching these virtually untouchable originals, interpreting his songs with rearrangements would be the best way to make a tribute. Unfortunately, there's far too little going on here than familiar versions of familiar songs with a slightly different voice attached. Clapton gets the opener, an energetic but perfunctory version of "Higher Ground." Far better is a version of "That Girl," with Joe crooning the song while Mr. Cheeks (from the Lost Boyz) improvises some rapping over the top. Most of the neo-soul names struggle to add anything to Stevie's incredible originals, though Musiq's sweet scatting and note changes makes for a refreshing "Visions," and Dave Hollister's slower, more dramatic version of "Love's in Need of Love Today" is worth a listen. India.Arie contributes the lone new song, an embarrassing Stevie tribute track named "Wonderful" that drops a few song titles. ~ John Bush, All Music Guide

Name Credits Abe Laboriel, Jr. Drums Adam Brown Digital Editing Angie Stone Producer, Vocals (Background), Engineer Avery Johnson Engineer Bagga Mitchell Guitar Billy Preston Clavinet, Organ (Hammond) Brian McKnight Producer Carlos "6 July" Broady Producer, Programming, Percussion Caron Wheeler Vocal Arrangement Cedella Marley Vocals (Background) Chris Gehringer Mastering Chris Rogers Horn Chris Wood Engineer Corey Rooney Producer Damian "Junior Gong" Marley Programming, Drums Dave Hollister Producer, Vocals (Background) David Bright Vocals (Background) David Masucci Horn Derrick Perkins Associate Producer, Engineer Don Newkirk ? Duane Covert Vocals (Background) Eric Clapton Vocals, Guitar, Producer Francesco Romano Guitar Gary Corbett Bass, Keyboards George Karras Mixing Glenn Lewis Producer India.Arie Guitar, Arranger, Percussion, Producer Ivan "Orthodox" Barias Engineer Jethaniel Nixon Bass Jim Keltner Percussion John Cascella Keyboards John Mellencamp Producer John Roper Engineer Jonathan D. Richmond Producer Joyce Simpson Vocals (Background) Julian Marley Keyboards, Bass Kedar Massenburg Producer Kenny Aronoff Drums Kerisha Hicks Vocals (Background) Larry Crane Guitar Laurnea Wilkerson Vocals (Background) Lisa Germano Violin Liz Loblack ? Mark Batson Engineer, Bass, Keyboards, Producer, Guitar (Acoustic), Horn Arrangements, Percussion, Programming Maurice Wilcher Producer Meredeth Oliver A&R Michael Conrader Mixing, Engineer Mick Guzauski Mixing Mike Wanchic Guitar, Mixing, Engineer Nathan East Bass Paul Mahern Mixing Paul Riser Arranger Peter Vargo Assistant Engineer Peter Wade Keusch Mixing, Engineer Ray Wilson Engineer Rich Tapper Engineer Rick Fettig Assistant Serban Ghenea Mixing Sherrod Barnes Guitar Simon Climie Digital Editing, Producer Stephen Marley Engineer, Producer Stevie Wonder Arranger, Producer Terry Harrington Vocals (Background) Tom Bender Mixing