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

CREDITS

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