A Time 2 Love made up for its tardiness with its quantity - fifteen songs adding up to over an hour of music. Eventually released in October 2005 after a year of constant delays, the record employed a host of guest singers and musicians, and reflected a greater awareness of Wonder's past and legacy than the straining appeals to contemporary sounds found on 1995's Conversation Peace.
Gospel singer Kim Burrell guests on the opening 'If Your Love Cannot Be Moved', a dramatic, string and percussion inflected track. Burrell's powerful voice provides a rare match to Wonder's expressive range. A squelching and retro sound is apparent on 'Sweetest Somebody I Know', an engaging track which pushes Wonder and his backing vocalists to their limits.
Moon Blue
After sparing use on his comparatively recent records, Wonder's harmonica is employed far more on A Time 2 Love, opening 'From The Bottom Of My Heart'. A typically emotional Wonder vocal is given more interest from the energetic harmonica work, in comparison to the vocally comparable, but musically maudlin preceding track, 'Moon Blue'.
Another instrument from Wonder's past - the vocoder - is deployed on 'Please Don't Hurt My Baby', a raunchy track hindered by a large number of noises and effects which negates the impact of the feisty male-female call and response close of the track.
Aisha Morris, Wonder's daughter and subject matter for 'Isn't She Lovely', duets with her father on the old-school 'How Will I Know', a simple piano-led ballad which fits Morris' sweet vocal style, but restricts the dynamics of which Wonder's voice is capable. Wonder then changes tact with 'My Love Is On Fire', an upbeat track which recalls disco in its string arrangements and early 70s soul and jazz with Hubert Laws' flute work.
Shelter In The Rain
'Passionate Raindrops' exemplifies Wonder's melodramatic balladering, his vibrant voice lifting his lyrics out of the saccharine. 'Tell Your Heart I Love You's harmonica duets well with Wonder's vocal, which has a hint of mischief to it.
A Time 2 Love continues its ballad preoccupation with 'True Love' and 'Shelter In The Rain'. 'True Love' adds Mike Phillips' expressive saxophone to its sound, whilst 'Shelter In The Rain' was designated as a single in order to raise funds for the victims of Hurricane Katrina. Despite its noble intentions, 'Shelter In The Rain' failed to capture the attentions of the record-buying public, and unlike some of the other ballads on A Time 2 Love, has little interesting instrumentation to differentiate it.
So What The Fuss
Wonder calls in Prince (on guitar) and En Vogue (on backing vocals) for the record's lead single, 'So What The Fuss'. Wonder recalls his earlier ability to mix meaningful lyrics with a snappy, danceable tune. Driven by Prince's guitar and the vocoder as a percussive device, 'So What The Fuss' was a minor hit and Wonder's funkiest track in twenty years.
'Can't Imagine Love Without You' returns to the fail-safe ballad, before Aisha Morris returns again on 'Positivity', a sprightly declaration of Wonder's outlook on life. The singer hurtles through the overly-lyrical track with aplomb, infecting the tune with his energy and enthusiasm, complementing the intentions of the song.
A Time 2 Love ends with the title track, a nine-minute State Of The World address, featuring vocals from India.Arie, with Sir Paul McCartney on guitar. Whilst ostensibly more negative and critical in sound and tone than 'Positivity', 'A Time 2 Love' ultimately champions love and understanding as the way forward, and that a time of peace and harmony will come, a notion which underpins every track and idea on A Time 2 Love, demonstrating Wonder's never-ending believe in man's capabilities for good.
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