As a long delayed, and conspicuously (desperately?) “star studded” outing, 2005’s A Time For Love seemed by all appearances an unpromising gambit from the outset. Following two decades of Wonder engaging only sporadically with his extraordinary gifts, it had become increasingly difficult to imagine him delivering a persuasive album of serious musical and thematic content. Happily, A Time To Love is a good and occasionally exceptional release — certainly no classic, but by no means an embarrassment. The tense, skittering opener ‘If You’re Love Cannot Be Moved’ unfolds as a kind of romantic and existential debate between Stevie and Kim Burrell, while the insouciant funk of “Sweetest Somebody I Know” is the resigned middle aged response to Music Of My Mind’s endlessly horny “Sweet Little Girl.” Other highlights include the aggressive groove and topical funk of “What The Fuss” and “Positivity,” which represents perhaps Wonder’s best ever flirtations with modern rock and R&B. Relative to the best of his work, the production feels overly safe and the content slightly milquetoast — but at least the blood is boiling.