EXPERIENCING THE WONDER

By CHRISTOPHER JOHN FARLEY

STEVIE'S BACK. IT'S NOT AS SIMPLE AS it sounds. Stevie Wonder is a man whose accomplishments in music are as sparkling and intimidating as Michael Jordan's achievements on the basketball court. He began churning out hits for Motown at age 12, and now, at age 44, he's a respected R.-and-B. grandmaster who has racked up 17 Grammys, a best-song Oscar and 18 No. 1 R.-and-B. singles. When a guy like Wonder releases a new CD--his first in four years--we expect a slam dunk. His fans feel entitled to an album of undiluted brilliance, like Fulfillingness' First Finale or Songs in the Key of Life or the soundtrack to Jungle Fever. Or songs of ecumenical funkiness like Superstition or Boogie On Reggae Woman or Signed, Sealed, Delivered.

O.K. so his new CD, Conversation Peace, isn't a slam dunk--a few songs such as Sorry and Cold Chill feel oversynthesized and android-like--but all in all, it's another winner for Wonder. The album is more than just a bunch of giggly, commercial-ready love songs in the manner of I Just Called to Say I Love You. There are some bubbly tunes here--like the lovable, Care-Bearish Take the Time Out--but for the most part Wonder's after bigger game. "There's not a lot of peace in the world today," says the singer with his '90s global perspective. "There are rumblings within family and cultural structures. There's a right-wing extremist movement and a left one too, and there's no middle. There are wars in Bosnia and Rwanda. There is a need for conversation. Hopefully the result will be peace."

Violence is on Wonder's mind--murder and mayhem, past and present, stateside and overseas. The swirling, soulful My Love Is with You ends with the chant "Ban the handgun." The anthemic yet prayerful title track, Conversation Peace, rages against ethnic cleansing, slavery and the Holocaust. "There's no chance of world salvation," sings Wonder, "'less the conversation's peace." And even the poppy, sing-along chorus of Take the Time Out--"Take the time out to love someone/ Reach your arms out and hug someone"--belies the fact that the verses are about lost souls caught up in the vicious circle and circling viciousness of hunger, homelessness and drugs.

So Stevie's back. And his new CD is a fairly sturdy one, even if the notorious procrastinator and perfectionist took four years to complete it. Wonder says his next release will be a gospel album. Here's hoping it doesn't take as long; even Michael Jordan stayed away for only 18 months.