All in Love Is Fair - Misplaced Pages

Song by Stevie Wonder

"All in Love Is Fair"
1974 Brazil single (White label)
Song by Stevie Wonder
from the album Innervisions
A-side	"Too High"
Released	August 3, 1973
Recorded	November 10, 1972-April 4, 1973
Studio	Record Plant, New York City Mediasound, New York City
Genre	Pop R&B
Length	3:41
Label	Tapecar Tamla
Songwriter(s)	Stevie Wonder
Producer(s)	Stevie Wonder

"All in Love Is Fair" is a song by American singer-songwriter Stevie Wonder recorded for his sixteenth studio album, Innervisions (1973). Written and produced by Wonder, it was released as a 7" single in Brazil in 1974. The song is a pop ballad with lyrics that describe the end of a relationship through the use of clichés. Critical reaction to the song has been varied: Matthew Greenwald of AllMusic wrote that it was among Wonder's "finest ballad statements", but Robert Christgau felt that the singer's performance was "immature". Wonder has included it on several of his greatest hits albums, including the most recent, 2005's The Complete Stevie Wonder.

American vocalist Barbra Streisand released "All in Love Is Fair" as a single in 1974 for her fifteenth studio album, The Way We Were (1974). Tommy LiPuma handled the production for the 7" single release by Columbia Records. Among music critics, Greenwald called her version "unforgettable", and Rolling Stone's Stephen Holden wrote that it was "almost as interesting" as Wonder's original. Commercially, the song peaked on the Billboard Hot 100 in the United States at number 63, and Canada's Top Singles chart at number 60. The song has been recorded by a number of other artists, including Brook Benton, Nancy Wilson and Cleo Laine.

Recording

Recording began for "All in Love is Fair" on November 10, 1972 at 2:30 A.M., with Wonder on piano and Scott Edwards on guitar. Electric piano, vocals, and drums were recorded on April 3, 1973. However, the electric piano track was discarded in favor of a new take made the following day. The song was mixed on April 8, 1973.

Release and composition

"All in Love Is Fair" is taken from Stevie Wonder's sixteenth studio album, Innervisions, released on August 3, 1973, by Tamla Records. Despite not being released as a commercial single in his native country of the United States, Tapecar Records and Tamla released it as a 7" single sometime in 1974, exclusively in Brazil. It was paired alongside the opener track for side one of Innervisions, "Too High", a song about drug abuse.

The song is composed in the key of C-sharp minor and features vocals that range from B₂ to G♯₄. The vocal is accompanied by Wonder himself on Fender Rhodes, acoustic piano and drums, and by Scott Edwards on electric bass. The lyrics of the composition describe two people who are nearing the end of their relationship; Wonder purposely uses "cliché lines" to get his point across and to prove the clichés true.

A pop ballad, "All in Love Is Fair" was compared to the works of Johnny Mathis by Lenny Kaye of Rolling Stone and the editors at Playboy. Lawrence Gabriel, author of MusicHound Rock: The Essential Album Guide, described the track as a "classic" pop song. Janine McAdams from Billboard found "dramatic intensity" within the lyrics, "I should have never left your side / The writer takes his pen / To write the words again / That all in love is fair". Author Herb Jordan included the track's lyrics in his book Motown in Love: Lyrics from the Golden Era; they were placed under the section for songs in which the lyrics detail "lessons of love".

Reception and further promotion

AllMusic's Matthew Greenwald found "All in Love Is Fair" to be among Wonder's "finest ballad statements", which contained "one of the most graceful and memorable hooks from the era". Brian Ives of radio.com described it as a "beautiful and sad piano ballad" that he thought could have come from the Broadway stage. Robert Christgau disliked Wonder's balladry singing in "All in Love Is Fair", and considered his performance to be "immature". In contrast, author James E. Perone wrote that there was "no better example" of a "pure, autobiographical-sounding vocal showpiece for Stevie Wonder".

After its initial release in 1973, Wonder placed "All in Love Is Fair" on several of his later albums. It was included on the Motown compilation Baddest Love Jams, Vol. 2: Fire & Desire in 1995. Wonder's fourth box set, At the Close of a Century (1999), also featured the song. In that same year it was featured on Ballad Collection, and in 2005 it was selected for inclusion on The Complete Stevie Wonder.

Track listing

Brazil 7" single
No.	Title	Length
1.	"All in Love Is Fair"	3:41
2.	"Too High"	4:36
Total length:		8:27

Personnel

Stevie Wonder – lead vocal, piano, Fender Rhodes, drums
Scott Edwards – electric bass

Barbra Streisand version

"All in Love Is Fair"

Single by Barbra Streisand

from the album The Way We Were

B-side

Medley: "My Buddy"/"How About Me"

Released

March 1974

Recorded

December 14, 1973; United Recorders
(Los Angeles, California)

Length

3:50

Stevie Wonder

Barbra Streisand singles chronology

"The Way We Were"
(1973)

"All in Love Is Fair"
(1974)

"Guava Jelly"
(1974)

Background and recording

American vocalist Barbra Streisand recorded a version of "All in Love Is Fair" for her fifteenth studio album, The Way We Were (1974). Shortly following the commercial success of her previous single, "The Way We Were", Columbia Records began compiling tracks for the singer's then-upcoming fifteenth studio album (The Way We Were). Since time was limited, the majority of the tracks were taken from material recorded by Streisand as much as seven years previously. According to the liner notes of her 1991 greatest hits album Just for the Record, the only tracks specifically created for the album were "All in Love Is Fair", "The Way We Were", "Being at War with Each Other", and "Something So Right". "All in Love Is Fair" was recorded on December 14, 1973, at United Recorders Studios in Los Angeles. It was released in March 1974 as a 7" single through Columbia Records, and would later be paired alongside Streisand's previous single, "The Way We Were", on a 7" single released in 1975, also by Columbia, in the United States and Canada.

Reception

The staff at Billboard described Streisand's cover as a "musical gem", while author Allison J. Waldman enjoyed Streisand's personal take on it. Record World said that "the ballad beauty from Stevie Wonder's Innervisions album gets its definitive female reading from the superstar." Greenwald from AllMusic liked the singer's cover and wrote of the song's hook, "Streisand's performance – particularly her phrasing of this line – is unforgettable". Stephen Holden from Rolling Stone compared her rendition to Wonder's version and wrote that it was "almost as interesting as the original".

Streisand's version of "All in Love Is Fair" achieved moderate commercial success in the United States and Canada. It debuted on the Billboard Hot 100 on March 30, 1974, at number 81, becoming the week's "Hot Shot Debut", or the publication's highest entry position for that particular listing. It climbed the chart for an additional three weeks before reaching its peak position on April 20 of the same year, at number 63. The following week, Streisand's rendition dropped to number 75, after which it left the Hot 100. On the Adult Contemporary chart, which was then titled the Easy Listening chart, "All in Love Is Fair" peaked at number 10. On Canada's official chart, compiled by RPM, it debuted at number 99 for the week of April 6, 1974. It soared twenty places the following week, and two weeks later, on April 27, it reached its peak position at number 60. It also lasted a total of five consecutive weeks in this country.

Promotion

"All in Love Is Fair" has been included on numerous albums released by Streisand. Its first appearance after The Way We Were was on Barbra Streisand's Greatest Hits Volume 2 (1978). She also included it on Just for the Record (1991) and The Essential Barbra Streisand (2002).

Charts

Chart performance for "All in Love Is Fair"
Chart (1974)	Peak position
Canada Top Singles (RPM)	60
US Billboard Hot 100	63
US Adult Contemporary (Billboard)	10

Track listings and formats

United States and United Kingdom 7" single

A1 "All in Love Is Fair" – 3:50
B1 Medley: "My Buddy"/"How About Me" – 4:09

United States promotional 7" single

A1 "All in Love Is Fair" (Stereo) – 3:50
B1 "All in Love Is Fair" (Mono) – 3:50

Other versions

In 1974 Nancy Wilson recorded it as the title track for her 39th studio album, All in Love Is Fair. AllMusic's Jason Ankeny called Wilson's recording "sensual" and declared that it "wouldn't be out of place on Motown or Philadelphia International".
In 1974 Cleo Laine released it as a standalone 7" promotional single, enlisting the help of Mike Berniker for production. It was included in her 2001 compilation album At Her Finest.
In 1974 Billy Eckstine's rendition was featured on his album If She Walked Into My Life.
In 1975 Shirley Bassey recorded the song for her album Good, Bad but Beautiful.
In 1975 Dionne Warwick performed it live and included it on her concert DVD Dionne Warwick: Live in Cabaret July 18th 1975 (released 2008).
Brook Benton recorded a version for his 1976 album This Is Brook Benton.
Vibraphonist Cal Tjader and jazz singer Carmen McRae recorded it on their 1982 studio album Heat Wave, Tjader's final studio recording on Concord Jazz in 1982. The album peaked at 25 on Billboard's Jazz Albums chart.
Latin vocal group, Barrio Boyzz recorded a version for their English language album debut, How We Roll, in 1995.
American trombonist Slide Hampton and The World of Trombones recorded his own instrumental version of "All in Love Is Fair" for his 28th studio album, Spirit of the Horn (2002) which was recorded live at Manchester Craftsmen's Guild, Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania on May 3–5, 2002.
The song is included on Michael McDonald's 2003 album Motown, and was included in his 2009 concert at the Royal Albert Hall, prompting John L Walters of The Guardian to write: "Surely you can't go wrong with songs as fantastic as Stevie Wonder's "I Believe" and "All in Love Is Fair".

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Graff 1996, p. 837
McAdams, Janine (May 13, 1995). "A Songbook in the Key of Life". Billboard. Vol. 107, no. 19. Nielsen Business Media, Inc. pp. 30, 38. ISSN 0006-2510. Retrieved January 9, 2017.
Jordan 2006, p. 2
Ives, Brian (August 2, 2013). "Not Fade Away: Stevie Wonder Innervisions". radio.com. Archived from the original on February 11, 2017. Retrieved February 11, 2017.
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Ruhlmann, William. "Barbra Streisand – The Way We Were". AllMusic. Archived from the original on January 26, 2017. Retrieved November 14, 2016.
^ Just for the Record (Liner notes). Barbra Streisand. Columbia. 1991. C4K-44111.{{cite AV media notes}}: CS1 maint: others in cite AV media (notes) (link)
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"The Hot 100 – The Week Of May 4, 1974". Billboard. May 4, 1974. Archived from the original on January 10, 2017. Retrieved January 9, 2017.
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Works cited

Anderson, William M.; Campbell, Patricia Shehan (January 16, 2011). Multicultural Perspectives in Music Education, Volume 1 (third, illustrated ed.). R&L Education. ISBN 978-1607095415.
Graff, Gary (1996). MusicHound Rock: The Essential Album Guide. Visible Ink Press. ISBN 0787610372.
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Perone, James E. (2006). The Sound of Stevie Wonder: His Words and Music (illustrated, annotated ed.). Greenwood Publishing Group. ISBN 027598723X.
Popoff, Martin (August 5, 2010). Goldmine Standard Catalog of American Records: 1948–1991 (revised ed.). Krause Publications. ISBN 978-1440216213.
Waldman, Allison J. (2001). The Barbra Streisand Scrapbook (illustrated, revised ed.). Citadel Press. ISBN 0806522186.

v t e Stevie Wonder
Discography
Studio albums	The Jazz Soul of Little Stevie Tribute to Uncle Ray With a Song in My Heart Stevie at the Beach Up-Tight Down to Earth I Was Made to Love Her Someday at Christmas Eivets Rednow For Once in My Life My Cherie Amour Signed, Sealed & Delivered Where I'm Coming From Music of My Mind Talking Book Innervisions Fulfillingness' First Finale Songs in the Key of Life Hotter than July In Square Circle Characters Conversation Peace A Time to Love
Live albums	Recorded Live: The 12 Year Old Genius Stevie Wonder Live Live at the Talk of the Town Natural Wonder
Soundtracks	Stevie Wonder's Journey Through "The Secret Life of Plants" The Woman in Red The Last Dragon Jungle Fever
Compilations	Looking Back Stevie Wonder's Original Musiquarium I Song Review: A Greatest Hits Collection At the Close of a Century The Definitive Collection The Complete Stevie Wonder
Singles	"Fingertips" "Hey Harmonica Man" "Uptight (Everything's Alright)" "With a Child's Heart" "Blowin' in the Wind" "A Place in the Sun" "Someday at Christmas" "Hey Love" "I Was Made to Love Her" "I'm Wondering" "Shoo-Be-Doo-Be-Doo-Da-Day" "You Met Your Match" "Alfie" "For Once in My Life" "I Don't Know Why" "My Cherie Amour" "Yester-Me, Yester-You, Yesterday" "Never Had a Dream Come True" "Signed, Sealed, Delivered I'm Yours" "Heaven Help Us All" "We Can Work It Out" "Never Dreamed You'd Leave in Summer" "If You Really Love Me" "What Christmas Means to Me" "Superwoman (Where Were You When I Needed You)" "Superstition" "You Are the Sunshine of My Life" "Higher Ground" "Living for the City" "Don't You Worry 'bout a Thing" "He's Misstra Know-It-All" "You Haven't Done Nothin'" "Boogie On Reggae Woman" "I Wish" "Sir Duke" "Another Star" "As" "Pops, We Love You" "Send One Your Love" "Master Blaster (Jammin')" "I Ain't Gonna Stand for It" "Lately" "Happy Birthday" "That Girl" "Ebony and Ivory" "Do I Do" "Ribbon in the Sky" "Front Line" "I Just Called to Say I Love You" "Love Light in Flight" "Part-Time Lover" "That's What Friends Are For" "Go Home" "Overjoyed" "Stranger on the Shore of Love" "Skeletons" "You Will Know" "Get It" "Gotta Have You" "For Your Love" "So What the Fuss" "From the Bottom of My Heart" "All About the Love Again" "Faith" "Can't Put It in the Hands of Fate"
Featured singles	"My Love" "How Come, How Long" "California Roll"
Other songs	"You and I (We Can Conquer the World)" "I Believe (When I Fall in Love It Will Be Forever)" "Golden Lady" "All in Love Is Fair" "They Won't Go When I Go" "Love's in Need of Love Today" "Knocks Me Off My Feet" "Pastime Paradise" "Isn't She Lovely" "Black Man" "We Are the World" "Just Good Friends" "Seasons of Love" "True to Your Heart" "Stop Trying to Be God"
Songwriting credits	"It's a Shame" "Tears of a Clown" "Tell Me Something Good" "Uptown Festival" "Let's Get Serious" "You're Supposed to Keep Your Love for Me"
Tours	Songs in the Key of Life Tour
Related articles	Lula Mae Hardaway Syreeta Wright KJLH SuperEgo Wonderin' "Wonder-ful" Super Bowl XXXIII halftime show
Category

v t e Barbra Streisand songs
Discography
1960s singles	"Miss Marmelstein" "Happy Days Are Here Again" "People" "I Am Woman" "My Man" "Second Hand Rose" "Sleep in Heavenly Peace (Silent Night)" "Lover Man (Oh, Where Can You Be?)" "Jingle Bells?" "Have Yourself a Merry Little Christmas" "The Christmas Song (Chestnuts Roasting on an Open Fire)" "I'd Rather Be Blue over You (Than Be Happy with Somebody Else)" "What Are You Doing the Rest of Your Life?" "Hello, Dolly!"
1970s singles	"On a Clear Day (You Can See Forever)" "Stoney End" "Flim Flam Man" "Where You Lead" "Mother" "Sweet Inspiration" / "Where You Lead" "Sing" / "Make Your Own Kind of Music" "Didn't We" "If I Close My Eyes" "The Way We Were" "All in Love Is Fair" "Guava Jelly" "Jubilation" "How Lucky Can You Get" "My Father's Song" "Shake Me, Wake Me (When It's Over)" "Evergreen (Love Theme from A Star Is Born)" "My Heart Belongs to Me" "Songbird" "Prisoner (Love Theme from Eyes of Laura Mars)" "You Don't Bring Me Flowers" "The Main Event/Fight" "No More Tears (Enough Is Enough)"
1980s singles	"Woman in Love" "Guilty" "What Kind of Fool" "Promises" "Comin' In and Out of Your Life" "Memory" "The Way He Makes Me Feel" "Papa, Can You Hear Me?" "Left in the Dark" "Make No Mistake, He's Mine" "Somewhere" "Send In the Clowns" "Till I Loved You" "All I Ask of You" "What Were We Thinking Of" "We're Not Makin' Love Anymore" "Someone That I Used to Love"
1990s singles	"Speak Low" "The Music of the Night" "As If We Never Said Goodbye" "I've Got a Crush on You" "I Finally Found Someone" "Tell Him" "I've Dreamed of You" "If You Ever Leave Me"
2000s singles	"I Won't Be the One to Let Go" "Stranger in a Strange Land" "Night of My Life" "Come Tomorrow" "In the Wee Small Hours of the Morning"
2010s singles	"I'll Be Home for Christmas" "When You Wish Upon a Star" "It Had to Be You" "What Kind of Fool" "Enough Is Enough 2017" "Don't Lie to Me"
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