Any CD collection worth its salt should contain at least one album by Stevie Wonder. As far as Motown soul goes, the man is untouchable. So, which one do you choose? One of the classic studio albums such as Songs in the Key of Life or Innervisions or a compilation spanning his entire career? On its release, Ballad Collection was aimed squarely at the Valentines Day market and, as such, contains a lot of Stevie's more schmaltzy output--from "Golden Lady" to "Kiss Lonely Good-Bye" it's all sweeping strings, tinkling pianos and enough sugary romantic sentiment to render one diabetic. For such a prolific artist, the selection of tracks leave a lot to be desired, there are a few classics, like "Lately" and "For Your Love", but absolutely no hidden gems to uncover. The one saving grace is that voice, as moving and soulful as ever and reason enough to buy just about any album with his name on. Oh, and the fact that it doesn't contain "I Just Called to Say I Love You". --Helen Marquis