"All in Love Is Fair" is a song by American singer-songwriter Stevie Wonder recorded for his sixteenth studio album, Innervisions (1973).
Critical reaction to the song has been varied: Matthew Greenwald of AllMusic wrote that it was among Wonder's "finest ballad statements",[4] but Robert Christgau felt that the singer's performance was "immature".
Among music critics, Greenwald called her version "unforgettable",[4] and Rolling Stone's Stephen Holden wrote that it was "almost as interesting" as Wonder's original.
[citation needed] It was paired alongside the opener track for side one of Innervisions, "Too High", a song about drug abuse.
[5] A pop ballad,[1] "All in Love Is Fair" was compared to the works of Johnny Mathis by Lenny Kaye of Rolling Stone and the editors at Playboy.
[11] Lawrence Gabriel, author of MusicHound Rock: The Essential Album Guide, described the track as a "classic" pop song.
[12] 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".
[14] 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".
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).
"[29] 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".
[6] Streisand's version of "All in Love Is Fair" achieved moderate commercial success in the United States and Canada.