Though Anita Baker got some airplay out of The Songstress, that promising solo debut didn't bring her financial security. In fact, Baker was earning her living as a legal secretary in her native Detroit when she signed with Elektra in the mid-'80s. Elektra gave her a strong promotional push, and the equally superb Rapture became the megahit that ...
Anita Baker's My Everything is her first studio outing in a decade. Family life seems to have claimed most of that time, as the album's last cut, "Men in My Life," seems to indicate. Baker co-wrote seven of the album's nine songs (one is a reprise of the title track), authored the aforementioned tune, and assisted producer Barry J. Eastmond in the ...
Baker has been making solid, if unspectacular, records for several years now, trying to recapture the grace of Rapture. Despite several good songs and uniformly strong vocals, Rhythm of Love doesn't have enough flair to win back a mass audience. ~ Stephen Thomas Erlewine, All Music Guide
This Christmas jazz album has a wide variety of generally enjoyable performances by 16 different groups. High points include a funny version of "Baby, It's Cold Outside" by singers Dianne Reeves and Lou Rawls, a Herbie Hancock-Eliane Elias piano duet on "I'll Be Home for Christmas," and Holly Cole's "Christmas Blues." The other performers include ...
Rhino's 2002 compilation The Best of Anita Baker contains all of her hits -- both the pop crossovers and songs that were big only on the R&B charts. Many of these songs are presented in their single edits, not the album versions, which is a plus, since these are the versions that were played on the radio. Although it is true that nothing Anita ...
The sizeable following that Anita Baker acquired with Rapture proved quite receptive to the only slightly less appealing Giving You the Best That I Got -- an album that's quite similar to its predecessors. Though not quite on a par with The Songstress or Rapture, Best is far superior to most of 1988's uninspired R&B releases. Instead of tampering ...
Trends in African-American music changed considerably between Anita Baker's first taste of national exposure in 1979 (when she was a member of Detroit soul band Chapter 8 and sang lead on the hit ballad "I Just Wanna Be Your Girl") and her debut solo album, The Songstress, in 1983. While 1979's black music charts were full of large funk bands, ...
On Rapture and Giving You the Best That I Got, Anita Baker embraced a blend of technology and "real instruments" -- a definite contrast to the completely high-tech approach of so much '80s and '90s R&B. But on Compositions, producer Michael J. Powell moved even closer to a '70s-like approach to R&B -- recording Baker's vocals live in the studio, ...
Smooth Grooves: A Sensual Collection, Vol. 2 collects more seductive slow jams and quiet storm ballads, including Cameo's "Why Have I Lost You," Rick James' "Fire and Desire," Teddy Pendergrass' "Come Go With Me," and Chapter 8's "I Just Wanna Be Your Girl." Tracks by Stephanie Mills, Atlantic Starr, Alicia Myers, and Shirley Murdock are among the ...
Holiday titles live a bit outside an artist's standard discography, but if you look at Christmas Fantasy as a follow-up to the 2004 comeback My Everything, it continues that album's looser feel, less concerned with the charts and all the better because of it. There are only nine tracks on Anita Baker's Christmas Fantasy, but the album still clocks ...
Grammy's Greatest Moments, Vol. 4 continues the series of live performances taken from the yearly awards telecast, with most of the selections on this volume dating from the early '80s and early '90s. It may be disconcerting to some to have Rick Springfield, Irene Cara, Herbie Hancock, and Sheena Easton performing their early-'80s hits next to Amy ...
It's been ten years since Anita Baker fans got any new material from their diva, but the wait was not in vain, as 2004 found Baker signing a contract with Blue Note and recording a new album. So if Baker mania is going to break out among the cosmopolitan set again, her old Warner Bros. home must feel they've just got to have new Baker product on ...
The label's current artists cover its all-timers, e.g., The Cure meets The Doors. An interesting idea, it has sketchy results. ~ Dan Heilman, All Music Guide
MCA Special Products' Holiday Collection, vol. 1 is a hodgepodge of styles and songs, all culled from the MCA vaults. It's an odd selection of material that doesn't always gel into a cohesive listen, but it's fun, considering the budget price. ~ Rodney Batdorf, All Music Guide
Rhino's 2002 compilation The Best of Anita Baker contains all of her hits -- both the pop crossovers and songs that were big only on the R&B charts. Many of these songs are presented in their single edits, not the album versions, which is a plus, since these are the versions that were played on the radio. Although it is true that nothing Anita ...
Assembling tracks from smooth jazz hitmakers including Steve Cole ("Stay Awhile"), Gerald Albright ("All I Wanna Do") and Cyrus Chestnut ("Summertime," featuring Anita Baker), Funky Jazz Party 2 -- Love Jams is designed to serve as the ideal backdrop for an evening of seduction and romance. ~ Chuck Donkers, All Music Guide
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