Girl can sing. The follow-up to Baker's breakthrough album, Rapture, this album features more of the same blend of jazz, pop, and soul. In terms of material, this one isn't quite up to the standards of the previous album, but enjoyable nonetheless. A welcome oasis compared to other R&B releases around that time (Bobby Brown, Al B. Sure!). Baker rounded up top-notch session musicians (Nathan East, Omar Hakim, Chuck Findley) so the musicianship of the backing tracks match the musicianship of the vocals. Relaxing and romantic.
Press of the time:
- Stereo Review: "a high quality of musicianship prevails throughout"
- Rolling Stone: "It's hard to quibble with this kind of class"
- CashBox: "trademark lush, mid-tempo r&b balladry"
- Billboard: "a mature singer of uncommon warmth and unshowy excellence"
Album chart peaks:
- US Billboard Top 200: #1 (4 weeks, Dec 24, 1988 - Jan 14, 1989)
- Billboard Pop CD: #2
- Billboard R&B: #1
- Rolling Stone: #1
Tracks: The top two cuts are Priceless and the title track. Also good are Rules, You Belong To Me, and the Top 40 single, Just Because. More jazz-oriented tracks like Lead Me Into Love and Good Enough make one wonder why Baker hasn't ever released an outright jazz album or booked month-long engagements at the Café Carlyle in NYC.
Personal Memory Associated with this CD: This was the #1 album in the US as the calendar changed from 1988 to 1989, so this album brings back memories of the spring of 1989. I had graduated from college, was living with my parents in their duplex, taking two graduate classes at UT-San Antonio, and working two jobs: in the mornings, I would sell master cable TV systems to apartment complexes and, in the afternoons, I raised money in the development office of the San Antonio Symphony. Sounds busy. Somehow, I found time to get engaged, married, and find my first teaching job that year.
Previously revisited for the blog:
My Everything (2004)
Compositions (1990)
Rapture (1986)
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