Rating:
Genre:
R&B
Release Date: 10/25/1990
Run Time: 37:09
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
The Songstress should have been. To its credit,
Elektra made her a major star by focusing on
Baker's strong point -- romantic but
gospel-influenced
R&B/
pop ballads and "slow jams," sometimes with
jazz overtones -- and letting her be true to herself.
Rapture gave
Baker one moving hit after another, including
"Sweet Love," "Caught up in the Rapture," "Same Ole Love," and
"No One in This World." Praising
Baker in a 1986 interview, veteran
R&B critic
Steve Ivory asserted, "To me, singers like
Anita Baker and
Frankie Beverly define what
R&B or
soul music is all about." Indeed,
Rapture's tremendous success made it clear that there was still a sizeable market for adult-oriented, more traditional
R&B singing.
~Alex Henderson, All Music Guide
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