Rating:
Genre:
R&B
Release Date: 11/12/1991
Run Time: 41:38
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, standup vocal harmony groups, and
disco divas, rappers and techno-funksters like
the System were very much in vogue in 1983. Instead of following trends,
Baker excelled by doing what she does best:
gospel-influenced, '70s-type
soul/
pop with
jazz overtones.
The Songstress, released by the small
Beverly Glen label and reissued by
Elektra in 1991, wasn't the mega-hit her next album,
Rapture, would be. But the
Sarah Vaughan-influenced singer began to build a following with such honest, heartfelt
ballads and "slow jams" as
"No More Tears," "You're the Best Thing Yet," and the caressing
"Angel." A sweaty taste of
gospel-drenched
funk, the invigorating
"Squeeze Me" is atypical of the
ballad-oriented
Baker -- although she definitely shines at this faster tempo. Indeed,
Baker's solo career was off to a most impressive start with
The Songstress. For those who savored
Rapture and
Giving You the Best That I Got,
The Songstress is also essential listening.
~Alex Henderson, All Music Guide
Cart 0 items
Login
My Account
Order Status
Help
Listen
