Anita Baker Compositions [mp3 320][h33t][schon55]

Anita Baker - Compositions
Audio CD (June 21, 1990)
Original Release Date: July 3, 1990
Label: Atlantic / Wea
Bitrate: 320 kbps

Everyone knows Anita\'s hits from her breakthrough release, \"Rapture\" and its successor, \"Giving You the Best That I Got\"...you had to be under a rock in the mid-to-late 80\'s to not hear \"Sweet Love,\" \"Same Ole Love (365 Days a Year)\" and \"Giving You the Best That I Got\" played on the radio in regular rotation (those were the days when adult artists still got airplay and cracked the Top 40...and in Baker\'s case, the Top Ten). But \"Compositions,\" Anita\'s fourth album, is her true work of art.
As the title suggests, Anita contributed to the writing of most of the album, even penning one tune solo. The result is some of the most well-measured material in her career. You\'d be hard-pressed to find a song better suited to Baker\'s voice than \"Talk to Me,\" a warm ballad that could either be from friend to friend or lover to lover. The same can be said for \"Perfect Love Affair\" and \"No One to Blame,\" songs that, instead of sounding like leftovers from \"Rapture,\" manage to further mine Anita\'s definitive style, coming off as instant classics.

Baker\'s forays into jazz were always frequent (\"Rapture\"\'s \"Been So Long\" and \"Giving You the Best\"\'s \"Good Enough\" have always been considered among her best) but \"Love You to the Letter\" and \"Lonely\" (the latter of which is Anita\'s solo composition) take her over the edge into full Swing Diva mode. Somewhere between Sarah Vaughan and Ella Fitzgerald, Anita finds her own jazz voice and makes you wonder what sort of magic she\'d conjure up on an album of standards. \"Fairy Tales\" even offers a taste of modern jazz, offering an extremely generous piano solo and feeling like an old-fashioned jam session as it clocks in over eight minutes.

Throw in the lush pop of \"Soul Inspiration\" (rightly a successful pop single at the time of this album\'s release) and you have the portrait of an artist in top form. Her voice has never sounded better and her material has never been better suited to her talents. \"Rapture\" will always be a classic and it is definitely the album that brought Anita to the world\'s attention, but \"Compositions\" shows the heights to which a gifted artist can truly soar. ~ John Jones \"Musician\"

This is one of Anita Baker\'s most complex works. Most of the songs were written by Anita in collaboration with other accomplished songwriters.

Some of the highlights include the richly intricate \"Talk To Me\". Next there\'s the most mellow \"Perfect Love Affair\" with Anita\'s velvety vocal. \"Soul Inspiration\", with a dazzling arrangement and Anita\'s full-bodied vocal, is a shining star! \"Lonely\" is fascinating with its varied tempos and Anita\'s sultry vocal. She builds this one to a red-hot frenzy! The piano solo is a cooker as well. Then there\'s \"No One To Blame\" with its bluesy atmosphere and raw emotion. The finale \"Fairy Tales\" weaves a lyrical story complete with a fine arrangement as Anita\'s vocal builds along with this tale. Kudos to Greg Phillinganes on the piano solo at the end. It is hot!! ~ Beverly Praiswater

Pure Class!
Well here she does it again, simply timeless, classy material. I mean really was there anyone else more consistent from 1986-1990? I think not. Anita Baker is simply legendary and this album is one of the pillars to support that claim. Nothing to skip here. It is nearly impossible to say which one of these (Rapture, Compositions and Giving You the Best That I Got) is the best. She manages to have a \"sound\" and not sound the same on every song. Simply beyond reproach. A must have.
~ marcusj_j

Personnel:
Paulinho Da Costa - percussion
Greg Phillinganes - piano, background vocals
Nathan East - bass, background vocals
Ricky Lawson - drums
Earl Klugh
Anita Baker - vocals
Michael J. Powell - guitar, background vocals
Vernon Fails - keyboards
Stephen Ferrone
Perri, - background vocals

Anita Baker - Compositions
01 Talk to Me
02 Perfect Love Affair
03 Whatever It Takes
04 Soul Inspiration
05 Lonely
06 No One to Blame
07 More Than You Know
08 Love You to the Letter
09 Fairy Tales