Anita Baker My Everything CD

Personnel: Anita Baker (background vocals); Anita Baker (vocals); Philip Hamilton, Philip Hamilton (guitar); Eric Marienthal (alto saxophone); Gary Bias (tenor saxophone); Gary Grant (trumpet); Reggie C. Young , Reggie Young (trombone); George Duke (synthesizer, percussion); Leo Colon (synthesizer); Gerald Albright, Jimmy Haslip, Nathan East, Reggie Hamilton, Alex Al, Ronald Jenkins, Al Turner (bass guitar); Rafael Padilla (percussion); Perri Sisters, Esther Ridgeway, Gloria Ridgeway, Gordon Chambers, The Ridgeway Sisters, Gracie Ridgeway, Kenya Ivey (background vocals); Kenneth "Babyface" Edmonds (guitar, background vocals); Paul Jackson, Jr. , Robert Randolph (guitar); Dan Higgins (tenor saxophone, baritone saxophone); Jerry Hey (trumpet); Russell Ferrante (piano); Barry Eastmond (keyboards, percussion); Eric Rehl (synthesizer); Ricky Lawson, William Kennedy, Bernard Davis, Steve Ferrone (drums); Bashiri Johnson (percussion).
Audio Mixers: Erik Zobler; George Duke; Jon Gass.
Recording information: Brandon's Way Recording, Hollywood, CA; Conway Studios, Hollywood, CA; East Bay Music Studios, Tarrytown, NY; Le Gonks West Studios, Hollywood, CA; Record One Studios, Sherman Oaks, CA; Soup Can Studios, Detroit, MI; Village Recorders, Los Angeles, CA.
Photographer: Andrew Eccles.
Arrangers: Anita Baker; Kenneth "Babyface" Edmonds; Barry Eastmond; Russell Ferrante.
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 arrangements. The disc's first single, "You're My Everything," is indicative of the album's sound: finely wrought and executed urban adult soul. Most of the set falls into this category, too, with the exception of "Like You Used to Do," a duet with Kenneth "Babyface" Edmonds that walks a line between it and new-school groove. Another cut, the stellar "I Can't Sleep," offers Baker in full-on jazz mode, careening through a skittering and swinging arrangement with a full horn section pushing the groove; it showcases Baker's ability to croon, and she comes very close to Betty Carter's scat. Some may be frustrated that, after such a long time, Baker doesn't push the envelope more stylistically. This may be true in terms of the material itself, but that's not necessarily a bad thing. Right down the line, Baker delivers on what she does best. But in one sense she has expanded her palette. On these cuts, most of the rhythm section's tracks were cut live from the floor, and on three, the vocals were as well. This gives the album a reedy immediacy that contrasts sharply with the rest of her studio catalog. This is a worthy return, qualitatively standing head and shoulders above most everything else in its class. ~ Thom Jurek
Anita Baker first garnered a big audience in 1986 with her second record, RAPTURE. A critical favorite with a uniquely raspy, jazz-like expressionistic singing style, she scored a major pop and R&B hit with "Sweet Love." From that initial success, Baker carved her own niche somewhere between deep soul and smooth jazz. After a few more albums she decided to concentrate her passion on her family.
Following nearly a decade's hiatus, Baker returns to the recording studio with 2004's MY EVERYTHING, and, happily, very little has changed. She hasn't tinkered one bit with the sound that made her a beloved singer, emerging with a record both comforting and enrapturing. "You're My Everything" contains lyrics straight out of a WWII-era torch song, and a vibe that would have fit snugly on one of her first few outings. Although backed by a driving saxophone on the energetic gospel/blues number "I Can't Sleep," Baker fills much of MY EVERYTHING with sweet love songs. She brings it all together on the closing tJazzTimes (p.106) - "Wading into the comfortably warm, lush territory that has defined her sound and career for a quarter-century, Baker, undeniably one of the classiest acts in the business, serves up a platter of sweet 'n' savory canap‚s..."
Vibe (p.186) - 3 1/2 discs out of 5 - "Baker's first album in 10 years demonstrates the same power and graceful tone coloring that made her a mid-'80s staple."
Mojo (Publisher) (p.112) - 4 stars out of 5 - "[Her] voice remains intact, warm, ever communicative, ahead of the game."