Anita Baker - Rapture (CD)
ORIGINAL CLASSIC CD RELEASE!!!
Used CD in EXCELLENT playing condition!!!
No Skips, No Freeze ups!!!
No Scratches, No Scuff Marks!!!
CD and all artwork included.
CD in Excellent Like New condition.
Case has normal wear.
With the release of "Rapture" in 1986, Anita Baker singlehandedly
introduced the "Quiet Storm" genre, a rich blend of jazz, pop, and soul,
to the masses. Finding the likes of "Sweet Love" and "Caught Up in
the Rapture" on pop radio was always a rich treat, and her popularity
helped foster a taste for mature pop.
Years after its release,
"Rapture" is still as smooth and sweet as ever. Anita's smoky, Sarah
Vaughan-influenced vocals are flawlessly showcased in a worthy set of
songs set to spotless production. Songs like "No One in the World" and
the uptempo "Same Ole Love" are among Baker's staples in adult
contemporary radio, and jazz stations and fans alike will likely never
tire of the lush and soulful "Been So Long," one of Baker's all-time
classics that gives an example of the perfect scat.
Elsewhere,
Baker gives what is arguably her most soulful performance ever on "You
Bring Me Joy," and a sultry cover of Manhattan Transfer's "Mystery"
easily trumps the original. The fact that Baker still performs most of
these songs in her concerts proves that "Rapture" is a sentimental
treasure for many a music fan, and one listen to the record's flawless
execution makes it easy to see why.
Soul has been through a lot of changes of late, and if there seems to be
an oversupply of young divas-in-waiting today, you can probably thank
Anita Baker for it. Baker was one of the few singers that bridged the
old school to the new, and this 1986 album was--and is--a true soul
classic. An inspiration for everyone from Whitney Houston to Toni
Braxton, Baker carved the way with soaring vocals and an effortless
style on tracks like "Sweet Love" and "You Bring Me Joy." "Caught Up in
the Rapture" was the anthem for many a lovestruck couple, and Baker sums
it up best herself in the same song: "Nothing else can compare."
Track
listing
1. Sweet Love
2. You Bring
Me Joy
3. Caught up in the Rapture
4. Been
So Long
5. Mystery
6. No One in the World
7. Same Ole Love
8. Watch Your Step
Product Details
- Audio CD
- Original Release Date: March 1986
- Number of Discs: 1
- Label: Atlantic / Wea
Anita Baker Biography
With her classy, refined brand of romantic soul, Anita Baker was one
of the definitive quiet storm singers of the '80s. Gifted with a strong,
supple alto, Baker was influenced not only by R&B, but jazz,
gospel, and traditional pop, which gave her music a distinctly adult
sophistication. Smooth and mellow, but hardly lifeless, it made her one
of the most popular romantic singers of her time.
Baker was born
January 26, 1958, in Toledo, OH, and raised in nearby Detroit, where she
grew up listening to female jazz singers like Sarah Vaughan, Nancy
Wilson, and Ella Fitzgerald. At age 12, she began singing a gospel
choir, and by age 16 she was performing with several local bands. In
1975, she successfully auditioned for Chapter 8, one of Detroit's most
popular acts at the time; the group eventually signed with Ariola and
released an album in 1979, but were immediately dropped when the label
was acquired by Arista (which didn't care for Baker's vocals).
Chastened, Baker worked low-paying jobs in Detroit and eventually found
steady work as a receptionist at a law firm. In 1982, Otis Smith -- an
executive who'd worked with Chapter 8 -- contacted Baker about recording
for his new label Beverly Glen. Happy with her employment benefits and
skittish over the experience with Arista, Baker was reluctant at first,
but eventually flew out to the West Coast to record her debut album, The
Songstress, in 1983. Though it didn't gain quite enough exposure to
become a hit, it did help Baker build a strong fan base through
word-of-mouth and she was signed by Elektra in 1985.
Working with
producer Michael J. Powell (an old Chapter 8 cohort), Baker released her
major-label debut Rapture in 1986. It was a platinum, Grammy-winning
smash, appealing to both urban and adult contemporary listeners and
producing two all-time quiet storm classics in "Caught Up in the
Rapture" and "Sweet Love." Baker toured the world in 1987 and her guest
appearance on the Winans track "Ain't Got No Need to Worry" won a
Grammy. Her equally stylish follow-up album, Giving You the Best That I
Got, appeared in 1988, spawning more staples in the title track and
"Just Because." "Giving You the Best That I Got" also won Baker two more
Grammys, for Best Female R&B Vocal and Best R&B Song. For her
third Elektra album, Baker decided to handle a greater share of the
songwriting, hence the title Compositions, which was released in 1990
and featured even stronger jazz inflections than Baker's previous work
(not to mention all live instruments).
Following Compositions,
Baker took a break from recording and touring; after having her first
son in 1993, she returned to the studio to craft Rhythm of Love, which
was released in 1994. In the years that followed, Baker was mostly
silent, despite her fans' clamoring for a jazz album; instead, she
raised her family and became embroiled in contract disputes with
Elektra, which eventually led her to move to Atlantic. She began working
on a new album in 2000, but had to start over from scratch due to
defective recording equipment that made the original tracks
unsalvageable. In 2004 it was announced that she had signed with Blue
Note and still working on her new album. In the meantime, the Atlantic
imprint Rhino released Night of Rapture: Live, a 1987 concert originally
available on video. Baker finally returned to the studio in 2003 and
issued My Everything, her first album in 10 years. Two years later she
released her first holiday album, Christmas Fantasy.
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