Rapture

smoother than smooth soaring mellow soul. Not my thing but she sure has a nice voice.

Shortly before the birth of Tom Jones, the earth consisted of Primordial Soup. Nobody knows exactly what the soup tasted like, but I tend to think it was similar to Mulligatawny. Then, due to biology and other stuff which Darwin invented, we eventually evolved out of the bottoms of our Monkey Gods. And this lead inevitably and unfortunately to the 1980s. Although, Sweet Love is undoubtedly a worthwhile, catchy song, this album is so defunct of anything else worthwhile that it becons the question why we bothered to leave the soup? And if, within the next 3 weeks, I was faced with the question whether I would chose to be boiled alive in an industrial vat of Mulligatawny Soup or be subjected to the uninspired anodyne warblellings of Ms Baker, then I would face a difficult decision. A clearer question would be why on earth this made the list of 1001 albums to listen to before you die. It should be a clear candidate for 100 Albums to Avoid Listening to Whilst Alive. It may also make the list of Top 53 Albums to demonstrate the typical Lack of Key Changes, use of drum machines and synthesisers, and cultural acceptance of musically worthless Album (Filler) Tracks. With infinite lives and infinite time, I can forsee no enentuality where I would willingly listen to this tripe again. Not even if I'd feel nished all the soup.

This was a smart play in 1986 if you weren't able to make your move by the end of the Sade album.

Not bad. Sampled by MF Doom - it can't be lower then 4

i kind of loved it! probably just nostalgic for me but i don’t care!!!

The record industry is built upon records just like this one. They find a talented singer like Anita Baker, then take a pile of bland, commercial songs, build predictable arrangements and get the singer to do their thing on them. Finally, they market the hell outta it and it generates hits. Six months later, a year later they rinse and repeat. This is a fine example of that. There’s nothing "wrong" with these songs and she sings them beautifully. But. There is also nothing at all outstanding about anything here. It’s all bland commercialized pop R&B songs that the marketing machine could push out to commercial radio. They sure didn't take any artistic risks or stray from the middle-of-the-road commercial sound. It's fine and some people like this style. I'm not one of those people, especially in a year like 1986 where music was EXCITING. This just isn't.

Really not my jam. Lovely but not for me

I suppose she has a beautiful voice, but this production style is so cheesey and dated sounded it's almost impossible to listen to.

I liked this, even if I had to listen to it on YouTube

MF DOOM sampleista plussaa.

A little forgettable unfort

Soul music is so 50/50 for me. There’s some of the greatest artist of all time that are soul, like Curtis Mayfield, Aretha Franklin, and Marvin Gaye. But then there’s a huge chunk of soul music that is so bland and almost painful to listen to. Anita Baker falls into this latter category. It’s so smooth that it just slips right past you and nothing catches you

Mega entspannend, ka öb das so blues jazz soul oder was au immer isch aber ich finds mega cool au als hintergrundmusik wenn ich was am mache bin

High 80s production with a beautiful voice. But why this album and no Whitney Houston?

Among all the various styles of soul, the cheesy, overproduced 80s variant is the only one that truly manages to annoy me. Corny, artificial and unbearably sweet, it hesitates between mall music and subliminal sex music designed to get drunk people to grope each other in the dark. Listening all the way through was a chore for me. Needless to say, I won’t be repeating the experience. 2/10

I tried, especially when it leans towards jazzy but it's really not my cuppa.

Almost the worst kind of music for me, made even worse by that slick 80s production. Sickeningly syrupy, with unbearable vocal showboating. I really can’t stand it.

This is pretty enjoyable! Anita Baker is great and there are a bunch of awesome, soulful performances here. But I have now listened to a good few '80s soul albums, and I'm kind of finding the through line. Anything with extremely '80s production is gonna sound a little plasticky to me, and some artists know how to lean into that and harness it compellingly, but I find that extremely earnest genres like soul tend to suffer a little in my opinion.There are songs here, most notably Mystery, where Baker uses some really unexpected moods and textures to harness the production into a form I like a lot, but I think it's in the way more often than not. This is still good overall though, and Baker is obviously an incredibly talented soul singer.

- i recognize the first song already - her voice is very nice, production mixed very well - yeah this instrumentation is very fire, super clear and crisp - her melodies and voice are also very captivating - logic sampled mystery in hey girl, kinda cool lol. immediately recognizable - yeah for the most part, these melodies are solid and of course her vocals are solid - wish this was fully on spotify...

Smooth as glass

Very solid soul album

not my style but it was fine

Anita Baker - Rapture (1986) Pretty boring and lacking any tunes. Apart from Sweet Love which is good. And Same Ol’ Love. Good voice but started to grate a bit. Seemed to go on for a lot longer than 37 minutes. 2.5/5 rounded down. ⭐️⭐️

Seems like I often put sweet-voiced female singers like Baker into the "Whatever happened to . . ." category, since most of them have a brief period where they are the only thing anyone can talk about, then fall into relative obscurity. At least, that's from my default perspective. But it turns out that many such singers (like Baker) continue to have long and successful careers. They just don't get as much attention after they've been replaced by a new "flavor of the month" beautiful female vocalist. Apparently, that's a category of music I have only a modest interest in. Baker is in great form here performing such music, with a sweet, smooth sound that the album's relatively brief running time doesn't allow to become old. Listening to this is a pleasant, if in no way life-changing experience.

Love and heartbreak shine through her soulful vocals. Backed up by the sometimes groovy, sometimes smooth band, she captures romance.

This was okay, just short and not really my style

It feels way ahead of its time her voice is lengendary obv

These bass lines though. Not my style. I want to like it more than I do but it's simply not for me. That being said, my initial reaction is "this is going to be so dated" and it absolutely isn't. Masterwork of the craft, just not my craft.

This was a solid r&b album. Not my normal cup of tea but this is very well done

Just not my thing.

Ridiculous! Rapturous!

the yachty songs are niceee this was smooTh!

A nice voice, a couple of OK songs but the rest is nil...

Powerful voice and an enjoyable consistent listen. Likes: Sweet Love; Been So Long; No One in the World

Soulful and saxful. R&B isn't my normal listen--especially in the cheesy 1980s--but Anita Baker has a great voice. It's an all right listen. Top tracks: "Sweet Love," "Caught Up In The Rapture"

fine. music to fuck to in the 80s.

--Sweet Love...not really my thing but her voice is impressive --You Bring Me Joy...lay-me-down-by-the-fire music --Caught Up in the Rapture...really dig the keyboards here. I'm starting to lean into this --Been So Long...background music but good background music. oh, we got some scat! --Mystery...that bass is nice 'n' fat. I was skeptical coming in but she's winning me over --No One in the World...it's so damned generic but it's also so damned good. the key change in the back half hits real hard --Same Ole Love (365 Days a Year)...a funky bass and a great voice will usually get me on your side. still cheesy af --Watch Your Step...this hits. piano real nice. you got a new fan, Ms. Baker

Slow and and a lot of croon

This was a short album with only 4 songs. I ended up listening to it multiple times over the course of a long car drive. My passenger actually ended up falling asleep to this. Caught up in the Rapture and Sweet love are the best songs. If half the songs from the album are good, it must be a good album.

Instant 5 lol. I already own two copies of this album on vinyl Cult classic sample source for some DOOM tracks Notable tracks: Sweet love Caught up in the rapture of love

No-one encapsulates smooth R’n’B better than Queen Anita Baker, IMO. I loved “Sweet Love” and “Rapture” when they came out, 16-year-old me borrowing the grown-woman energy Anita exudes. The rest of the album passed in a pleasant “quiet storm” kinda way. I don’t know that I’ll listen again, so it’s a 3.5 from me dawg.

Got Anita baker booming out the ‘87 Buick —- such a good voice over some music that really doesn’t do anything for me. There’s a lot of good here, just leaving it feeling like I had enough. Hard to hit something this quality wise with a 2 though.

I guess I must not be much of a fan of (nor really the audience for) "quiet storm" music, as this album didn't do much at all for me. She seems to have a good voice, and a nice alternative to Whitney Houston's over-the-top style, but the lyrics are largely forgettable, and the 80s R&B/easy-listening soundtrack is equally blase and bland. The music actually made me think of a friend from college who played in his high school jazz band with a friend of his, and his friend went on to become a cruise line band member for several years. Eventually his friend left this apparently lucrative gig, tired of playing soulless background music. I'm guessing he probably didn't enjoy "Rapture" all that much either.

No Fab Five Freddy. No men from Mars eating cars and eating bars. There’s better Raptures out there.

nice enough

The production of this is overly busy and corny, and Anita’s voice breaks down into incomprehensible wailing too often. That said, this has some pretty immaculate night-time driving vibes, and the musicians are killing it.

Anita Baker is shorter than 5 feet

That smooth jazz sophisticated r&b meeting point was THE sound I grew up on. It’s so comforting to me. Anita Baker is absolutely on the Mt. Rushmore of that musical movement and Rapture is her definitive moment. Fuck these rockist haters!

This is a really chill album that was quite enjoyable leaving in the background. It had a little bit of an old vibe but I definitely wouldn't be able to tell that it is 40 years old at this point. There wasn't anything too exciting among the songs, but it was overall pretty nice.

I guess it’s alright if you’re into adult contempo / late 80’s early 90’s R&B, but this reminded me of striking out miserably at all the middle school dances 😕 2.5⭐️

What did the cult leader say when the party planner for the Rapture didn't order dessert? Anita Baker!

Had this on after cleaning the heck out of the house and making dinnner after a long Sunday. Smoky, smoldering, sexy and one of those ones II wouldn’t have listened to otherwise. Vigorous thumbs up.

Beautiful album

Silky, smooth & somewhat sexy. Baker can sing, that's for sure, I just don't care for what she's singing about. Sweet Love is the song & I was slightly liking the Rapture song. They all tend to blend together. Good bass on some other tracks.

My gawd, this is some terrible music...

Wish more of this was available on Spotify, its fun! Best Song: Sweet Love Rating: 6/10 Stars: 3

Mid 80s quiet storm/R&B/soul is very much not my shit but this is a bit better listen than I expected.

Getting to this album on a rainy day was a great fit. There might not be any grandiose subject to these songs, or any experimental beats; but the tone of her voice and the sweeping melodies end up captivating you every time. It’s an album very of its time. I might not have been alive back then but I bet this is what the late 80s sounded like for these kind of singers. There’s also a link between this and Mariah Carey’s first album four years later.

Very "unbreak my heart" by Toni Braxton vibes. Includes hit "Sweet Love." Mellow, lovely.

10/10

ptn je sais que c'est mid mais mon cœur m'empêche de mettre moins de 4 à ça. c'est un mix qui me fait fondre en fait ce souful RnB/jazz/gospel miam

C'était ok

whole album not on spotify but found most of it. Wouldnt listen in the car but totally good work background. 3

Over produced, smooth jazz, or adult contemporary was never my jam. Baker obviously has a great voice, but the most interesting thing about this album is sweet love, which provided a superb DOOM sample.

Urgh I hate this type of music, honestly if this is in anyone's top 1001 albums then they are clinically insane

Sweet Love sets a high bar at the outset. Unfortunately the rest of the album falls a little short of that mark. Still, an enjoyable soulful jaunt.

Love this LP!

Not available on Spotify.

I'm firmly middle aged and I don't feel like I'm old enough for this album. So smooth. So produced. So not my thing.

I can hear this is good, but even so, it’s boring. Not for me.

Listened before? No Familiar with the artist? Not really Thoughts: - This was nice enough to listen to; great vocals of course, but didn't really do anything for me. - I'd put it in the category of pleasant background music. Fine, but don't really see why it's in the book. Favorite track(s): Been So Long

Smooooth as Sade

Painful.

It’s both smooth jazz AND baby making music. No wonder it was so popular.

Sure, she's got a good voice, but the music here is everything I don't like about 80s adult contemporary. It's vague, lacks momentum, and relies too much on the synth to create an "atmosphere."

Golden voice but it didn't make me feel much, over-the-top production, ok arrangements. The bass line brang me joy occasionally, but generally just not my jam.

Chilled soul vibes

Nothing to dislike but nothing to get me excited either. A standard straight down the middle three for this.

Between YouTube ads, this was okay but pretty boring despite her legendary status.

She has a nice voice, but the music is severely lacking to the point of being unlistenable.

incredibly boring. one extra star for her voice

i just don’t care for this kind of music even though her voice is lovely

Anita Baker has the voice of the 80s adult contemporary, but she's outshined by the Whitney Houston, Toni Braxton, and Celine Dions of the era. It's not bad music and her voice is nice, it's just that she had absolute powerhouse women to compete that were doing the same thing, but ten times better.

What a voice

Sometimes I feel the need to explain a rating ... This is not usually my sort of music. But this is so well made. The production is absolutely spot on and every note by every instrument is exactly where and what it should be. But the star is Baker's voice, which is a thing of real beauty. This is from when R&B singers didn't feel the need to scream and shout. Beyoncé, take note! I think it drops off a bit for two tracks (Mystery and No One In The World - are a bit bland for me, the latter a bit frustrating when at the end it shows what it could have been ...) but I didn't even skip those two. Would I buy it? I don't think so. But if I came across a cheap second hand copy, I might give it a thought.

A traditional soul/R&B album, nothing to really knock you off your feet - but that doesn't always have to be the rule. Good execution is good execution. Love Anita's vocals. 3.5 rounding up

Not for me. Nothing offensive but not something I want to listen to. Yawn.

Anita Baker's Sweet Love is some 80s romantic r&b sung in a sexy soul style that's sonic syrup slathered all over the wax slabs of that stacked track. When things become more pedestrian (or simple to focus on her voice — depends on your perspective) I tend to drift away from the record even though her singing is still strong. Occasionally the music does something that you could qualify as a treat, but overall the album has all the clichés you'd expect: backup choirs, sax solos, synth pads and keyboards with splashes of "real" piano, layered percussion, tasteful guitar as accent, a bassist in the groove but ready to throw a funky fill in the mix, and a drummer so restrained you know he came straight from gospel band practice.

An incredibly smooth R&B album and a singer with a great voice. Not a genre that I listen to a lot or really feel I will ever listen to often but one where a few songs on the right playlist really sets a mood. I will take a few of these songs with me in that way and the knowledge of a new artist I can come back to if the mood ever calls for an evening of really smooth music.

Banger Start und banger Bass

Anita has a strong voice, and the album is well produced, but it's just not a style I care about at all. For those into 90s smooth soul, it would probably be quite good. 2 1/2 stars

These are those late nights you are watching Tubi, and you fall asleep and wake hours later, where Tubi has auto selected another movie for you. Its an 80s steamy romance, filmed with a grainy video camera, and you think, "what the hell is this!?" Also Anita Baker is all over the soundtrack. Then you turn off the TV and go to bed.

Good album enjoyed good vocal range

Finally an album from this I LOVE

Naw

What an opener! Decent listen

3 out of 5. 80's soul that was nice enough to listen to.

Really nice voice. Very smooth and warm sounding.

I was on board when this made a splash back in the day. It definitely has that 80's stamp on it. It's not especially my thing now but it was a nice re-visit.

I knew Sweet Love before which is a gorgeous song, and the album as a whole is lovely, of tracks new to me I liked Mystery most