Toni Braxton's Ultimate: The Rise and Fall of One of the 90s R&B Greats

When an artist decides to leave a longtime record label, all sorts of controversy and delays in new music can happen. While artists like Janet and Mariah ink lucrative deals and don't miss a step, most in their situation don't come back as well. One high profile artist in that very situation is the one and only Toni Braxton. In mid-2002, she became pregnant with her second child by husband and former video co-star Kerry Lewis. It dampered her ability to do the savage promo her label expected/required of her the next few months; as a result, her record More Than A Woman flopped. Badly. Toni didn't take this lying down; she signed with manager Barry Hankerson and subsequenty left Arista Records for the current artistic limbo she resides in currently. This record is a summary of her three multi-platinum records and one gold-certified one.

Tracklisting:
Give U My Heart featuring Babyface (*****)
Love Shoulda Brought You Home (**** 1/2)
Another Sad Love Song (*****)
Breathe Again (*****)
Seven Whole Days Live (**** 1/2)
You Mean The World To Me (*****)
How Many Ways (****)
You're Makin' Me High (*****)
Let It Flow (*****)
Unbreak My Heart (*****)
I Love Me Some Him (**** 1/2)
I Don't Want To (**** 1/2)
He Wasn't Man Enough (*****)
Just Be A Man About It (*****)
Hit The Freeway featuring Loon (*** 1/2)
Whatchu Need New Track (**)
Little Things New Track (*** 1/2)
Unbreak My Heart Remix (*)

From her self-titled debut, we have a whopping seven tracks present. Give U My Heart has this omnipresent Christmas-y bell part that immediately sets it apart from the rest of the record. The irresistible digi-bassline heavy groove the song createst is pure gold while the chemistry between Babyface and Toni is nothing short of sizzling; Toni definitely steals the show and gives us a hint of things to come. Love Shoulda Brought You Home is more relaxed and much less dependent on synth work; the piano-keyboard led track also has some strong percussion that gives it a sense of direction. The hook seals the deal; the raw emotion in the lyrics is accentuated well and you end up wanting to hunt down that bastard who hurt our dear Toni. Another Sad Love Song is...whew...such a good song. Toni breaks out the sultry side of her voice on this song (especially on the slightly erotic intro) while going more vulnerable on the nearly trembling verses. The beat is kindof hollow; the bass sounds remotely like a claptrack while the lush synth work and tender strings also serve their purpose. The hook is nothing short of pirceless and will definitely have you hooked immediately. Clever concept, might I add.

Breathe Again is a very rich, luxurious midtempo with the soothing strings, supportive bass and haunting (also, quite downtroddenly genuine) back-up. Its got one of her saddest sounding performances and you keep expecting her to break down and just start crying on us, especially midway through the second verse. The lyrics are masterful; they present the subject in a very human way, a way anyone will relate to. Seven Whole Days (Live) shows Toni's strong live skills well with the old school hook and jovial crowd that cheers almost throughout. The verses are quite jazzy with the tongue-in-cheek delviery while the music is done nearly perfect. Her vocals hold up wonderfully in the live atmosphere and you really feel like you're there.

You Mean The World To Me just screams timeless. The quivery vocals, the insane hook, the intensely done music. The percussion on this track is elegant and sophisticated, not going as overboard as expected. The lovestruck -ish vibe is quite genuine sounding while the soul on this track is just great. How Many Ways is a bit of a step down in all aspects but is a good track nonetheless. Its got the latin-y acoustic guitar buired in the track while the heavy percussion and sassy back-up on the bridge shine brightly. The hook is a bit off wit the layered effect straying too much from the tracks central sound.

Toni's blockbuster sophomore set Secrets gives us the next five tracks. You're Makin' Me High is a thumping bass heavy come hither look put into song. With lines about touching oneself and getting hot, its easily her sexiest song. Let It Flow falls in line with the material from the first record. The wistful guitar, the "I'm going to make it regardless of anyone says" lyrics, the enchanting back-up. Its much less produced than the other songs from this album and is a pretty complete song, not focusing on one element especially. Unbreak My Heart- lush, emotional intelligent Diane Warren ballad. Powerful, intense, uber soulful. 'Nuff said. Its remix is the epitome of bland- nothing even close to the original in terms of entertainment or originality while also possessing a painfully obvious banality and generic sound that remixes tend to have. I Love Me Some Him is a playful, gospel-esque sensual little ditty that has this swagger to it thats quite fascinating. The production is simple and gorgeous while the toned down nature of the song is quite welcome. I Don't Want To is this RKelly penned/produced quite frank power ballad with the striding piano crashes and depply demonstrative vocals. Toni uses the thick atmosphere to show off her singing personality, smart and introspective.

He Wasn't Man Enough For Me is an instantly singable half-snarl-half-eye-roll little Darkchild produced track. The percussion is pretty prominent while the guitar at the intro kindof fades into obscurity. The vocals are much deeper in range while the attitude is just fierce. Just Be A Man About It features a surprise cameo from Dr. Dre via phone convo (he's the token "bad boyfriend") at the rainy intro that was pretty cool. He even pops in a second time after he realizes what he did was wrong- whatever it may have been. The song is full of this kind of echo thing during the hook; the piano is superbly done. Its not at all dreary and really possesses enough of an aura around it that it could have held the track up all by itself. Toni takes us to church toward the end on her ad libs, ending some of her notes more downbeat.

Hit The Freeway features a completely forgettable opening flow from Baby Mase a.k.a. the horridly untalented leech Loon. This Neptunes produced track has that signature digi-meets-pounding-percussion Neptunes sound; this specific track has a complementary strong section that does redeem it a bit. The vocals are decent but nothing even near her earlier material. Whatchu Need is a rubbery. wind instrument heavy rip off Brandy's What About Us- listen to both. You'll see. Little Things is way too overproduced and overtakes her vocal performance; the simplistic, played out lyrics don't really help the cause, I guess.

In conclusion, while this compilation was thrown together hastily and sloppily, its still a nice summary of her illustrious career. Newer fans and die hard fans can benefit from buying this.

Great Music To Play While: hitting the freeway (and consequently breaking your stupid a*ss hand), giving me your heart (what are you, insane? you don't go giving people your organs), perfecting that low range in your voice to near growl level, wishing Babyface was in your professional life again

Last Three Reviews:
Vivian Green- A Love Story
Donna Summer- The Journey: Very Best Of Donna Summer
Sheryl Crow- The Very Best Of Sheryl Crow