Toni's first compilation. We finally move on from more than a woman!

I am a fan of Toni Braxton. I enjoy much of her music and I think she is one of R&B's most talented vocalists. That smoky alto and her elegant range have made for great hit albums (Even "More Than A Woman" had a FEW strong traits.) with great ballads and well done Mid-tempo tracks.

When I learned she would be releasing a greatest hits compilation, I was overjoyed, ehhh, maybe average-joyed would be a more accurate statement. I knew that I would get some of her signature ballads, and some nice mid-tempo dance tracks. I however was greatful that her record company did not extensively sample offerings from 2000's "The Heat" and 2002's "More Than A Woman." Don't get me wrong, each album has some good points, but not enough to ensure top sales and chart positions.

This compilation focuses widely on 1993's "Toni Braxton" and 1996's "Secrets". The first two of her four albums are just about the best, with big ballads, and great mid-tempo tracks. Her lyrical concepts also seem to be at their best on these albums, so when applied to a compilation, they give the listener a lot for the money.

The albums first track is a duet with Babyface entitled "Give U My Heart" which is a great album opener. Its a fairly mid-tempo track with strong vocals from both parties. The song isn't too overproduced which is good for the listeners personal enjoyemnt. Her lyrical concepts are also stronger on ths track than on most. "Love shoulda brought you home" is one of my favorite Toni Braxton songs. Her voice is very crisp and precise and though her cliched "he did me wrong" lyrics are present on this track, the listener can really feel her emotion throughout the performance.

"Another Sad Love Song" is a very good song, and was a big single back in 1993. I enjoy this song a lot, because the lyrics are original and unlike anything I have heard from another artist. The vocals are very good, and production is just right, Giving the song a jazzy, classy feel.

"You Mean the world to me" could have been a lot better. I remember it as an unmemorable single from 1993. It blends in with so many other songs from this time period that it eventually becomes a bore. The vocals and production don't stand out at all in my mind, So in essence, i don't really experience the music.

The next album to be sampled is 1996's "Secrets", which was a great album. To begin with that album's retrospective we have the hit "You're Makin' Me High." This song could have only been pulled off by Braxton. The smoky vocals fit over the track like a tailored glove. The music and production all work well together and the lyrics are well above creative. This track is definitely a winner.

"Let It Flow" is another one of my favorite Toni songs. The light music which has its own timeless feel and the excellent vocals go well with the somewhat original (At Least For Toni) lyrical concepts. A few of these lyrics include: We deserve respect, but you can demand respect without change. There comes a time when we must all make a change, just let go.." Its a beautiful track.

Of course, we all knew "Un-Break My Heart" would make it onto this disc. This track was a big hit during the 1996 season, and it also has the notriety of being exceptionally beautiful and well exceuted. The vocals are absoulutely excellent and the music is timeless ans slick. The finale of the song it so wonderfully ocrchestrated, and the song comes off as a great one, It does however lose some of its merits because of extensive overplay.

"He Wasn't Man enough for me" Is an ok song, Its danceable, a little radio friendly, but not to much, and Its production is pretty decent. The mindless babbling in the beginning i however could definitely do without. "Just Be A Man About it" is frankly very forgetttable in my book. It has Dr. Dre on it which tells me something is wrong, because when once prestigous vocalist start "Featuring" rappers on their tracks, that just utters laziness to me. Not that all of it can't work, but in Toni's case, it just dosen't. The vocals are nice and production is great, but I don't see the need for Dre.

We have finally arrived in hell, temporariliy at least. "Hit The Freeway" was the first and only (Thank God) track taken from the unforgivable "More Than A woman." This is one of the better tracks taken from that album. It was produced by the Neptunes Pharrel Williams and is actually a pretty good song. The vocals and lyrics aren't bad, if anything they are cliched and the music has good rhythm and beats.

"Watchu Need" sounds like it need to go to the "More Than A Woman" garbage bin. This track is just as lackluster and uninspired as that entire album. It suffers from excessive R&B synths and her vocals are inept if not altogether absent from this track. "Little Things" is also a cliched track, reminiscent of "The Heat" Its lyrics are boring and frankly the listener just does not focus on her vocals. The music is that classic slow, Toni braxton music and it basically goes nowhere. I see now why these tracks have been unreleased, because no producer seems to have been present on them.

To conclude the album, we have a remix of "Un-Break My Heart". This remix simply sucks. It took an otherwise fine song and made it radio friendly which I just can't get with. This is a waste of album space, and simply lingers with the unreleased tracks as a failure and a waste of time.

Last thoughts? "Ultimate Toni Braxton" Is a good retrospective with a lot of key tracks that were vital in creating her career. It also demonstrates her decline, which may or may not be forever. We kicked off strong with her first two albums, but once we reach "The Heat" a problem is apparent, So I was pleased that only three tracks between the two albums were put on here. The unreleased tracks only confirm her sad dark oblivion. So In conclusion what Ive come up with is that this compilation has a lot of great and strong tracks, but Is it worth it to enjoy those and attempt to stomach "Toni Of The New Millenium?" You Make the call.