Discography Chat: Toni Braxton

[jarrylf]

OK, so like I said with Missy, Im trying to avoid doing these for artist with albums coming out soon.....only thing is....I kinda had planned for Toni to at the very least have a set album title since picking a date was too hard. I mean seriously, she released a hott song, with the start of great promo, the show, the video came out right away it seemed, but now....where she at? So my bet is we're probably not getting an album from her until fall in which case (same with Missy and Brandy, cause it's lookin like Brandy might be on a similar track) I'll re-open the polls and put there new releases and give my thoughts on it there. Back to Toni

TONI IS MA GIRRRRRL, woo, She is the 2nd artist I ever instantly fell for from jump. The short hair cut, them there eyes, AND THAT VOICE. I was sold at a very young age lol, she came 2nd for me, Whitney was ma #1.

The debut album is easily my favorite album, I feel like that album shows more of her vocal range than any album after, now musically it's limited to just R&B (unlike Secrets) but, I just digg her songs on that album, damn, I mean Give you my heart, Love Shoulda Brought You Home, Another Sad Love song, Breathe again, Seven Whole Days (which hands down IS my favorite Toni Braxton song on the planet), You Mean The World To Me, HOW MANY WAYS (WOOO forever ma summer jam), Love affair, I Belong to you (the remix, not the album version) are all my standouts, it was a strong album and era with a strong look, and just everything was going for her, and she even had the crossover appeal without necessarily the crossover sound.

Secrets, WOOO it's almost a tie for me with the 1st album, these are 2 very different sounds and 2 very different Toni Braxtons, this Toni, with that curly weave, and belly showin was more crossover, and she actually upgraded her sound I'd say from the 1st one, I mean this album took her in a whole new direction and in a whole new crowd and arena. My standout tracks on here are Let it flow (who dont love this song?), Your Makin Me High (THAT BEAT IS SICK, and them dirrrty lyrics, woo, definitely in the top 3 of my faves), OFCOURSE Unbreak My heart that song to me put her in the Celine & Whitney league and I feel like she would've been more successful if she played on that type of sound longer, I love How Could An Angel Break My Heart, and I dont Want to, but the song that SHOULD've been a fucking single (and in my mind a good duet with Janet) was TALKING IN HIS SLEEP, WOOO love me that song, from beginning to end, and I love Why Should I care, and thats about it, the tie breaker between this album and the 1st 1 for me is Seven Whole Days. But I do acknowlege this was a better quality and more diverse album, but I still think her 1st 1 has my type of R&B sound, and in my opinion most of her best vocal moments

----------------------------There should've been a album in 98 after Secrets and before The Heat------------------------------

The Heat. I love it, it's another album and era that I lived and appreciated most when it was new. I loved the new look(s), and I love the spanish vibe and theme throughout the album, the only complaint maybe is that she is capable of better, but it's great for what it is, I mean she's done worst (we'll get to them), but this one I think she was going for that young hip crowd more because to me Secrets and the debut were pretty mature sounding and looking albums and eras and I think she wanted to come off that, and frankly she hasnt gone back to it (I dont think). And it was missing Babyface, like he was there ofcourse but not enough. Standout tracks for me were ofcourse He Wasnt Man Enough (best song on the album), Just Be A Man About It (which I hated when it was new but grew to love), and Spanish Guitar (another fave of mine def in the top 10), and Maybe (BUT, the remix to Maybe, KILLLLLLLLLLLLLLLS the album version in every way, it really should be the album version), and I love The Heat, Never just for a ring, and Gimmie some. Solid album

Then you got her Christmas album which I love and think it should've been bigger/more successful, she has the voice for these types of songs, like Anita. Theres a few picks of the classics and the new songs I love off that album, but I adore her version of Have Yourself A Merry Little Christmas

More than a women. Her most underrated album I'd say, she has some good songs on here, but then at the same time she has some songs I honestly wouldnt call good, like Hit The Freeway, I mean, it's ok, but there is nothing hott or special about it. I like Me & My boyfriend best, and Do you remember when, and Always most on this era, I really forget it exists for the most part, but not more than...

Libra, yes I know alot of people really love it and think its so underrated....I dont, I think it got what it deserved, I LOVE the song and video for Please, I also love Stupid, and I love The Time of our lives, as well as Sposed to be. But thats it, the album was really dry and 1 tone for me (literally too, I mean I can only take so much of her mumbling, and people got the nerve to complain about Janet? for real? lol, my mom thought for Please she was saying "I gots Fabreeze, so let me breathe" LOFL)

And Pulse, I like the album more than any album she's had since Secrets, she was pronouncing dem words, she had a new fresh vibe and sound about her, and she had quality, she didnt have enough promo tho. And she ruined So Yesterday with that wack Trey Shitty Songz remix where they fucked up the instrumental and tarnished her sound by adding him. I think that song never should've been a duet at all, and if it was it should've been wit Usher. Anyway I LOVE Make My Heart, that was a hott dance song, I also like Women, Wardrobe, Caught, The Wave, Rewind, and Lookin at me. I dont like Hands Tied because of the mumbling in the verses, but I do love the video and the chours. I'll still put The Heat ahead of this 1 tho mainly for nostalgia purpuses, like those songs really mean alot, tho I think Pulse is a better album.

I dont know when this new albums coming out, where a 2nd single is, or a album title, but I'm waiting and I love I <3 You, and I am really looking forward to seeing what she has in store, I think she needs to jump on it tho.

My ranking

1.Toni Braxton

2.Secrets

3.The heat

4.Pulse

5.More Than A Women

6.Snowflakes

7.Libra

Poll prediction is for either Secrets or Libra to take the lead and keep it

[bu.]

You know what...I pretty much agree with you on all the albums though I have different fave tracks for some lol.

Debut - Excellent debut! It's strong, so solid and you already get a sense of Tonis "identity". My favourite song will ALWAYS be Another Sad Love Song. That is just such a classic and it's so breezy...it's just awesome. It's hard to choose more favourites with this one but ASLS is definitely one I repeat several times before progressing!

Secrets - Another perfect album and like you said...it brought about a maturer Toni. Again I can't pick favourites but Unbreak My Heart will forever remain one of the best ballads of all time. Toni was a fool for not going down that route...it would have brought her great success in the same way that Mariah/Whitney/Celine balad type songs brought her success...because tbh after Unbreak My Heart Toni just wasn't as hot outside the States.

The Heat - not a hot album and the only time I disagree with you haha. I just don't see whats so great about it...however He Wasn't Man Enough slays! And The Art of Love - damn Toni got her sexy on lol! To be fair I haven't heard it for a few years so with my renewed interest in Toni post-BFV maybe I'll like it? I might give it a try tonight.

More Than A Woman - I was REALLY rooting for Toni when the first single came out. Personally I loved Hit The Free Way but I was TOTALLY hooked to Let Me Show You The Way Out. The singles were good/commercial enough to see a successful album imo so I don't know what happened (I'm sure this was the start of her "decline"?). I did felt she was trying wayy too hard to be "sexy" at that time and it came across as false (e.g. her appearance in the Miss You video).

Libra - when this album was announced I thought "Right, Toni...last time was just a hiccup...this time you're gonna do it!". Please came out and I played it at school (I used to hog the class stereo and make people listen to songs I loved LOL). The white people that weren't R&B fans genuinley loved Please. At the time I did too though now I can't stand it lol. My fave songs are deffo Long Way Home, Take This Ring and Trippin'. As a album though - it's honestly just boring and sounds very "dated" which is weird because she used hot producers of that time (Rich, Cox, Storch). There was no artistic growth at all. I tend to just play the 4 good songs and forget the rest.

Pulse - This time I wasn't expecting her to do well...but she did seem to get more media coverage than she did with MTAW/Libra combined which was a good sign. Yesterday was cute but Make My Heart is my fucking jam! As a whole this album is a return to form for Toni in my opinion. She wasn't "trying too hard" or anything...she was just herself and it showed. It did take me a few listens to like the album but I really do love it now.

Heartstrings & Synagogue Vibes - I'm excited for this. It sounds like it's gonna be hot. I KNOW she's jumped on the dance craze for I Heart You but what I love is that though she's jumped on a "bandwagon" so to say...she's kind of twisted it to suit her as an artist. I Heart You is dope and very Toni in a sense. She didn't have to dumb down her vocals or use autotune or whatever. She just sang as she always did.

[TwistedElegance™]

One of my favourite voices of all time. It was love at first listen in my case, too. 'Breathe Again' was my introduction to Toni Braxton and it's one of my top ballads of the '90s. Babyface's writing and production was near flawless around that time and I think artists like Toni and Tevin Campbell benefitted most from the best of a great batch he and Daryl Simmons cooked up. The sound of Toni's debut epitomises '90s R&B for me. The keyboards sound especially great on that record - I don't know why they've always stood out to me but I love them (most of all on 'Love Shoulda Brought You Home'). As with her second album, the hooks were strong enough for crossover appeal yet still subtle enough to let everything else shine as well. Obviously her vocals were the talking point, but musically I'd say Toni had the goods to rival the likes of Janet, Whitney and Mariah for a good portion of the decade.

Secrets is the kind of sophomore success artists dream of. She came back so strong and sexy with 'You're Makin' Me High', aided by Babyface's sublime backing vocals and a stunning video. I remember getting Janet teas from her curly 'do in that clip when her and her girlfriends were scoring the beefcakes in the elevator. And then she smashed it outta the park with 'Un-Break My Heart', which is an amazing snapshot of the kind of balladry the '90s was known for, and a stark reminder of how we just never hear singles like that anymore. The album has a beautiful sleepy vibe about it which I adore. Everything just flowed.

She was three from three great albums with The Heat. 'He Wasn't Man Enough' was such a sleek and seductive update on the signature Toni sound, and I remember being obsessed with it when it dropped. The kind of obsession where I'd play and pause a track a thousand times to write down the lyrics and memorise every ad-lib. And as a guy, even I will tell you her deeper register on that track is INSANE. She nailed it. And then, sadly, the wheels fell off. That was the last time Toni would trouble the charts, and the real shame is that it didn't have to be that way. 'Just Be a Man About It' is a great album track, but it was never going to make a great single. Nor was 'Spanish Guitar', an obvious ploy to re-scale the dizzying heights of 'Un-Break My Heart'. 'Maybe' or 'You've Been Wrong' stood a much better chance of sustaining that era, but it wasn't to be. And whilst it didn't have commercial appeal, I think 'The Art Of Love' could've made waves with a radio remix because even as a semi-instrumental, it's amazing.

More Than a Woman was the first time I'd ever felt disappointed in a Toni Braxton record. It felt like it was lacking direction and heart. 'Hit The Freeway' was the Neptunes on auto-pilot, complete with an obligatory sub-par rap from a typically sub-par rapper in Loon. It's no surprise it was the only single from the album because barely anything else would qualify for release. 'Rock Me, Roll Me' aside, I have no use for MTAW.

She won me back slightly with Libra, which I still consider a solid R&B record. The product had improved, but sadly the lessons hadn't been learned. Toni should've realised from 'Hit The Flopway' that a hit producer doesn't guarantee you a hit single. So it's anyone's guess what she saw in 'Please', easily one of Scott Storch's most underwhelming efforts. And as expected, it destroyed the era. Which is unfortunate because this time there was actually decent music that suffered. 'Trippin', 'What's Good', 'Midnite' and 'Shadowless' are as good as any other Toni Braxton gems, minus the success. 'Take This Ring' missed the mark, which was odd for Rich Harrison at the time. Maybe it just felt too much like it was clawing for some of Beyoncé's ground.

Pulse is respectable, but I can't hear it without thinking she used to be so much better. There are definitely highlights, though - namely 'Hands Tied', 'Yesterday', and 'Make My Heart', which at the time I admired for its unexpectedness. As a full set, the album just kinda floats by - hardly worth waiting five years for.

So looking back it seems I can split Toni Braxton's discography right down the middle. Half good, half not so good. I liken her content to Jennifer Lopez in the sense that she seems bound by the confines of clichéd song subjects. Love, bad men, and being a woman. Overall, I'm left with the impression that she deserves a better catalog than this, but her talent could only afford her so much. Perhaps if she were open to evolving more through the 2000's I would be typing a different story. Nevertheless, three great albums will always outweigh three which aren't, so here and now, Toni remains a fave.

My ranking:

1. Toni Braxton

2. Secrets

3. The Heat

4. Libra

5. Pulse

6. More Than a Woman

[hotboy06]

Love me some Toni up into "The Heat"..after that, she fizzled.

"Secrets" remains my fave album of hers. Her debut album is right behind.

I used to be obsessed with "Love Me Some Him"..the way she sung that song..

Of course her signature songs like "Breathe Again" and "Un-break My Heart" are great. She had a great run in the 90's.

I feel once the new millenium came in, she didn't have a clear vision on her "artistry"..It was nice to work with the hottest producers, but it didn't feel like "Toni".

[CK1Czar]

Toni Braxton, Secrets and Libra are my favs

[downeaznboi]

The Heat > Secrets > Snowflakes > Toni Braxton > Pulse > Libra > More Than a Woman

[ray.]

i lost touch with her after secrets. that album remains my favorite from her.

[RedSimba]

My favorite album is her debut. As a diehard New Jack Swing fan, I think I just favor its sound more than the rest. The singles ("Another Sad Love Song," "Breathe Again," "Seven Whole Days," "You Mean The World To Me," "How Many Ways") all take me back. Her distinctive contralto alongside L.A. Reid and Babyface's classic R&B productions made for a winning combination.

Secrets is next favorite. I've mentioned this before but it was my very first CD ever, so it's very special to me. "Let It Flow," "You're Makin' Me High," and "Un-Break My Heart" are my favorites here. I do agree it's a little more diverse as she incorporated acoustic ("There's No Me...") and Latin ("Un-Break...") styles. This, along with the debut, are among the best R&B albums ever.

While I didn't love The Heat nearly as much as the first two, it's still pretty good. "He Wasn't Man Enough" was inescapable at the time, and the video with the cartoons was pretty funny + she looks drop-dead gorgeous. "Just Be A Man About It" and "Maybe" are also some tracks I really liked.

After that, I've only heard a couple songs from her subsequent albums. Oh yeah, I did hear Libra once ~ especially loved "Take This Ring" there.

Oh yeah, I can comment on the Ultimate Collection too since I have that. It's a really good overview; a great place to start for anyone not familiar with her catalog. I love that it includes the live version of "Seven Whole Days," I remember hearing that version on the radio too. The two newer songs "Watchu Need" and "Little Things" were pretty nice too.

And I also own that remix collection as well; "You're Makin' Me High (Morales' Classic Mix)" and "Un-Break My Heart (Soul Hex Anthem)" are the highlights. Would've been nice to have a set with more R&B remixes though like the "Breathe Again (Extended Mix)."

Ranking the studio albums I've heard in full...

1. Toni Braxton ("Another Sad Love Song")

2. Secrets ("Let It Flow")

3. The Heat ("Maybe")

4. Libra ("Take This Ring")

Favorite songs so far from what I've partially heard...

Snowflakes ("Christmas In Jamaica")

More Than A Woman ("Hit The Freeway") - I do plan to listen to it sometime.

Pulse ("Yesterday")

[jarrylf]

THIS.IS.SICK.

Dontchall miss the days when the artist would rerecord the whole song for the remix? LOVE THAT

[Bailey]

her debut is the shit, it's just sad that fans kinda fall off after so long that most of her albums I have not even heard.

[vibeology]

I voted for More Than A Woman because it deserves a vote. Ive never understood why people didnt feel the album. Hit The Freeway, A Better Man, Rock Me, Roll Me, Do You Remember When, Tell Me, Always, Selfish, Lies Lies Lies. They may not be up there with her classics but they are still good jams.

Her debut is undoubtedly her best and I think The Heat is overrated Other than the title track, HWMEFM, The Art... & Maybe, the rest is pretty average. Secret is a solid album but i listen to MTAW over it anyday.

I haven't listened to her last 3 albums.

[downeaznboi]

<3 The Heat

He Wasn't Man Enough, Heat, Just Be a Man About It, Gimme Some, I'm Still Breathing , Fairy Taile , Art of Love , Speaking in Tongeus , all of the other tracks are okay too.

my favorite song from toni of all time is Let it Flow, that song is her best. end of.