The sizeable following that
Anita Baker
acquired with
Rapture
proved quite receptive to the only slightly less appealing
Giving You the Best That I Got
-- an album that's quite similar to its predecessors. Though not quite on a par with
The Songstress
or
,
Best
is far superior to most of 1988's uninspired
R&B
releases. Instead of tampering with
's consistently romantic and mellow
soul
/
pop
approach,
Elektra
brought back that album's producer,
Michael J. Powell
, and kept her at the top of the charts with such sleek yet earthy fare as
"Just Because"
(whose harmonies bring to mind producers
Jimmy Jam & Terry Lewis
, but lack the
hip-hop
elements they're quick to employ),
"Priceless,"
the haunting
"Good Love,"
and the title song. Much of
Baker
's music has contained
jazz
overtones, but on the Brazilian-influenced, slightly
bossa nova
-ish
"Good Enough,"
Sarah Vaughan
's influence becomes even more apparent -- and indicates that she is making a tremendous mistake by not recording outright
. ~ Alex Henderson