Libra marks Toni Braxton's departure from Arista, her longtime label. It was a stormy relationship that ended with the fast death of 2002's fine More Than a Woman. Only one Neptunes-produced single was spun off from it, which peaked somewhere in the eighties of the Hot 100. Half a year after the album's release, Braxton was off Arista and on the Universal-distributed Blackground, but Libra didn't surface until fall of 2005. (Granted, Braxton's no stranger to protracted gaps in her release schedule.) Libra offers no surprises. It's lean and balanced, just like all other Braxton albums, though too many songs are tepid and merely functional for background listening, so it winds up a safe distance from the likes of the self-titled debut and Secrets. "Take This Ring," produced by Rich Harrison, adds some unexpected rambunctiousness, yet it's about one-tenth as exciting as Amerie's like-sounding "1 Thing" (also Harrison's work). Beyond the obvious single choices -- produced by big names like Scott Storch and Bryan-Michael Cox -- two songs handled by the Underdogs' Antonio Dixon ("Sposed to Be" and "Finally") are as sublime and plush as any other pair in Braxton's catalog. Although this is her spottiest album to date, her fans shouldn't have any trouble appreciating it. ~ Andy Kellman, All Music Guide
Babyface (Composer), Babyface (Vocals (Background)), Babyface (Producer), Toni Braxton (Vocals (Background)), Toni Braxton (Executive Producer), Nuno Bettencourt (Guitar), Chris Gehringer (Mastering), Vincent Herbert (Executive Producer), Thom "TK" Kidd (Engineer), Thom "TK" Kidd (Editing), Keri Lewis (Keyboards), Keri Lewis (Programming), Keri Lewis (Producer), Keri Lewis (Executive Producer), Keri Lewis (Mixing), Keri Lewis (Vocal Producer), Manny Marroquin (Mixing), Greg Phillinganes (Piano), John Ricard (Photography), Dan Shea (Guitar), Dan Shea (Piano), Dan Shea (Programming), Dan Shea (Producer), Soulshock (Arranger), Soulshock (Producer), Soulshock (Instrumentation), Scott Storch (Producer), Karlin (Arranger), Karlin (Producer), Karlin (Instrumentation), Eric Dawkins (Vocals (Background)), Eric Dawkins (Vocal Producer), The Underdogs (Composer), The Underdogs (Producer), Daniela Federici (Photography), Gene Grimaldi (Mastering), Corey Rooney (Piano), Corey Rooney (Arranger), Corey Rooney (Programming), Corey Rooney (Producer), Paul Boutin (Engineer), Paul Boutin (Editing), Barry Hankerson (Executive Producer), Gerard Dure (Hair Stylist), Jomo Hankerson (Executive Producer), Jonathan Mannion (Photography), Michael Muller (Photography), Dave Russell (Engineer), Dave Russell (Editing), Dave Russell (Mixing), Paul Foley (Engineer), Anthony Terrabonne (Assistant Engineer), Johnta Austin (Vocals (Background)), Fran Cooper (Make-Up), Tamar Braxton (Vocals (Background)), Tavia Ivey (Vocals (Background)), Rich Harrison (Producer), Rich Harrison (Instrumentation), Bryan-Michael Cox (Producer), Rob Skipworth (Assistant Engineer), Rob Skipworth (Editing Assistant), Dabling Harward (Engineer), Dabling Harward (Editing), Terrence Cash (Assistant Engineer), Morgan Garcia (Engineer), Morgan Garcia (Assistant Engineer), Kim Moore Johnson (Vocals (Background)), Antonio Dixon (Composer), Antonio Dixon (Producer), Antonio Dixon (Performer), Makeba Riddick (Vocals (Background)), Sam Thomas (Engineer), Sam Thomas (Mixing), Tom Kelly (Engineer), Tom Kelly (Editing), Kendrick Dean (Strings), Kendrick Dean (Producer), Kameron Houff (Engineer), Rick DeVarona (Mixdown Producer), Marie Brown (Hair Stylist), Mike Guidotti (Assistant Engineer), Heather Hankerson (Creative Director), Keri Lynn Hilson (Vocals (Background)), Saro Lyn Killian (Assistant Engineer), Saro Lyn Killian (Mixing), Latrell Simmons (Vocals (Background)), Sean Spellman (Stylist), Tony Terrebonne (Mixing Assistant)
Libra is the fifth studio album by American R&B singer–songwriter Toni Braxton, released in the United States on September 27, 2005 by Blackground Records. The album's title is a reference to Braxton's astrological sign, Libra.
The album debuted at number four on the Billboard 200 and number two on the Top R&B/Hip-Hop Albums, selling 114,000 copies in its first week.[1] Only three singles were released from the album, and due to lack of promotion from Blackground Records, Braxton's then-record label, all of them failed to chart on the Billboard Hot 100, subsequently causing Braxton to terminate her contract with Blackground. Nonetheless, as a result of the European success of "The Time of Our Lives"—Braxton's collaboration with the group Il Divo, which served as the official 2006 FIFA World Cup theme song—, German label Edel Records re-released the album in continental Europe in late June 2006 including "The Time of Our Lives" as well as a brand-new cover art. Previously, the regular European edition of the album had included three bonus tracks: "Suddenly", "I Hate You", and "Long Way Home".
Some U.S. retail stores, such as Best Buy, Target, and Wal-Mart, included a bonus digital download when Libra was first released. The tracks given for digital download were either a leftover track or one of the bonus tracks featured on the album's 2006 European pressing. The track "Places" was included as a digital download at Wal-Mart stores.
