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Ultimate Toni Braxton

 
Album Review: Ultimate Toni Braxton

  • Artist: Toni Braxton
  • Rating: StarStarStarStarHalf Star
  • Release Date: November 04, 2003
  • Type: Compilation (best of)
  • Genre: Rhythm & Blues

Review

Most modern-day female pop singers start their careers doing their sexy, stylish dance-oriented material then settle into a career as an adult contemporary crooner. Toni Braxton didn't follow that route. She started the '90s singing elegant, refined quiet storm ballads and ended it singing sleek dance-pop tunes as she slinked around in skimpy outfits. She wasn't the only one of her peers to follow this trajectory -- Mariah Carey pretty much did the same thing, only to the extreme -- but it's a little odd to listen to Braxton evolve from the sophisticated urban contemporary crooner to oversexed R&B thrush, even if it's not a bad thing at all. One thing that elevated Braxton above her peers is that she was a controlled, powerful singer who rarely oversang, and she had a good selection of material, much of it written or co-written by Babyface. That's why her 18-track hits collection Ultimate Toni Braxton works well even through her shifts in style -- she is a confident enough performer to sell both the slow romantic ballads and material that swings harder. That's not to say that there aren't some slow spots here -- the previously unreleased cuts are no great shakes, and sometimes the abundance of slow numbers makes things sound too samey -- but she was one of the top urban soul singers of the '90s, and this is the album that illustrates why. ~ Stephen Thomas Erlewine, All Music Guide

Tracks

Track TitleComposersPerformersTime
Give U My Heart (Lyrics) Bo Watson, L.A. Reid, Daryl Simmons, Babyface Toni Braxton, Babyface (4:00)
Love Shoulda Brought You Home (Lyrics) Babyface, Bo Watson, Daryl Simmons Toni Braxton (4:51)
Another Sad Love Song (Lyrics) Daryl Simmons, Babyface Toni Braxton (3:49)
Breathe Again (Lyrics) Babyface Toni Braxton (4:15)
Seven Whole Days [Live] Babyface, L.A. Reid Toni Braxton (4:40)
You Mean the World to Me (Lyrics) L.A. Reid, Babyface, Daryl Simmons Toni Braxton (3:59)
How Many Ways (Lyrics) Toni Braxton, Noel Goring, Vincent Herbert, Philip Field, Keith Miller Toni Braxton (4:26)
You're Makin' Me High (Lyrics) Babyface, Bryce Wilson Toni Braxton (4:06)
Let It Flow (Lyrics) Babyface Toni Braxton (4:09)
Un-Break My Heart (Lyrics) Diane Warren Toni Braxton (4:28)
I Love Me Some Him (Lyrics) Andrea Martin, Gloria Stewart, SoulShock & Karlin Toni Braxton (4:36)
I Don't Want To (Lyrics) R. Kelly Toni Braxton (4:17)
He Wasn't Man Enough (Lyrics) LaShawn Daniels, Harvey Mason, Jr., Rodney Jerkins, Fred Jenkins III Toni Braxton (4:00)
Just Be a Man About It (Lyrics) Johnta Austin, Ted Bishop, Toni Braxton, Bryan-Michael Cox Toni Braxton (4:16)
Hit the Freeway (Lyrics) Pharrell Williams, Chauncey Hawkins Loon, Toni Braxton (3:47)
Whatchu Need [#] Fred "Uncle Freddie" Jerkins III, Rodney Jerkins, Toni Braxton, Kenisha Pratt, LaShawn Daniels Toni Braxton (3:38)
The Little Things [#] R. Kelly Toni Braxton (4:31)
Un-Break My Heart [Soul-Hex Anthem Radio Edit] Diane Warren Toni Braxton (3:35)

Credits

Karlin (Producer), David Foster (Producer), L.A. Reid (Producer), Jon Gass (Live Mixing), Soulshock (Producer), R. Kelly (Producer), Bobby Guy (Group Member), Richard Thomas Jennings (Art Direction), Bo Watson (Live Mixing), Jim "Z" Zumpano (Engineer), Karlin (Arranger), Daniela Federici (Photography), Soul Solution (Producer), Babyface (Producer), Toni Braxton (Producer), David Foster (Arranger), Soul Solution (Group), Bryan-Michael Cox (Producer), Allen D. Hong (Assistant), Joe-Mama Nitzberg (Creative Director), Herb Powers (Mastering), Daryl Simmons (Producer), Loon (Guest Appearance), Babyface (Guest Appearance), R. Kelly (Arranger), Ted Bishop (Producer), Soul Solution (Remixing), Rodney Jerkins (Producer), L.A. Reid (Live Mixing), The Neptunes (Producer), Ernie Lake (Group Member), Bryce Wilson (Producer), Vincent Herbert (Producer), Soulshock (Arranger)
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Wikipedia: Ultimate Toni Braxton
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Ultimate Toni Braxton
Greatest hits by Toni Braxton
Released November 4, 2003
Recorded 1992-2003
Genre R&B
Label Arista Records
Toni Braxton chronology
More Than a Woman
(2002)
Ultimate Toni Braxton
(2003)
Platinum & Gold Collection
(2004)

Ultimate Toni Braxton, released in 2003, is the first greatest hits collection by R&B singer Toni Braxton. It features many of her greatest hits, and includes all the singles from her debut Toni Braxton and all but one of the singles from her second album Secrets. Her albums The Heat and More Than a Woman are fairly underrepresented, as only two and one songs are included from each album, respectively. The songs on Ultimate are not the actual album versions but radio edits, and the version of "Seven Whole Days" is live. The album also includes two new songs, "Whatchu Need" and "The Time of our Lives" – neither of them were released as singles, Toni's first single "Give U My Heart" (a duet with Babyface that was including on the "Boomerang" soundtrack), and a remix of "Un-Break My Heart".

There is also a Box Set edition of the album which contains six additional remixes.

According to Billboard, the album has sold 394,000 copies as of May 2009.

Track listing

  1. "Give U My Heart" (featuring Babyface) – 4:00
  2. "Love Shoulda Brought You Home" – 4:51
  3. "Another Sad Love Song" – 3:49
  4. "Breathe Again" – 4:15
  5. "Seven Whole Days" (Live) – 4:40
  6. "You Mean the World to Me" – 3:59
  7. "How Many Ways" – 4:26
  8. "You're Makin' Me High" – 4:06
  9. "Let It Flow" – 4:09
  10. "Un-Break My Heart" – 4:28
  11. "I Love Me Some Him" – 4:36
  12. "I Don't Want To" – 4:17
  13. "He Wasn't Man Enough" – 3:59
  14. "Just Be a Man About It" – 4:16
  15. "Hit the Freeway" – 3:47 (featuring Loon)
  16. "Whatchu Need" – 3:38
  17. "The Time of our Lives (Toni Braxton Solo Studio Version)" – 3:36
  18. "Un-Break My Heart" (Soul-Hex Anthem Radio Edit) – 3:35
  19. "Un-Break My Heart" (Frankie Knuckles Franktidrama Club Mix) *
  20. "You're Makin' Me High" (Salaam Remi's Norfside Mix) *
  21. "How Many Ways" (R. Kelly Mix) *
  22. "I Don't Want To" (Frankie Knuckles Franktified Mix) *
  23. "Hit the Freeway" (Goldtrix Mix) *
  24. "He Wasn't Man Enough" (Forces of Nature Mix) *

(*On Box Set edition only)


 
 
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Essential Toni Braxton [Circuit City Exclusive] (2007 Album by Toni Braxton)

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Album Review. Copyright © 2009 All Media Guide, LLC. Content provided by All Music Guide ®, a trademark of All Media Guide, LLC. All rights reserved.  Read more
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