Product details
- Label Elektra
- Artist Anita Baker
- Format 1LP
- Country United States
- Released Date 1988
- Genre Jazz
- Sealed No
- Media Condition Very Good Plus (VG+)
- Sleeve Condition Very Good Plus (VG+)
Do you have questions about this product?
Condition: Used
Media Condition: Very Good Plus (VG+)
Sleeve Condition: Very Good Plus (VG+)
Condition Notes:
Couple scuffs on both sides. All no effect on play
Giving You The Best That I Got by Anita Baker.
Anita Baker's "Giving You The Best That I Got" arrived in 1988 on Elektra/Asylum Records, and it captures a singer at the absolute height of her powers. Pressed and printed in the U.S.A., this LP carries catalog number 60827-1 on the labels and 9 60827-1 along the spine, a record that stood as one of the defining statements of grown-up soul at the close of the decade.
The album opens with a run that shows off Baker's gift for slow-burning elegance. "Priceless" leads into "Lead Me Into Love," then the title track "Giving You The Best That I Got," before the warm groove of "Good Love" closes side A. Turn it over and you get "Rules," "Good Enough," "Just Because," and the closing "You Belong To Me," a sequence that moves easily between intimacy and confidence.
Baker did far more than sing here. She served as executive producer, she arranged the background vocals on "Rules," and she added her own backing vocals to "Good Love" and "Rules." Longtime collaborator Michael J. Powell produced the record and contributed guitar across several tracks including "Priceless," "Lead Me Into Love," and "Good Love," in addition to his string arrangement on "Just Because." That partnership gives the album its unmistakable polish and its deep, unhurried feel.
The instrumental cast is a who's who of session brilliance. Nathan East lays down the bass on the album's core tracks, Omar Hakim handles drums, and Paulinho Da Costa colors the arrangements with percussion. The keyboards move between many hands, with Robbie Buchanan, Vernon Fails, and Dean Gant on acoustic piano among them, while George Duke and Bobby Lyle both bring piano to "Lead Me Into Love." Guitar duties are shared by Paul Jackson Jr., Donnie Lyle, and Powell, giving each track its own texture.
The horn work adds a soulful lift where it counts. Gerald Albright delivers saxophone on "Good Enough," while "You Belong To Me" is dressed with David Boruff's saxophone and Chuck Findley's trumpet. The background vocals are a project unto themselves, featuring the vocal group Perri, Valerie Pinkston and Carl Carwell on "Priceless" and the title track, and a full ensemble on "Just Because" and "You Belong To Me." String arrangements from Paul Riser and Michael J. Powell frame the ballads with sweep and grace.
Engineered by Barney Perkins with a team of assistants, and finished with art direction by Carol Bobolts and photography by Adrian Buckmaster, this is a beautifully realized pressing of a landmark late-eighties soul album. For collectors chasing the smooth, sophisticated sound Anita Baker made her own, this LP belongs on the shelf.
Pressing Details:
Track Listing:
A1. Priceless
A2. Lead Me Into Love
A3. Giving You The Best That I Got
A4. Good Love
B1. Rules
B2. Good Enough
B3. Just Because
B4. You Belong To Me
Credits:
Alex Brown - Arranged By [Background Vocal Arrangement] (B3)
Anita Baker - Arranged By [Background Vocal Arrangement] (B1)
Perri - Arranged By [Background Vocal Arrangement]
Valerie Pinkston - Arranged By [Background Vocal Arrangement] (A1, A3)
Michael J. Powell - Arranged By [String Arrangement] (B3)
Paul Riser - Arranged By [String Arrangement] (A1, A2)
Robbie Buchanan - Arranged By [String Arrangement] (B3)
Carol Bobolts - Art Direction
Alex Brown - Backing Vocals [Background Vocals] (A1, A3, B7)
Angel Edwards - Backing Vocals [Background Vocals] (A1, A3)
Anita Baker - Backing Vocals [Background Vocals] (A4, B1)
Carl Carwell - Backing Vocals [Background Vocals] (A1, A3, B3)
Fred White (2) - Backing Vocals [Background Vocals] (B4)
Lori Perry - Backing Vocals [Background Vocals] (B3)
Lynne Fiddmont - Backing Vocals [Background Vocals] (B4)
Marva King - Backing Vocals [Background Vocals] (B3)
Perri - Backing Vocals [Background Vocals]
Roy Galloway - Backing Vocals [Background Vocals] (B4)
Valerie Pinkston - Backing Vocals [Background Vocals] (A1, A3)
Nathan East - Bass (A1 to A3, B1 to B3)
Omar Hakim - Drums (A1 to A3, B2)
Barney Perkins - Engineer
Milton Chan - Engineer [2nd Engineer]
Bruce Nazarian - Engineer [Assistant Engineer]
Fred Law - Engineer [Assistant Engineer]
Les Cooper (2) - Engineer [Assistant Engineer]
Tim Purvis - Engineer [Assistant Engineer]
Anita Baker - Executive-Producer
Donnie Lyle - Guitar (A4)
Michael J. Powell - Guitar (A1, A2, A4, B1, B4)
Paul Jackson Jr. - Guitar (A1, A2, B1, B3)
Gary Taylor - Keyboards (A4)
Nell Walker - Keyboards (B4)
Patrick Moten - Keyboards (B4)
Peter Schwartz - Keyboards (B1)
Robbie Buchanan - Keyboards (A1, A2, B1, B3)
Sonny Burke (2) - Keyboards (B4)
Vernon Fails - Keyboards (A1 to A4, B2)
Sephra Herman - Other [Production Coordination By]
Tweed And Tominaga - Other [Production Coordination By]
Paulinho Da Costa - Percussion (A1 to A3, B1, B2)
Adrian Buckmaster - Photography By
Bobby Lyle - Piano (A2)
George Duke - Piano (A2)
Dean Gant - Piano [Acoustic] (A1, B2)
Michael J. Powell - Producer
Bruce Nazarian - Programmed By [ [Synclavier Programming] (B2)
David Boruff - Programmed By [Synthesizer Programming] (A1)
David Boruff - Programmed By [Synthesizer Programming] (B4)
Robbie Buchanan - Programmed By [Synthesizer Programming] (A1, A2, B3, B4)
David Boruff - Saxophone (B4)
Gerald Albright - Saxophone (B2)
Joseph Vitarelli - Synthesizer [Synclavier] (A4)
Chuck Findley - Trumpet (B4)
Notes:
℗ © 1988 Electra/Asylum Records
Printed in U.S.A.
cat# on labels: 60827-1
cat# on spine: 9 60827-1
Artist: Anita Baker
Format: 1LP
Genre: Jazz
Label: Elektra
Catalog Number: 60827-1
Release Year: 1988
Country: United States
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