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Rapture (Anita Baker album)

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For other albums of the same name, see Rapture (disambiguation).
Rapture
Studio album by
Anita Baker
ReleasedMarch 20, 1986
Recorded1985 at Yamaha R & D Studio (Glendale, CA); United Sound Systems (Detroit, MI); Music Grinder Studios (Hollywood, CA).
Genre
Length37:09
LabelElektra
Producer
Anita Baker chronology
The Songstress
(1983) 		Rapture
(1986) 		Giving You the Best That I Got
(1988)
Singles from Rapture
  1. "Sweet Love"
    Released: May 27, 1986
  2. "Caught Up in the Rapture"
    Released: October 3, 1986
  3. "Same Ole Love (365 Days a Year)"
    Released: February 1987
  4. "No One in the World"
    Released: July 1987

Rapture is the second album by American vocalist Anita Baker, released in 1986. This became Baker's breakout album, selling over 8 million copies worldwide (of which 5 million in the US[1]) and earning her two Grammy Awards. The album's first track, "Sweet Love", was a top 10 Billboard hit in addition to winning a Grammy Award. The music video for the track "Same Ole Love" was filmed and recorded at Baker's Keyboard Lounge.[2]


Release and reception

Professional ratings
Review scores
SourceRating
AllMusic[3]
Encyclopedia of Popular Music[4]
MusicHound R&B4.5/5[4]
The Rolling Stone Album Guide[4]
The Village VoiceB–[5]

Rapture was released by Elektra Records in March 1986, peaking at number 11 on the Billboard 200 in the United States and number 13 on the UK Albums Chart.[6] Promoted with two hit singles in "Sweet Love" and "Caught Up in the Rapture",[6] the album received significant airplay on both black radio and Top 40 formats, unlike Baker's 1983 debut The Songstress.[7] By October 1987, Rapture had sold three million copies.[8] It propelled Baker to stardom in soul and pop music during the late 1980s, winning two Grammy Awards and eventually sold over six million copies worldwide.[6]

In a contemporary review for Rolling Stone, Rob Hoerburger regarded Rapture as a relatively "modest" album compared to more histrionic female singers, while praising the symbiotic relationship Baker shared with her band. Occasionally, he believed, the groove-based music lacked variety, and the singer drifted into "some superfluous scatting and pseudo-jazz harmony", but Hoerburger ultimately deemed her "an acquired but enduring taste".[9] At the end of 1986, Rapture was ranked number 2 among the "Albums of the Year" by NME.[10] It was voted the 23rd best album of the year in the Pazz & Jop, an annual poll of American critics, published by The Village Voice.[11] Robert Christgau, the newspaper's lead music critic, was less impressed and viewed the record as merely a soulful, sexier version of soft rock and easy listening: "it's all husky, burnished mood, the fulfillment of the quiet-storm format black radio ... a reification of the human voice as vehicle of an expression purer than expression ever ought to be".[5]

In 1989, Rapture was ranked #36 on Rolling Stone's list of the 100 greatest albums from the 1980s.[12] In retrospect, AllMusic's Alex Henderson said, "Rapture's tremendous success made it clear that there was still a sizeable market for adult-oriented, more traditional R&B singing."[3] According to The Mojo Collection (2007), "when provocative new trends in black music were exploding from the street by the month, Baker kept her head and made a traditional (i.e., with its roots in the '70s) soul record with brooding, slow-burn minor tunes of romantic celebration and earthy longing."[6] According to CBC Music journalist Amanda Parris, "Baker defined quiet storm in the '80's and her album Rapture is one of the subgenre's milestones."[13] Pitchfork placed the album at number 149 on its list of The 200 Best Albums of the 1980s.[14]

Track listing

No.TitleWriter(s)Length
1."Sweet Love"Anita Baker, Louis A. Johnson, Gary Bias4:26
2."You Bring Me Joy"David Lasley4:24
3."Caught Up in the Rapture"Garry Glenn, Dianne Quander5:17
4."Been So Long"Baker5:07
5."Mystery"Rod Temperton4:56
6."No One in the World" (Produced by Marti Sharron and Gary Skardina)Ken Hirsch, Marti Sharron4:10
7."Same Ole Love (365 Days a Year)"Marilyn Mcleod, Darryl K. Roberts4:05
8."Watch Your Step"Baker4:54

Personnel

  • Anita Baker – lead vocals, backing vocals (1–6), keyboards (8)
  • Dean "Sir" Gant – keyboards (1, 2, 4, 7, 8), arrangements
  • Vernon D. Fails – keyboards (3, 5)
  • Randy Kerber – keyboards (6)
  • Greg Phillinganes – synthesizer overdubs (6)
  • Paul Chiten – synthesizer overdubs (6)
  • Greg Moore – guitar (1, 2, 7)
  • Michael J. Powell – guitar (3, 5)
  • Donald Griffin – guitar (4, 8)
  • Dean Parks – lead guitar (6)
  • Paul Jackson Jr. – rhythm guitar (6)
  • Freddie Washington – bass (1, 2, 7)
  • David B. Washington – bass (3, 5, 8)
  • Jimmy Haslip – bass (4)
  • Neil Stubenhaus – bass (6)
  • Ricky Lawson – drums (1, 2, 4, 7, 8)
  • Arthur Marbury – drums (3, 5)
  • John Robinson – drums (6)
  • Paulinho da Costa – percussion (1, 2, 6, 7, 8)
  • Lorenzo Brown – percussion (3)
  • Lawrence Fratangelo – percussion (3, 5)
  • Don Myrick – saxophone (2)
  • Donald Albright – saxophone (8)
  • Jim Gilstrap – backing vocals (1, 2, 4, 7, 8)
  • Bunny Hull – backing vocals (1, 2, 4, 7, 8)
  • Daryl Phinnessee – backing vocals (1, 2, 4, 6, 7, 8)
  • Alex Brown – backing vocals (2, 8)
  • Vesta Williams – backing vocals (2, 8)
  • Natalie Jackson – backing vocals (5)
  • Lynn Davis – backing vocals (6)
  • Phillip Ingram – backing vocals (6)

Production

  • Executive producer – Anita Baker
  • Producers – Michael J. Powell (tracks 1–5, 7 & 8); Marti Sharron and Gary Skardina (track 6).
  • Engineers – Barney Perkins (tracks 1–5, 7 & 8); Robert Feist and Gary Skardina (track 6).
  • Assistant engineers on tracks 1–5, 7 & 8 – Keith "KC" Cohen, Fred Law, Tony Ray and Keith Seppanen.
  • Mixing – Barney Perkins and Michael J. Powell
  • Mastered by Bernie Grundman at Bernie Grundman Mastering (Hollywood, CA).
  • Art direction and photography – Carol Friedman
  • Creative director – Hale Milgrim
  • Design – Sue Keston
  • Management – Sherwin Bash and BNB Associates Ltd.

Awards

Grammy Awards

Year Nominee / work Award Result
1987 Rapture Best Female R&B Vocal Performance Won
"Sweet Love" Best R&B Song Won

American Music Awards

Year Nominee / work Award Result
1987 Anita Baker Favorite Soul/R&B Female Artist Nominated
Rapture Favorite Soul/R&B Album Nominated
1988 Anita Baker Favorite Soul/R&B Female Artist Won
Rapture Favorite Soul/R&B Album Won

Singles

Year Single Chart[15][16] Position
1986 "Sweet Love" U.S. Billboard Hot 100 8
U.S. Billboard R&B 2
U.S. Billboard AC 3
UK Singles Chart 13
"Caught Up in the Rapture" U.S. Billboard Hot 100 37
U.S. Billboard R&B 6
U.S. Billboard AC 9
UK Singles Chart 51
"Watch Your Step" U.S. Billboard R&B 23
1987 "Same Ole Love" U.S. Billboard Hot 100 44
U.S. Billboard R&B 8
U.S. Billboard AC 6
UK Singles Chart 100
"No One in the World" U.S. Billboard Hot 100 44
U.S. Billboard R&B 5
U.S. Billboard AC 9

Charts

Certifications

Region Certification Certified units/sales
Canada (Music Canada)[30] Gold 50,000^
United Kingdom (BPI)[31] Platinum 300,000^
United States (RIAA)[32] 5× Platinum 5,000,000^

^ Shipments figures based on certification alone.

See also

References

  1. ^ https://www.riaa.com
  2. ^ "People are talking about ...", Jet (April 6, 1987) p 53
  3. ^ a b Henderson, Alex. Rapture > review at AllMusic. Retrieved 2013-04-11.
  4. ^ a b c "Rapture". Acclaimed Music. Retrieved March 25, 2017.
  5. ^ a b Christgau, Robert (February 3, 1987). "Consumer Guide". The Village Voice. Retrieved March 25, 2017.
  6. ^ a b c d Agarwal, Manish; et al. (2007). The Mojo Collection (4th ed.). Canongate Books. p. 501. ISBN 184767643X.
  7. ^ Johnson, Connie (December 29, 1986). "Anita Baker Breaks Out Of Pop Pack". Los Angeles Times. Retrieved March 28, 2017.
  8. ^ Hunt, Dennis (October 30, 1987). "Pop Lp Chart". Los Angeles Times. Retrieved March 28, 2017.
  9. ^ Hoerburger, Rob (September 11, 1986). "Anita Baker: Rapture : Music Reviews". Rolling Stone. Archived from the original on 2008-05-12. Retrieved 2013-04-11.
  10. ^ "Albums and Tracks of the Year". NME. 2018. Retrieved September 19, 2018.
  11. ^ Anon. (March 3, 1987). "The 1986 Pazz & Jop Critics Poll". The Village Voice. Retrieved March 25, 2017.
  12. ^ "Rapture CD Album". CD Universe. Retrieved March 25, 2017.
  13. ^ Parris, Amanda (November 24, 2017). "From Smokey Robinson to Anita Baker: an ode to quiet storm". CBC Music. Retrieved September 19, 2018.
  14. ^ "The 200 Best Albums of the 1980s". Pitchfork. 10 September 2018. Retrieved December 4, 2019.
  15. ^ Anita Baker Chart history-R&B.billboard.com
  16. ^ Anita Baker Chart history-Adult Contemporary.Billboard.com
  17. ^ Kent, David (1993). Australian Chart Book 1970–1992. St Ives, NSW: Australian Chart Book. ISBN 0-646-11917-6.
  18. ^ "Top Albums/CDs - Volume 45, No. 24". RPM. 1987-03-14. Archived from the original (PHP) on 2014-03-03. Retrieved 2014-05-15.
  19. ^ "charts.nz Anita Baker – Rapture" (ASP). Hung Medien. Recording Industry Association of New Zealand. Retrieved 2014-05-15.
  20. ^ "swedishcharts.com Anita Baker – Rapture" (ASP) (in Swedish). Retrieved 2014-05-15.
  21. ^ "Anita Baker > Artists > Official Charts". Official Charts Company. Retrieved 2014-05-18.
  22. ^ a b c "Allmusic: Rapture : Charts & Awards: Billboard Albums". allmusic.com. Retrieved 2014-05-16.
  23. ^ "Album Search: Anita Baker – Rapture" (in German). Media Control. Retrieved 2014-05-11.
  24. ^ "Billboard.BIZ  – Year-end Charts – Billboard 200 – 1986". billboard.biz. Retrieved 2012-12-08.
  25. ^ "R&B/Hip-Hop Albums: Year End 1986". Billboard. Retrieved January 17, 2020.
  26. ^ "Top Pop Albums of 1987". billboard.biz. Retrieved 2012-12-31.
  27. ^ "R&B/Hip-Hop Albums: Year End 1987". Billboard. Retrieved January 17, 2020.
  28. ^ "Billboard.BIZ: Top Pop Albums of 1988". billboard.biz. Retrieved 2013-01-01.
  29. ^ "R&B/Hip-Hop Albums: Year End 1988". Billboard. Retrieved January 17, 2020.
  30. ^ "Canadian album certifications – Anita Baker – Rapture". Music Canada.
  31. ^ "British album certifications – Anita Baker – Rapture". British Phonographic Industry. Select albums in the Format field. Select Platinum in the Certification field. Type Rapture in the "Search BPI Awards" field and then press Enter.
  32. ^ "American album certifications – Anita Baker – Rapture". Recording Industry Association of America.

External links

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