Customer Reviews

Comfort Zone

5 star:		(26)
4 star:		(7)
3 star:		(3)
2 star:		(0)
1 star:		(1)

 

 

What a comeback! Vanessa Williams, the former Miss America tarnished by scandal back in the 1980's is definitely a survivor of the controversy that forced her to resigned as the first Miss America of African-American descent. She doesn't need a crown, because with her amazing voice, her beauty, and her immense talent, the singer/actress blew her critics away with this follow-up album to her 1989 debut.

The "Comfort Zone" has SMOOTH written all over. With amazing beats on some songs, and beautiful balladry on others, Vanessa has proved that she is no flash in the pan. The album's title track is a smooth song that makes the listener feel somewhat transported musically. However, not stopping there 1. Comfort Zone "Running Back To You," was one of the album's top singles and features an amazing club beat that will make you groove to Vanessa's sweet vocals anytime. "Work To Do," an R&B song with a bit of rap is another great high-tempo track that will have one feeling upbeat.

Vanessa is also well known for her ballads and her famous song "Save the Best for Last," became a number one hot due to her ability to sing like an enchantress. Same goes for the songs "What Will I Tell My Heart," and "Just For Tonight," which also demonstrate the range of her vocal talents.

The "Comfort Zone" is a must have for any R&B fan. Vanessa is a true diva and when I first purchased this album in 1993, I couldn't put it down. It's one of the 1990's best albums in my book.

Vanessa Williams has got to be one of the most underrated artists out there. She doesn't get as much credit as she deserves. She's an excellent singer and on THE COMFORT ZONE she proves it hands down. This is one of her best albums. It's relaxing, beautiful, and full of R&B and pop delights. Most people only remember Vanessa for her smash hit "save the best for last" but THE COMFORT ZONE has a lot of other great songs. Songs like "still in love", "just for tonight" and "goodbye" are very well done. This album flows very well. Vanessa's vocals are top notch. Her voice is steady, strong, and sweet. She sings each note to perfection and her emotions come out on each track. THE COMFORT ZONE is one of the best albums ever.

Vanessa Williams' sophomore effort THE COMFORT ZONE is classic 90s R&B, at its best. Of course everyone knows the breakout ballad single "Save The Best For Last", a signature ballad which Vanessa sings beautifully. One would think the album would sound a lot like this, and yes, there's other great ballads, but a majority of the songs will make you want to get on your feet and dance along with the music. Other notable ballads include "Just For Tonight" and "Goodbye" which she shines on vocally yet again. Her rendition of "What Will I Tell My Heart" is showstopping, great vocals, very strong. She has the voice for broadway. Now onto the uptempos. The album opens with the title track which sets a good pace for the album. "Running Back To You" and "Work To Do" are the albums best uptempos. The album has that funky R&B vibe of the early 90s and this is definately an album to get if you're a fan of that era of music. Too bad Vanessa isn't doing any music now, it's a shame, she has so much talent, and she overcame so much. But she found more success in movies and broadway, which is part of what she is doing today. A great album.

The first time I ever even heard of Vanessa Williams was for the video of "Save The Best For Last." I couldn't believe what a beautiful song it was and what a beautiful woman that song that song!!
So I went and bought "The Comfort Zone" on cassette, and loved the album! I'm not a huge R&B fan, but I love this album. I bought it on CD eventually as well as other Vanessa albums. I think this album is the best. It has everything from Jazz to R&B to Pop to Rap. It's a great compilation of music!!
The COMFORT ZONE: A Great opening song... very smooth, jazzy feel to it. It has very catchy lyrics.
RUNNING BACK TO YOU: one of my all time favorite songs!! Very Dancey and sassy lyrics. "I won't play the fool... no, not this time."
WORK TO DO: I always thought it was a catchy, easy listening to song.
YOU GOTTA GO: The first duet with Brian McKnight. I always thought their voices went well together!
STILL IN LOVE: It's a pretty good R&B kind of song, but I feel it's a little too long.
SAVE THE BEST FOR LAST: The song that made Vanessa's career! Awesome melody! Her only #1 song.
WHAT WILL I TELL MY HEART: from the "Harley Davidson and the Marlboro Man"soundtrack. The Dinah Washington cover... it's an okay song, but not one i'm particularly listen to constantly.
STRANGER'S EYES: Another Great song!! I always have it playing in my head!
2OF A KIND: Another great pop song!
FREEDOM DANCE (GET FREE): It's definetly a great funky song to get down with!

JUST FOR TONIGHT: A great ballad!
ONE REASON: Another great ballad! I Love the lyrics in the song!
BETTER OFF NOW: I Think it's a sweet song, "Better off saying goodbye."
GOODBYE: It's a good song, but one of the least out of my opinions... They probably should have used Better Off Now to close the album...

But all in all, it's a great album... Save the best for last and play this Disc!!

Vanessa Williams 1991 effort THE COMFORT ZONE is a gem, a diamond in the rust, so to speak. Plagued by bad press regarding being decrowned as Miss America in 1984, Vanessa proves she can bounce back and still be successful, with her singing career and her acting career. The album is filled with some shining ballads and some great uptempo R&B songs. The signature ballad "Save The Best For Last" can be found here, a classic Vanessa song. Other exceptional ballads which show her beautiful voice include "Just For Tonight", "Goodbye", "Still In Love", "Better Off Now" among a few. There are also some great R&B tunes here, including the title track, "Work To Do", "Running Back To You", "Freedom Dance". Another highlight is "What Will I Tell My Heart", which Vanessa handles extremely well. Vanessa might not have the powerhouse vocals of say Whitney Houston or Celine Dion, but she holds her own and uses what she has to its best advantage. Overall though, THE COMFORT ZONE is a consistently good effort by Williams and well worth checking out.

With only one single from The Comfort Zone really making a splash on the charts, many people remember this CD for the syrupy 'Save The Best For Last'. And make no mistake about it, its a decent song and its what made me buy this CD, but there are some really great songs on this disc.

The production is top-notch and Vanessa sounds great as usual, but there is something that sets this disc apart from her other albums, and its the material. Most of the songs are written about love in one way or another, and it goes through the whole spectrum. And every single song is performed convincingly, you forget its a pop album and begin to think of it as an anthem.

You've got the sensuality of 'The Comfort Zone', the 'had enough' attitude of 'Running Back To You' and the requisite tear-jerker 'Better Off Now.' These are all great songs, but the CD shines the most in the surprisingly sincere ballad 'You Gotta Go,' the apologetic 'Still In Love', The pleading and heartbreaking 'Just For Tonight,' and the absolutely haunting 'Goodbye.' The latter is such a sweet song, you'll be in tears by the time the CD closes. Add in the rockin' dance track 'Freedom Dance (Get Free!)' and a few other great songs and you've got an absolute blockbuster! I'd honestly say the only weak song on this CD, the one that doesn't showcase something new in comparison to the other material is '2 Of A Kind.' Other than that, this CD will spin in your player all night long. Buy two copies, cause you'll wear the first out; This is an album you won't get bored with.

The Comfort Zone was Vanessa's very best recorded album of everything she has done so far. I was very, very disappointed that she did not follow-up the Comfort Zone with something else that I was for sure was going to be slamming. Instead, she did that album that had the song, "The Sweetest Day's", which was an o.k. song, but the album was not. I was for sure that her next album after Comfort Zone was going to make her a music superstar, but somebody dropped the ball on that follow-up, either Vanessa or her management team. As of this date, we have not heard any more recordings from Van - not even sure if she still has a record contract. Anyway, I like all of the songs on Comfort Zone, especially the balad, "Just for tonight", and the Isley Bros remake, "Work to do", that originally came out in 1972 for the Isley Bros, and of course the song, "Comfort Zone", which I loved to hear her sing.

You know, I've always considered Vanessa Williams as a triple threat. She is a great singer(listen to her albums past and present), She can act(Hoodlum, Soul Food etc) and she is gorgeous. This album came out in 1991 after the "scandal" but she did what anybody facing adversity does: make a great album. To me Comfort Zone is her best work. It not only shows her vocal abilities, it also captures the essence of 90s R&B. Yeah, you remember 90s R&B. Back when R&B was still fun and not this repetitive BS it is now.

The title track is soothing. Vanessa kicks smooth vocals over a relaxing but somewhat infectious beat. Running Back To You is more upbeat and this song itself generates more fond memories of 90s R&B. Work To Do is pretty solid also. Just For Tonight is awesome too. What Will I Tell My Heart sounds like the type of song you would hear at The Savoy and we cant forget about the masterpiece that is Save The Best For Last.

The Comfort Zone is a wonderful album by a wonderful singer that is 100 steps ahead of these teenybopper pop icons trying to pass themselves off as R&B singers. Most of these tracks showcase Vanessa Williams talent and shows what we had back in the 90s. I know I mentioned 90s R&B a lot in this review but lets face it. 90s R&B is where its at. This new stuff is so uninspiring. At any rate The Comfort Zone is one of the best R&B albums of 1991 is definitely worth checking out if you're a fan of real R&B. Two thumbs up from me.

Standouts: THE COMFORT ZONE, RUNNING BACK TO YOU, WORK TO DO, SAVE THE BEST FOR LAST, GOODBYE, JUST FOR TONIGHT and WHAT WILL I TELL MY HEART.

Vanessa around this time had already had two of her four children, five top ten hits from her previous album, won numerous awards, etc. But the question was would Williams fall into the usual sophomore slump as so many other artists? The answer to the previous question would be no since this has become her highest selling album to date.

The first three tracks from the album are excellent and even though her first single and first hit from this album, "Running Back to You" is somewhat dated, but it's a great, empowering tune about how she refuses to allow some man to walk all over her. The follow up single and title track, "The Comfort Zone" shows Williams at her sexiest as she can put any person into the 'the mood' with her smooth, sexy vocals and teasing lyrics. The third track "Work to Do" is a good remake of an Isley Brothers' tune flipping the script to a woman's point of view about her not being home because of her career.

Williams on this album continued to prove her best with ballads. The excellent ballad tracks for this album is the chart-topping worldwide hit "Save The Best For Last" and the follow up single "Just for Tonight." Also, the beautiful jazz cover "What Will I Tell My Heart" that was also featured in her forgettable movie, Harley Davidson and the Marlboro Man. The song shows how she can squeeze all of the emotion out of a song without being like her counterparts and over singing a tune, this is one of the best songs Williams has probably recorded in my book! The last track "Goodbye" is also good, the song sounds somewhat dated but NOT the type of dated when listening to it would make you cringe.

As with her previous album there was some tracks which the album could of been without such as her duet with Brian McKnight on "You Gotta Go." The duet lasts too long and even though it is good that Williams does not sound helpless in lyrics, but it is not really all that catchy. I would recommend seeking out her later duets with McKnight such as the international smash hit "Love Is" and their recent duet off her Silver and Gold album, "Joy to the World." Another track which could of been left off the album is one of the few tunes Williams uses her writing skills, "2 of a Kind" as the song lyrically does not hook the listener as it could.

Overall this has become one of Williams best albums and I personally think it's sad that her music is not as treasured as it should be. I would give this album 4 1/2 stars but there is not a sort of option on Amazon.

THIS ALBUM MADE A LOT OF PEOPLE SIT BACK AND TAKE NOTICE OF JUST HOW TALENTED(NOT TO MENTION BEAUTIFUL)VANESSA WILLIAMS IS.THIS IS ONE OF MY ALL TIME FAVORITES.IT'S REAL MELLOW AND SOOTHING.I USED TO REALLY USE IT AFTER SOME OF THOSE DAYS ON THE USS EMORY S.LAND IN 91-92.I ALSO USED TO DRIVE UP AND DOWN THE EAST COAST TO THIS CD(WHEN I HAD IT ON CASSETTE).THE COMFORT ZONE IS ABSOLUTELY ONE OF MY FAVORITE SONGS BY ANY ARTIST.HER COVER OF THE ISLEY BROTHERS' WORK TO DO IS ANOTHER FAVE,AND I'VE DANCED MYSELF SWEATY MANY NIGHTS TO THE TUNE OF RUNNIN'BACK TO YOU.SAVE THE BEST FOR LAST IS A VERY NICE BALLAD,BUT I PREFERRED JUST FOR TONIGHT.AS A WHOLE THE ALBUM WAS VERY WELL PUT TOGETHER,AND IT FIT VANESSA'S TALENTS PERFECTLY.THIS IS ANOTHER ONE OF MY ALL TIME FAVORITES.