Customer Reviews

Grown & Sexy

5 star:		(38)
4 star:		(18)
3 star:		(7)
2 star:		(4)
1 star:		(4)

 

 

I always liked his music , he's one of the best on the market.
Lately he has made some wrong choices , looking for an easier success...The Anita Baker's story should teach him something....
I like this CD , but don't think that it's spectacular...
It's very much 'Babyface' , which is OK .
He needs some pure inspiration , some new excellent musicians , to try a new , a little more adventurous path and sing a song with Regina Belle , the most consistent and brilliant vocalist available nowadays...Just check her terrific latest 'Lazy Afternoon' out...
And most of all , he needs to forget the glitz and glamour and... the charts...
At 48 , he can't make more mistakes.What we're expecting from him next time is some really fresh , different , QUALITY contemporary music , which can stand the test of time.
If he is truly inspired , success will follow !

Before anyone gives me a 'not helpful' rating simply because you disagree with my rating, at least hear the reasons why I give this album only three stars rather than the maximum 5.

I have been a Babyface fan for a long time now. Growing up in the 90s, Babyface's influence on my musical tastes is a profound one. Initially hearing about him through his stellar songwriting for Boyz II Men's 'End of the Road', I would became a fan of his own work through 'For The Cool in You'. With his 1996 release 'The Day', Babyface not only became simply a favourite artist of mine, but an important part of my childhood as the album became the soundtrack to my Summer holiday out in the country. 'Face2Face' was a highly anticipated album, and I was happy with the Curtis Mayfield-esue neo-soul/funk experiment that the album represented, though it was of course a very different album to what one would expect from the master of the R&B ballad. But I guess people have criticised 'Face for writing the same song a million times, so he showed them that he could do up-tempo as well as the best of them.

Which brings us to the album that was to follow Face2Face, 'A Love Story'; an album that was never officially released, but heavily bootlegged. The album had a definite sound about it; very jazzy, with acoustic piano and jazzy guitar licks and plenty of lush, beautiful ballads. What's more; it was a concept album that followed the story of a relationship from the giddy anticipation of that first night out together on 'Red Dress' through separation with 'The Loneliness' to the relationships continuation on 'Still My Boo'. It was an extremely interesting album that stuck to the ballad form that 'Face is master of, while also stretching beyond the standard R&B ballad format by incorporating jazz elements. Thus, this album struck a nice balance between the smoother style of 'The Day' while allowing him to stretch out to newer sounds without alienating listeners the way 'Face2Face' seems to have done to many.

'Grown and Sexy' was the result of what quite likely was due to major label politics over the release of 'A Love Story' which was supposed to be released in 2004. Containing a few songs from what was to be 'A Love Story' (some given a very different feel), 'Grown and Sexy' fits into the mould of the standard R&B slow jam R&B album, and has a sound that seems less like the Babyface of 'The Day' and 'For the Cool of You' and has songs that feel like they belong on a Joe album (Mad, Sexy, Cool) or an R. Kelly album (Can't Stop Now). Which isn't necessarily a bad thing, it just lacks originality. Most of the songs on this album sound like songs Babyface could write in his sleep, which is disappointing seeing how he pushed himself to do something completely different with 'Face2Face' and something more palatable to his fans with 'A Love Story'. Plus, 'Grown and Sexy' lacks the overall cohesivenss of albums like 'The Day', 'Face2Face' and 'A Love Story' and ends up sounding generic, and frankly, less 'grown' than anything on 'The Day'; an album nearly 10 years its junior.

Thus, while even sub-par Babyface is better than most and I'd recommend this to his fans who were disappointed with 'Face2Face', I know what this album could have been and what context the carried-over songs like 'God Must Love You' and 'Gettin' To Know U' originally had. It is a shame if 'A Love Story' was deemed non-commercial and that was the reason why it wasn't released, as 'Grown and Sexy' may sell better than 'A Love Story' would have had it been released, it is sad to see commerce interfere so greatly with the art of fantastic music.

To put is simply, this album is as cool as the other side of the pillow. I mean, cool, sultry melodies with a gorgeous tenor or falsetto voice laid down on top of them, simply smooth all the way through. I'll tell you, whether you're looking for something to set the mood or something to just chill and relax to after a long, hard day, this one will definitely hit the spot.

Babyface is a pioneer because he experiments with style. On his last (official) release - the outstanding "Face2Face" - we were treated to more uptempo grooves and his wonderful use of falsetto vocal.

Here we have another CD on which Face pushes the boundaries of his already towering capability as a musician. And the result? Well it's as close to a perfect CD one can experience.

Grown & Sexy has stirring vocals, which have actually matured and become even more refined than they were during his multi-grammy trouncing years in (most of!) the 90s. Also notable is the midtempo flavour of some of the songs - which is great not only for the bedroom but the dance floor!

I love the fact that Face's music always shows his intelligence as an artist. (Just think a moment about the background heartbeat in "When Can I see You", for example).

On this CD, too, the songs have multiple layers and textures which just come away as you listen, and each time you go back to a song, you notice something else which raises fresh goosebumps. It's only great music that ever gives us that experience: the stuff we can play repeatedly but it never wears out.

I only wish one of the greatest artists of all time would come on over to London, England - where fans like me would flock to see him live. It's a shame that we UK folk never get an opportunity to see people like this, even though many of us support pinnacle musicians like this.

If you're reading, Face - much love brother, and keep on tearing it up, this CD is incredible! My only criticism is please stop making us wait so long between LPs!

Finally, I'm writing a book on black writers and artists, it would be incredible to interview you if you can spare a moment, so feel free to reply to my email.

What can I say. I don't know if ths is a good CD or not. I ordered it but when I found out that it was copy protected I cancelled it.

This is the fourth CD I have cancelled or returned. I include Amerie, Jennifer Lopez and Vivian Green. Looks like my 3500 Cd collection won't be growing anytime soon as more and more CD's come out protected.

The industry has no idea how to treat their loyal customers. Thanks to Amazon for letting me know in advance so that I could avoid a return.

BABYFACE NEVER LACKS CREATIVITY.FOR A WHILE I THOUGHT'THE DAY' WAS HIS BEST ALBUM.THEN CAME THIS ALBUM...REAL ADULT CONTEMPORARY R&B....OF COURSE ITS FOR THE GROWN&SEXY

As a Babyface fan since the Deele 'Sweet November' this is his best CD since Tender Lover. After being a bit disappointed (he could never totally disappoint me) with the last couple of CD's this one really came through. It has EVERYTHING!! He is definitely GROWN & SEXY!! This CD had me Jammin, laughing, of course crying and there are even a couple of 'between the sheets' tracks on this one. His signiture crushing 'break up song' is amazing and EVERY track is good on this CD. He makes YOU feel Grown and Sexy. He always has several jams but this whole CD is great. I'm going to get another Grown and Sexy CD to have one 'on the go' and at home. This is a MUST have for fans.

I was excited to know Babyface had a new CD and rushed to buy it hoping this new CD would be different from the recent ones. However, as with his recent CDs I was disappointed, as most of the songs seemed to blend together. There were no funky beats that made my fingers snap and my head bop. I miss the Babyface of the 90s and the songs that have clear distincts beats, lines, and hooks i.e., Whip Appeal.

I LOVE THIS WHOLE CD IS GOOD. THIS CD IS ALL OF THAT. EVERY SONG ON THIS CD IS SOLID. BABYFACE REALLY LAID IT DOWN ON THIS ONE. I HAD TO HAVE THIS CD. THIS IS ONE OF BABYFACE'S BEST CDS TO DATE IN MY OPINION. I LOVE GROWN AND SEXY IT IS ALL OF THAT. BABYFACE DID A GREAT JOB AND HE MADE A GREAT COMEBACK . I WISH THAT I COULD GIVE THIS CD MORE THAN 5 STARS. I WOULD RECOMMEND ANY BABYFACE FAN TO BUY THIS CD YOU WILL DEFINTELY ENJOY IT.

I simply cannot believe the negative reviews that these people on amazon has given this cd. This man is solely responsible for some of the best pure and quality music out here. This cd is completely for the grown up, the lover of mature grooves and the realities of love and relationships. I do believe he is a better music maker and producer for other artists than a singer, however this cd is so well put together and jus straight groovin' and smooth off the hizzy. These negative are straight lunchin'. Man you betta get this joint and take your significant other on a nice ride down the parkway en route to a romantic eve together. Listen to "can't stop now", Mad sexy cool, oh my God, the viscious joint"the loneliness, cmon g, the awesome apologetic joint"sorry for the stupid things, this thing is a MUS HAVE!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! I bet many of you do not know the many songs this man is responsible for out there. Alot of songs you are listening to by different artists are actually Babyface songs that he created and made and lyricized for others. Babyface is the Jordan of Music production.