Customer Reviews

Stay in Love / Minnie

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DON'T MISS OUT ON THESE TWO GORGEOUS ALBUMS FROM THE MOST ANGELIC VOICE OF OUR GENERATION! WE STILL MISS YOU BEAUTIFUL LADY!

Although it has been almost three decades since the singer's passing, Minnie Riperton remains an icon in popular music. Possessing a range that has yet to be topped (LISTEN, MARIAH CAREY!), Riperton had one of those voices that was beyond heavenly: lilting, enigmatic, soothing, passionate, subtle, seductive, and ethereal.

This compilation of two of her best features some of her best work: "Memory Lane," "Can You Feel What I'm Saying," "Light My Fire," "Dancin' and Acting Crazy," "Love Hurts," the dance-friendly "Stick Together," and "Lover and Friend".

For those that only know the singer from her "Lovin' You," used so prominently in advertising, this disc is a welcome introduction to the artist.

And for those that only know her as the mother of "Saturday Night Live" cast member Mya Rudolph, the album shows from where the daughter got her talent.

By now, everyone knows that Capital Records treats Minnie Riperton like a stepchild. What else can explain the reason why they reissue her records as high price imports? What else can explain why her cds are so hard to find? Minnie was a jewel and it's a shame she is not respected for her work. Maybe K. West's tribute to Minnie on his hit song "Slow Jam" is why both "Minnie" and the hard to find "Stay in Love" are being re-issued (*SIGH*, as high price imports) again. If you love 70s R&B, you shouldn't mind paying the price for this cd. After all, you are getting TWO cds for the price of one. The music is great. Even though, Minnie knew she was dying she gave it her all. You can feel the passion in her voice. Her song writing is both moving and beautiful and the production is classic. I HIGHLY recommend this cd.

Where does one start in reviewing the album of his youth? Every time I would lock myself inside my attic bedroom and play "Stay in Love," it would help me to dream of the "perfect love" that I would one day find. Musically, "Stay in Love" is a masterpiece. It's R&B majesty. From start to finish, the listener is taken through a complete suite of songs which make up (the album's gorgeous subtitle) "A Romantic Fantasy Set to Music," and isn't this what Minnie's music has always been about? LOVE. From the feel-good funk of "Young, Willing & Able," the album's opener, to the beautiful finale, "Stay in Love," there are equal amounts of joy, pain, hope and fervor in each and every track. Minnie kept her promise to me and I finally found the soulmate I was dreaming of all these years later who would also turn out to be as big a fan as I (still) am. For the second half of this CD, "Minnie," there's a completely different kind of vibe. Granted, with "Stay in Love," R&B was fighting for its own identity after the whole "Disco" trend had set in (which isn't an issue, because R&B was so apparent in Disco Music anyway.), however, with the "Minnie" album, there is more of an R&B element in place; the songs don't really connect here as they did with "Stay in Love,' however, there are some real gems, "Memory Lane," the set's first single, being one of them, followed by "Lover & Friend," the second single and a host of others. The high points for me here are "Memory Lane," "Love Hurts," the vibey and whispery, "I'm A Woman," "Never Existed Before" and the joyous and playful remake of "Light My Fire" with Jose Feliciano. The only song here that doesn't really fit would be "Dancin' and Actin' Crazy;" it's a tad too noisy and seems to be out of place on the album as was "Strange Affair" on her swansong album, "Love Lives Forever." Both, however, show that Miss Minnie could get her groove on when she wanted to. Other than that, what you have here are two deliciously soulful and sultry sets from the sweet and soulful songbird whose life was ended all too soon and whose legacy has touched millions of R&B/Soul enthusiasts with her amazing five octave range! I am so fortunate to have been inspired by these two albums throughout my youth and well into my adult years. God Bless Minnie, the "perfect angel" of R&B.

Hey Fellow Minnie fans......

I cannot tell how long its taken me to find something like this,WITH THE ENTIRE "STAY IN LOVE" Album Reissue....,even though they should have put her albums on single discs.....and print them out like they were on LPs/Vinyls in individual cases......

I am so sick of hunting in stores for Minnie's works.....They have all these singers from the 50's and 60's whom may i say hasent made any impact in the music world,and their in our local music stores,with piles of collections....now if they can put thousands of copies around the US of old material like that at our local music store.....why in the hell can't they print Minnie anywheres......or should i say,i can only find few Minnie Riperton releases in "Tower Records" and "Virgin Records"......but not in my Local Walmart,or Circuit City (even though they do carry the Petals compilation),or even Best Buy....yanno....but they can carry NO RHYTHM HAVING , VOCALLY LIMITED AND CHALLENGED SINGERS,that are more like talkers instead of singers over beats.....and thats why we fight to keep the real TALENT ALIVE....talents like Minnie Riperton,Al Green,Sam Cooke,Lou Rawls,Curtis Mayfield,The Original Temptaions,Bloodstone,Linda Jones....these were people with voices......not LOLLIPOP "I LOVE U ,U LOVE ME" singers......

Did you know that Minnie Recorded MUSIC VIDEOS,YES ACTUAL MUSIC VIDEOS LIKE U SEE TODAY,for her album titled "Minnie" ...... i bet no one even knows or yet even seen them.....i own them....luckily from a close friend......the videos are for "Memory Lane" and "Light My Fire" ......

NOW WHAT IM REALLY WAITING ON IS THE "LOVE LIVES FOREVER" album to be released......WHY DON'T THEY JUST MAKE A BOX SET FOR MINNIE????? yanno,thats killing alot of birds with 1 stone......with rare stuff......Capitol is startin' to twitch my last damn nerve.....

and then WHY ARE DIFFERENT COUNTRIES REISSUING OUR "AMERICAN" SINGERS WORKS???? i really dont understand , Minnie Riperton was an American....then why are Japanese industries making reissues?.....AMERICAN REMASTERS OUGHT TO DO IT......its sickening....to lazy to do it....or scared not enough people will buy it to put money in their pockets.....its gonna take a miracle for this to happen.....but i guess i'll keep protesting DIGITALLY and Physically....lol....

These Minnie Riperton twofer CD's are absolute blessings,this along with the Perfect Angel/Adventures in Paradise CD. Pretty much everyone going in for this album is aware of this ladies vocal powers. What is interesting to note is as of the making of these two albums,the late 70's to be exact Minnie was entering the sad conclusion to her life,having also become to spokesman for the ACS about the breast cancer with which she was afflicted. Well as much of a benevolent sweetheart as Minnie might've been people during these years knew her more from her work for cancer awareness then the music she was producting at this time. Since this CD contains two seperate albums I am choosing to great them as two seperate albums when I review them:STAY IN LOVE was realesed in 1977 during a time of worry for Minnie but you'd never know it. The album follows a loose concept,a "romantic fantasy set to music" as is stated on the cover. The general feel of the album is emotional,lively and very funky at times."Young,Willing & Able" is one of the sexiest examples of disco-funk this side of Donna Summer'sLove to Love You Baby.A similar,if more urban approch on the theme shows up on "Can You Feel What I'm Saying" and "How Could I Love You".Stevie Wonder shows up for the breezy groove of "Stick Together" and the title track is one of Minnie's most moving pieces since "Lovin' You". True the album got ignored commercially and didn't produce any major hit but in recent years it is rightly viewed as the masterpiece it is.And the production is lush and very tasteful.MINNIE,from 1979 is the last record she released during her lifetime and she really lets it all lose on this one. Her trademark high notes,very prominant on her last three albums are not as strongly emphasized here as she makes her mark in a far more interpretive way. The production on this is very much urban late 70's/early 80's pop-soul-very heavily influenced by Stevie Wonder in it's use of popping bass moog and percussive rhythms."Memory Lane" is a great example.After a couple false starts "Lover And Friend" gets rolling with a nice,joyous funky soul shuffle and is a great song for everyone to dance to.After the romantic swell of "Return To Forever" Minnie get's seriously busy with the down-and-out groove of "Dancin' And Actin' Crazy",the funkiest song to grace Minnie's last couple of albums and by the time it ends your mouth is probably watering for more. Unlike the other album included here this one's subject matter is infectious joy and sexuality."Never Existed Before",with it's cocktaily soul mix could easily be a Bacharach composition but it's yet another Riperton/Rudolph original same as everything else on these recordings. She's right back to the funk with "I'm A Woman",a whispery sexy insinuation which again gets caught under Minnie's spell. The closer,an incredible urban funk version of "Light My Fire",a playful duet with Jose Feleciano is....the perfect end to pretty much as close to a perfectly sublime album as one could ask for. Even though she's not with us anymore Minnie was one of those singer/writers who was able to take already established styles of music and make them seem as if they were brand new.It has more to do with her performance then production;her otherworldly,angelic voice,the deeply feeling style of writing and lyrics and the very good instrumental taste really made these albums.And even if they were somewhat passed over in their day it's truly to our advantage we are able to see them as the true works of art they really are.

This CD has some duo's that are Amazing Michael Jackson.Peybo Bryson,Jose Feliciano and many more..They were recorded after she passed.Produced by her husband Richard (Tenna Marie ,The Pontier Sister)Minnie from Stevie's Wonderlove back up group. 1 more fact her daughter very funny actor on Sat.Night Live.Maya

Minnie Ripperton was one of those rare distintive voices that you loved to hear sing and her music still lives on here in the 21st century. These two albums take me back to my childhood years when they first came out. And those was some great years too i must say. If you are any kind of fan of Ms. Ripperton, then this cd should be in your collection, especially with two of them being on one disc.

I purchased this CD after viewing the Minnie Riperton UNSUNG tribute on TV-One. That show left me thirsty for her music. Growing up, I remember hearing these songs on the radio from time to time. This music is still relevant today, some thirty years after its release. The songs are well written and produced.

I enjoyed the Stay In Love cassette for years. Has to be her best work. Could It Be I'm in Love,and Young, Willing and Able are outstanding and will make your body want to move. They show a groove and Minnie was more known for her ballads. The other tunes added are just icing on the cake and are fine selections in their own right. But they didn't enter into the equation when I decided to purchase this cd. The song Stay In Love is just about worth the price of admission for the whole thing. Anyone who likes Minnie will love this cd.