Secrets

Toni Braxton

Product Details

• Audio CD (June 18, 1996)
• Original Release Date: June 18, 1996
• Number of Discs: 1
• Label: Arista
• ASIN: B0000013GH
• Also Available in: Audio CD  |  Audio Cassette  |  MP3 Download
• Average Customer Review: 4.5 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (111 customer reviews)
• Amazon.com Sales Rank: #17,634 in Music (See Bestsellers in Music)

Editorial Reviews

Amazon.com

Well, it is a La Face record, so of course it has the Babyface stamp all over it--especially on "Let It Flow," also featured on his Waiting to Exhale soundtrack, and "There's No Me Without You." 'Face does step aside, however, to give other producers, songwriters, and artists their time with Miss Braxton, most notably R. Kelly, Diane Warren, Tony Rich, and Kenny G. R&B songbirds in their own right, Shanice Wilson and Chante Moore even show up on backing vocals. The album doesn't quite live up to this overdose of talent; it's too crammed with boring ballads (even if Braxton's low, husky vocals are perfectly suited for them, especially the wrenching watermark of the album, "Un-Break My Heart"). It's when she slips into a sultry groove on "Come On Over Here" and the smash single "You're Makin Me High" that she really shines. --Rebecca Wallwork

Product Description

24bit K2 digitally remastered Japanese limited edition special issue of the album classic. --This text refers to an alternate Audio CD edition.

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

8 of 8 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars Braxton's "Secrets" are worth telling, May 21, 2000

By	John Jones "Musician" (Chicago IL) - See all my reviews (REAL NAME)

After a sultry and stylish debut album that helped earn her a Best New Artist Grammy, Toni Braxton steps up to the follow-up plate and hits anything but a sophomore slump. Full of warm musical backdrops and Toni's trademark sexy alto, "Secrets" lives up to the expectations her debut set in place.

Every now and again you'll find a singer whose interpretative gifts mesh perfectly with the producer or songwriter at hand. Such magic can be found when Toni takes on one of Babyface's acoustic-based, almost-folky pop tunes. "Let it Flow," "There's No Me Without You," and "Why Should I Care" are all gorgeous ballads with acoustic guitars in the forefront and the heat set on slow-burn, and Toni more than rises to the challenge. Of course, these songs were all solely written and produced by Babyface, so the argument may be made that the artistic vision isn't truly Toni's. The final audio result, however, is truly fantastic.

Unfortunately, R. Kelly doesn't serve Braxton as well; Babyface and Toni often seem two halves of the same whole, while R. Kelly's composition "I Don't Want To," which he also produced, merely sounds like Toni singing along to an R. Kelly karaoke tape. And even Babyface can fall short now and then, proven on the sleepy ballad appropriately titled "In the Late of Night." "Unbreak My Heart," however, is one of the rare moments in R&B that manages to build a bridge to pop and still maintain soul in the recording. No shock that this soaring ballad sealed Toni's then-pending true crossover success.

Even more of a payoff comes when Toni tries something new, as is found on "You're Makin Me High," a hardcore-esque number that boasts lyrics as hard as its groove, and "Talking in My Sleep," a scorcher of a ballad that finds Toni purring her verses in spoken word form. But the main focus here is on achieving classic, romantic soul moments, and in that sense Toni Braxton's "Secrets" is a home-run.

13 of 15 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars I JUST LOVE THIS CD, December 4, 2002

By	Javier Lopez (Peru) - See all my reviews (REAL NAME)

I bought this album back in 1997 and actually I don't know why i bought it I think that was that I saw on cable the "you're making me high" video and I saw in a store and bought it.
This album is amazing the lyrics are beautiful, there's no a song that I don't like, the rhythms are very good also and besides that I like this album it was one of the biggest hits of 1997 with song such as: "you're making me high" (my own favorite) the song did it to #1 in the Hot 100, Hot R&B song and Club dance charts another hit and maybe Toni's biggest song "un-break my heart" is also in this album "Un-break" became also a #1, another great song is the soft "how could an angel break my heart" were features Kenny G.
Here's also one song from the 1996 hit soundtrack "waiting to exhaale" the song is "let it flow". Actually I love all the ssongs in this album from the first one "come on over here" until "I the late of night".
This album won 3 or 4 Grammy awards (I'm not sure about the amount)and sold over 10 million copies worldwide.

13 of 16 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Toni!, Toni!, Toni!, April 12, 2000

By	J. Highsmith (Mitchellville, Maryland United States) - See all my reviews (TOP 1000 REVIEWER)

I remember buying this CD the day it came out. Her first CD was already a classic so I expected the same from her sophomore release. On her first CD, Toni had a combination of slow songs, midtempo grooves, and uptempo grooves. After hearing the single, "You're Makin' Me High" I expected the album to be more of the same just like her first CD. After the CD was over, I was impressed by the way Toni Braxton presented different tales of slow jams. On "Secrets" Toni Braxton had a lot more producers than she did on the first CD. Babyface and L.A. Reid did most of the work on the first CD, but on "Secrets" there's more of a variety, which doesn't hurt the CD at all. Babyface, this time around is actually working by himself, without his business partner L.A. Reid. The best examples of Toni's slow jam presentation are "There's No Me Without You" which is produced by Babyface, "Talking in his Sleep", "I Don't Want To", and "Un-Break My Heart". This is a great CD for anyone that likes slow jams or ballads. If you are a fan of more uptempo and midtempo songs this might not be the CD for you. Her first CD might be a better recommendation.