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6 of 6 people found the following review helpful:
5.0 out of 5 stars
"If I'm Guilty of Love, Let Me Do My Time.", April 20, 2003
Babyface, born Kenneth Edmonds, has contributed more to r&b than any other artist since the late 1980s. A former singer in the group the Deele (remember "Two Occasions"?), Babyface was not only a Grammy winning songwriter, but he was also a fixture in the entertainment industry. Everyone, from Aretha to Paula Abdul to Madonna to Eric Clapton, got the Babyface treatment. Although "Tender Lover" is not the singer's debut (that would be "Lovers"), it's the first solo record released since he made it big as a producer. With hired hands LA Reid and Daryl Simmons on board, "Tender Lover" is one of the essential r&b records to own. There are no samples. No guest rappers. Just an album full of songs devoted to the topic Face knows best: love. Uptempo numbers "It's No Crime," "My Kind of Girl," and "Lets Be Romantic" bring to mind an innocent era that's apparently all but forgotten, while the second half of the disc are silky-smooth ballads such as "Given a Chance," and, of course, the killer jam "Whip Appeal." If I had to pick any bad songs off this album, I'd be at a loss, for "Tender Lover" remains consistent and filler-free. It's a great showcase of his talents as both a singer and songwriter. His style may be a bit old fashioned, but all things considered, that ain't necessarily a bad thing.
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5 of 5 people found the following review helpful:
5.0 out of 5 stars
Faces' triumph!!!, February 18, 2001
"Tender Lover", Babyface's second solo album and the album that established him as a multiple threat(singer, songwriter, producer, and musician) in the world of Pop and R&B still sounds as great today as when I first heard it back in '89. Spinning off numerous hit singles like the top tens "It's No Crime", and "Whip Appeal", and others like "My Kinda Girl" and the title track, 'Face proved that he could give himself the midas touch as well as the artists he and his writing and production partner L.A. Reid worked with. More than anything, at a time when critics were saying that real R&B was dead, ballads like "Soon As I Get Home", and "Given A Chance" proved that wrong by how fans and especially radio embraced these songs even though they were never released as singles. This remastered edition features three bonus cuts including the hard to find remix version of "Whip Appeal", the dub mix of "Tender Lover", and the 12" mix of "My Kinda Girl". A great album and still one of my favorites to this day.
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3 of 3 people found the following review helpful:
5.0 out of 5 stars
Still a classic album from Babyface! , October 20, 2004
Tender Lover has to be one of Babyface's best albums. He smartly put the dance numbers first then the gliding, smooth ballads on the second half. Tender Lover, My Kinda Girl, and It's No Crime are strong, but they're no contest to my favorite one, Can't Stop My Heart, which has to be one of the funkiest grooves of his solo stuff! The rumbling keyboards, the booming bass, the police siren sound effects similar to It's No Crime, its rapid 100-miles per hour rhythm--it's such a remarkable song for its 4 1/2 minutes! Babyface is a master at those ballads on gorgeous numbers like Soon as I Get Home, the dramatic bridges on Whip Appeal, Given A Chance, and the emotionally sung Where Will You Go. This fellow had produced between 20 to 40 songs during this period with LA Reid, of which these songs had been a part. It was really the buildup for more future hits from him. This is such a well made R&B album with its mainstream pop leanings in some places. And Babyface sounded smooth and suave vocally on all the songs.
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by Babyface 
