Anita Baker

Once again produced by Powell, this time Baker became more involved in the songwriting and production process and began to experiment with jazz influences. Baker wrote or co-wrote seven of the nine songs on the album, including the hits "Talk to Me", "Fairy Tales", "No One to Blame", and "Whatever It Takes" (written with Gerald Levert). The album was mostly cut "live", in that the rhythm section was playing as Baker sang. The album included musicians Greg Phillinganes, Nathan East, Paulinho da Costa, Vernon Fails, Ricky Lawson, and Stephen Ferrone.

The three singles from Compositions all failed to reach the Top 40 of the US Billboard Hot 100 chart ("Talk to Me" came closest peaking at #44). The singles became Top 20 hits on the R&B singles chart and were also moderate adult contemporary hits. Compositions peaked at #5 on the Billboard Top 200 Album Chart, #3 on the Billboard Top R&B/Hip-Hop Albums, and #4 on the Billboard Top Contemporary Jazz Albums, and was certified platinum by the Recording Industry Association of America for one million units sold in the US. The album also earned Baker her seventh Grammy Award and her fourth in the category of Best Female R&B Vocal Performance (a category that she had won four times during five awards ceremonies between 1987 - 1991). Read Less