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Anita
Baker
Giving You the Best that I Got
By Carla Robinson
Giving You the Best That I Got was a brave undertaking from the get-go. Just as
the ‘80s were divided into before and after Rapture, so is Anita Baker’s career.
Any follow-up to her sophomore smash was bound to draw endless comparison and perhaps,
unfair criticism. It was likely to be consumed and then dismissed. I mean, you know the
Mona Lisa, but do you have a clue what Da Vinci did next? Well, things may not be quite
that drastic for Anita’s 1988 third release and it has far from vanished from memory,
but it is nowhere near as acclaimed as its predecessor. And it's difficult to argue that
it ought to be, simply because it isn't as good.
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How could it be? There can only be a single
groundbreaking, just a solitary tour-de-force, from any one artist (unless, of course,
your name is Michael Jackson). Once that soil is cracked, everything that follows will
either be an extension of or a pointed departure from the original. Giving You the Best
That I Got opts for the former, which is why it’s not remarkable. But who could blame
Anita, Elektra or producer/friend Michael J. Powell (who produced all of her records
except Songstress and Rhythm Of Love) for sticking with what worked so well before:
romantic, jazz-steeped cuts that showcase Anita’s unique vocal style. The result is
unquestionably better than most R&B released in the same year, yielding such goodies
as the title track, “Good Enough” and “Just Because.” M
February 2001
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