thesexofit said:

I don't think you get where I'm coming from with my "musician talk" - basically what I'm saying is that maybe Babyface has certain limitations on keyboard or a limited theoretical knowledge of music in general that prohibits him from playing in a variety of keys or styles, i.e. interesting chord changes/progressions. That can result in all of his stuff sounding the same.

Then again, maybe he and LA Reid just thought, "hey, our sound is the s**t!" Let's keep doin' what we're doin'...
[Edited 1/2/07 0:12am]

KingKrazy said:

Those are actually two of the worst songs by LA and Babyface.In the late 80s/early 90s,they were writing and producing songs for practially every R&B act who was around back then.There was no way that they could give an excellent song to everybody.

SoulAlive said:

those were two of their best...which songs were better?

sosgemini said:

"Every Little Step" by Bobby Brown (1988)---the only Bobby Brown song that I like
"Dial My Heart" by the Boys (1988)---yeah,it's bubblegum but it's good bubblegum,lol
"Rock Steady" by The Whispers (1987)
"The Lover In Me" by Sheena Easton (1987)
"Noon Rendezvous" by Karyn White (1988)
"Another Sad Love Song" by Toni Braxton (1993)


now come on...you know those songs are good

yeah, those songs are good...but i dont consider them leaps and bounds above the other two...

the only song that i consider above the grade would be Another Sad Love Song...its the only one that stands out on with its own feel and style...that and maybe Rock Steady.

other then that those other songs are cut from the same cloth as the On Our Own and GYTB.

sosgemini said:

Yeah,I agree.Their sound was great,but they recycled it too many times.I feel the same way about the Jam and Lewis sound.

I hated those two songs.

You should know that most folks that like shit hop these days don't like anything funky. Hell, Oaktown 357 was great.....

Juicy gotcha crazy....cold going mad.....

Pebbles second album was really good actually. I still pull that out and listen to it once in a while.

Babyface's first solo album is also really good.

Around the time of his second album tho I was kind of bored with him.

Karyn White always struck me as more of a Jam & Lewis project than a Babyface protege.

SoulAlive said:

Jam and Lewis were mord diverse and more funky.
Check out the stuff they did with herb alpert.

phunkdaddy said:

yeah...i agree...they had their SOSBAND style which they started with (including o'neal and cherrelle) that then evolved to their janet sound (which included human league, alpert, new edition) and finally the later janet sound (ala using samples like 1814., janet. and the rest)...and then they kinda got stuck there.

laface was always the same ole sound over and over and over.

sosgemini said:

Industrial was popular around the time of Rhythm Nation, I wonder if some of it's influence spilled over into Jam & Lewis's work on that album. Same goes for all the sampling Prince was doing on Batman.

Tom said:

Actually, I'd consider his second album (Tender Lover) his best, with his third (For the Cool in You) next.


Not really. Her first album featured LaFace. She didn't hook up with Jam & Lewis (literally in the case of Terry ) until the second album, which featured "Romantic."

vainandy said:

Oaktown's 357 -- We Like It
http://www.youtube.com/wa...bgJBzOSz_M

THIS was their greatest track ever, hands down!

AlexdeParis said:

Oops, I thought Tender Lover was his first. Thats what I meant actually.

TonyVanDam said:

I own the video to that and another song they did "it's not your money", which had a cool message LOL

thesexofit said:

"It's not yours!"

AlexdeParis said:

Yeah, thats the one. Its a cool song, and has dated better then their earlier hits.