Najee said:

Actually I just found a five volume set of LA & Babyface Hits on... um... that site where you go to find those kinds of things. There's three volumes of remixes too (so eight volumes in all). All of the tracks are great quality.

Always loved the LA'Face sound. Between them and FlyteTyme, they dominated the latter part of the 80s R&B/Pop radio. I'll have to agree with Vain about Face losing the funk though. I loved the Deele and really wished they would have stayed together (still have the vinyl copy of Street Beat I bought in 84). At least they ended on a high note with Eyes of a Stranger (we'll conveniently forget the track that Dee and Carlos had on the Deep Cover soundtrack in 92).

pzlyprk said:

OK, could you give us details (name of the compilation, where you found it, etc.)? If not on this thread, send me an OrgNote.

Lovesexy82 said:

I love "Where Will You Go"! The entire Side Two of the 'Tender Lover' album is incredible.Any one of those songs could have been a single.

NAMOR3000 said:

I mentioned them:

AlexdeParis said:

Love 'em both.

SoulAlive said:

What made Babyface's version of "This Is for The Lover in You" terrible was that he made it a rap song (with L.L. Cool J having more prominence, IMO) with the members of Shalamar singing the chorus -- essentially, Babyface was a guest performer on his own song. It was further compounded by Howard Hewett outsinging 'Face when Hewett did his part in the bridge. 'Face gets kudos only for getting Shalamar (more particularly, Hewett and Jody Watley) together to agree to sing it.

Najee said:

I slightly disagree with you. I do agree that maybe LL shouldn't have been as prominent as he was, but I don't think the updated version is THAT bad. I think that what he was trying to do was update a slow jam for an audience that might not be familiar with Howard Hewett or Jody Watley (like myself at the time because I was only 12).
It had a hip-hop flavor without being too over the top (I thought) and I actually thought that LL's rap wasn't bad. (In the past 15 years some of his stuff has been borderline corny). Face could have actually took himself out of it and it would've been the same song.

Lovesexy82 said:

Here are what I saw as problems with Babyface's version of "This Is for the Lover in You"

1.) Babyface himself does not sing much in it. 'Face sings only small parts in the first and second verses and by the time he comes back on with some occasional ad-libbing near the end of the song, you forget it's actually a Babyface song. When I first heard it, I thought it was either an L.L. Cool J. song produced by Babyface or a remix.

2.) The song only has trace elements of the original Shalamar song. Basically, 'Face made a rap version of the song, with only the chorus and Howard Hewett's bridge actually tying it in to the original. It's hard to call a song a remake when it's really its own standing composition with lifted elements.

3.) 'Face let someone else outsing him on his own song. Hewett is a very solid singer asked to provide vocals on one of his signature songs -- generally, that meant 'Face asked for trouble because he got stood up on his "cover." What made it even worse is that it's not like 'Face offered much competition, considering he barely performed on his own song.

Though I will give 'Face some credit for his effort (most notably, getting the original Shalamar to sing together again), his version of "This Is for the Lover in You" was uninspiring, safe and bland. You can tell he was running out of ideas at that point.
[Edited 8/19/07 10:15am]

Najee said:

Damn, I didn't know Babyface wrote that. That's my JAM!!!! It's one of the last Track on my Essential Jacksons CD.

Bobby Brown's "Good Enough" (particularly the remix version)
I like this one too, the Remix Version is on my Bobby Brown's Greatest Hits CD. I think that "Bobby" is actually a really underrated album. I know that some people were underwhelmed with this one after "Don't Be Cruel," but this had some slammin R&B cuts on it. Especially "Get Away."

Oh Lord.

Did Babyface write that one too?

Lovesexy82 said:

No, "Get Away" was a Teddy Riley song. Speaking of Bobby Brown, I don't believe anyone has mentioned another 'Face tune: "Humpin' Around."

Another Babyface song that wasn't named: The Isley Brothers' "Tears."
[Edited 8/19/07 10:06am]

AlexdeParis said:

I found the rest:

35. Every Little Step - Bobby Brown
36. On the Line - Michael Jackson
37. My Kinda Girl - Babyface
38. Heat of the Moment - After 7
39. Superwoman - Karyn White
40. Backyard - Pebbles featuring Salt-N-Pepa

41. The Way You Love Me - Karyn White
42. Humpin' Around - Bobby Brown
43. Where Is My Love? - El DeBarge featuring Babyface
44. Count on Me - Whitney Houston & CeCe Winans
45. Take a Bow - Madonna
46. Seven Whole Days - Toni Braxton
47. For the Cool in You - Babyface
48. Miracle - Whitney Houston
49. Another Sad Love Song - Toni Braxton
50. Water Runs Dry - Boyz II Men

51. Rock Wit'cha - Bobby Brown
52. Always in My Heart - Tevin Campbell
53. Red Light Special - TLC
54. Never Keeping Secrets - Babyface
55. You Mean the World to Me - Toni Braxton
56. Breathe Again - Toni Braxton
57. Whatever - En Vogue
58. Let's Get the Mood Right - Johnny Gill
59. Give U My Heart - Babyface featuring Toni Braxton
60. 'Til You Do Me Right - After 7

61. Love Shoulda Brought You Home - Toni Braxton
62. Soon As I Get Home - Babyface
63. Pretty Girl - Jon B
64. Last Night - Az Yet
65. Queen of the Night - Whitney Houston
66. Why Do I Believe? - Pebbles
67. And Our Feelings - Babyface
68. Gotta Learn My Rhythm - Damian Dame
69. Rock Steady - The Whispers
70. Love Saw It - Karyn White featuring Babyface

71. Try It On My Own - Whitney Houston
72. Sunshine - Babyface
73. Roses Are Red - The Mac Band
74. There U Go - Johnny Gill
75. Diggin' on You - TLC
76. Secret Rendezvous - Karyn White
77. Good Enough - Bobby Brown
78. You Said, You Said - Jermaine Jackson
79. Something in Your Eyes - Bell Biv DeVoe
80. You Are the Man - En Vogue

81. One Night - After 7
82. Every Time I Close My Eyes - Babyface
83. Until You Come Back - Whitney Houston
84. Tears - The Isley Brothers
85. Feels So Much Better - Johnny Gill
86. Have I Never - A Few Good Men
87. Lady, Lady - Babyface
88. All Night Long - SWV
89. Boys & Girls - Tony! Toni! Toné!
90. Truly Something Special - After 7

91. Rock Bottom - Babyface
92. Let It Flow - Toni Braxton
93. Never Forget You - Mariah Carey
94. Slow Jam - Midnight Star
95. Why Does It Hurt So Bad - Whitney Houston
96. The Day (That You Gave Me a Son) - Babyface
97. When You Believe - Whitney Houston & Mariah Carey
98. Long Way From Home - Johnny Gill
99. I Wanna Love Like That - Tony Thompson
100. Nothin' (That Compares 2 U) - The Jacksons

Glancing back over it, I probably underrated "Rock Steady" -- it may be exceedingly simple, but it's effective. I can't see much separation on those Toni Braxton hits. Can't believe I forgot Madonna's "Forbidden Love."

I forgot Jermaine Jackson's "I Dream, I Dream" as well!

AlexdeParis said:

Who ranked these?

Looking at that list, I can't see how "Every Little Step I Take" is lower than 'On Our Own'? Or lower than '(24) Fairweather Friend' and '(23)Exclusivity'.

Some of those rankings are off but damn that dude has churned out some hits. Pretty damn impressive.

Najee said:

I actually think somebody did metntion Humpin' Around cause I remember seeing it way back when this thread began.

MuthaFunka said:

That's Alex's personal list of his favorite Babyface songs. Some of the songs listed are album tracks and at a glance there are some charted singles not on Alex's list (The Whispers' "In the Mood," Johnny Gill's "Let's Get the Mood Right," The Boys' "Lucky Charm," Sheena Easton's "The Lover in Me" and Paula Abdul's "Knocked Out" come to mind).

AlexdeParis said:

This is a lot to take in at once, so I'm going tohave to read it a few times, but I can't possibly see how Don't Be Cruel is #1, Somewhere in the Top 30 maybe, but NOT #1.

Lovesexy82 said:

THE ORIGINATOR OF THIS THREAD first mentioned "Humpin' Around."

Najee said:

Ah ok. Al, you need to re-rank that list!

Lovesexy82 said:

First, it's Alex's personal list of his top 100 Babyface-written and/or -produced songs.

Second, considering it was the song that not only launched Bobby Brown to stardom but effectively made Babyface (and L.A. Reid) prominent producers I would rank it that high. It was the success of "Don't Be Cruel," IMO, that opened the proverbial flood gate of hits and opportunities to work with other prominent acts later.

AlexdeParis said:

Alex, did you know Tony Thompson, the former lead singer for Hi-Five, was found dead two months ago? Apparently, he huffed Freon:

http://www.eurweb.com/sto...r34756.cfm

[Edited 8/19/07 13:51pm]

Najee said:

Okay, Okay, I'm bit confused. Are we talking about Top 100 songs written by Babyface in terms of popularity and radio appeal, or are we talking about songs on sheer songwriting and musical merits alone?

Now, don't get me wrong, Don't Be Cruel is the jam, but if we're talking about the latter, there are other songs on that comprehensive list that I think are technically better executed than Don't Be Cruel. Like I said it would definitely be in my in Top 30, but I guess what I'm saying (and I'm speaking for myself and not anybody else) is that when I think of Don't Be Cruel I don't say "Damn, that's the best song Babyface has ever written!"

And I know it's a personal list, I didn't try and tear him down as a person or anything. I hope it did not come across that way.
[Edited 8/19/07 13:07pm]

I'll just roll w/ his stuff since I'm not up on what all he's produced & really can't deal w/ all that reading right now

Whip Appeal
Saturday
Never Keeping Secrets

Lovesexy82 said:

I gathered it's solely a list of Alex's favorite Babyface-written and/or -produced songs. It seems like you and Muthafunka took it as some official list assuming some definitive criteria.

Lovesexy82 said:

I would say "Don't Be Cruel" is the most important song in helping Babyface build his legacy. He had other songs that were hits shortly before Bobby Brown came on the scene -- The Whispers' "Rock Steady" and Pebbles' "Girlfriend" were No. 1 singles, for instance -- but the success of 'Face's work on that album and the emergence of Brown as a major star put him and L.A. Reid in the "superstar producer" chair they (and later 'Face by himself) ruled for a decade.
[Edited 8/19/07 17:10pm]

Lovesexy82 said:

That list just reflects my personal favorites -- nothing more, nothing less.


Najee's right; it's my personal ranking of his songs (although I will reiterate that I haven't looked at it too closely in about a year). I find your comments on "Don't Be Cruel" amusing because I honestly do think "that's the best song Babyface has ever written" every time I hear it. It's that good.

Najee, I heard about Tony's death. There were a couple of threads here when it happened. So sad...

"Let's Get the Mood Right" is #58 on my list. The other songs you mentioned didn't make it, but I like them (although I've never been a big fan of "The Lover in Me" for whatever reason).

MuthaFunka said:

Really? If I had to choose between "On Our Own" and "Every Little Step," I'm picking "On Our Own" every time (even if the latter is about my girl Pebbles). And don't be knocking "Fairweather Friend" and "Exclusivity" -- I love those!

AlexdeParis said:

I can see choosing "Every Little Step" over those songs if you're talking about the remix version; the original version was a little derivative musically of "Don't Be Cruel."

BTW, You may appreciate the fact that I made a six-disc anthology of Babyface's songs using your and pzlyprk's suggestions as guidance.

AlexdeParis said:

Afer I realized it was your personal list, I cut you some slack!

AlexdeParis said:

WOW i didn't know he wrote those songs

MuthaFunka said:

Of course, I noticed that Alex didn't list Pebbles' "Always." Given his affection for Big Red, I wonder if it's because Babyface didn't help write it (Pebbles and Danny Sembello wrote it, but L.A. Reid and Babyface produced it).

I'm gonna have to come up with a list to rival yours! But I don't know if I have have energy for 100 and I know that no one's gonna agree with my number 1. I'm gonna give you a preview and say that my personal #1 song written/produced by Babyface is "My Kinda Girl." Now when I hear this song I think "Damn, this is the best song Babyface has ever written!"

***Hides face***

I know that you had it at #87, but each his or her own.
[Edited 8/19/07 16:38pm]
[Edited 8/19/07 16:39pm]

Lovesexy82 said:

Hey, it's your personal choice and you can use whatever subjective or definitive criteria you want. But I would imagine after questioning Alex choosing Bobby Brown's "Don't Be Cruel" ... well, let's say Babyface's "My Kinda Girl" is a head-scratcher.

I will have to come up with a list later, but unless asked I don't want to bog down the thread with "My list is better than your list"-type games.
[Edited 8/19/07 17:00pm]