I've been thinking about buying this one. "Passion Play" didn't get as much recognition as her other albums as Teena released this on her own independent label and it had limited distribution.

But for those of you who own this album, what do you think of "Passion Play"? I'm thinking of buying it because I loooooooooooooooooove Teena, but a bit hesitant. Especially if it's similar to "Ivory" which has some very good songs, but overall wasn't one of her best albums to me.

I've only heard "Wild Horses" from "Passion Play" though which I really like. Is the rest of the album as good?

I've listened to it a couple of times. IMO, her least interesting album. I only kept it for completist purposes.

I own it. i love it. But I love Teena Marie. I think that it is similar in style to Ivory. With that said I only enjoy only four songs on Ivory, but those four songs are my favorite songs of that particular period in Teena's life. But if you own Robbery and Emerald City, you have nothing to fear as far as content is concerned cuz I feel this album is superior to those 2. Teena Marie was around so long that I treated her like Prince; If i could find several songs on it that I liked then I considered it a sucess.

tyroniousdex said:

I own it. i love it. But I love Teena Marie. I think that it is similar in style to Ivory. With that said I only enjoy only four songs on Ivory, but those four songs are my favorite songs of that particular period in Teena's life. But if you own Robbery and Emerald City, you have nothing to fear as far as content is concerned cuz I feel this album is superior to those 2. Teena Marie was around so long that I treated her like Prince; If i could find several songs on it that I liked then I considered it a sucess.

which 4?

you MUST be talking about "Just Us 2", at least

Passion Play is pretty good in my opinion. Get it if only for the tracks 'Warm As Momma's Oven' & 'Parking Music(The Baby Maker).

Thx for the replies. I think I will get it if only just to complete my Lady T collection.

As far as "Ivory" goes, it was a decent album but definitely not her strongest. However, with Teena, i'm always guaranteed that i'll at least find a handful of songs that i'll love from her albums. My faves from that album are are "Just Us Two" and "How Can You Resist It" . I especially love the latter because it was a different kind of sound for her. Not the typical r&b/soul/jazz ballad that we've come to expect from Ms. Teena. I liked how it was just her voice and a simple acoustic guitar. Her voice really shined in that song.

badujunkie said:

tyroniousdex said:

I own it. i love it. But I love Teena Marie. I think that it is similar in style to Ivory. With that said I only enjoy only four songs on Ivory, but those four songs are my favorite songs of that particular period in Teena's life. But if you own Robbery and Emerald City, you have nothing to fear as far as content is concerned cuz I feel this album is superior to those 2. Teena Marie was around so long that I treated her like Prince; If i could find several songs on it that I liked then I considered it a sucess.

which 4?

you MUST be talking about "Just Us 2", at least

Mr.Icecream Man, Since Day One, Snap Your Fingers and How Can U Resisit It.

[Edited 12/14/11 19:43pm]

I think its a great investment......I have to get it on CD as well.....I also have to get her debut and i will have her complete recordings.

HonestMan13 said:

Passion Play is pretty good in my opinion. Get it if only for the tracks 'Warm As Momma's Oven' & 'Parking Music(The Baby Maker).

Yeah to all'a that HonestMan!

Also, Climb the Walls is BRILLIANT - "how you gonna act this time when my love calls?" And Main Squeeze with Lenny K works overtime toward perfection - "and any guy who tried to turn my head ... could not obstruct my view." Her singing of these simple lines turns complex with vocal inflection that deserves writing credit. (I know Rick "wrote" Fire and Desire, but her amazing interpretation of the lyric might deserve a writing credit given proper consideration.) I also like Sweet On You with Yo Yo a lot. But you must get this record simply for the Hypnotized (Prelude) alone. It features Kipper G and the ... (someone help me out on the vocal group name.) "Blow Baby, Blow Baby, Blow Baby Blow ... oooooh, only you can hypnotize me. Croon me a tune, sweet soft and low..."

But you know, even if you don't like much of a LT album, there will boatloads of stuff on it that you will be singing "in the dark, in the park, you can get my love anywhere."