''Compositions'' is the fourth album by American R&B/soul singer

Anita Baker Anita Denise Baker (born January 26, 1958) is an American jazz and soul singer. She is known for her soulful ballads, particularly from the height of the quiet storm period in the 1980s. Starting her career in the late 1970s with the funk ban ...

. The album peaked at #5 on the US ''Billboard'' 200 and was certified

platinum Platinum is a chemical element; it has Symbol (chemistry), symbol Pt and atomic number 78. It is a density, dense, malleable, ductility, ductile, highly unreactive, precious metal, precious, silverish-white transition metal. Its name origina ...

in 1990, making it Baker's third platinum selling album. The album also won the

Grammy Award for Best Female R&B Vocal Performance The Grammy Award for Best Female R&B Vocal Performance (previously called Best Rhythm and Blues Solo Vocal Performance, Female) was an honor presented at the Grammy Awards, a ceremony established in 1958 and originally called the Gramophone Award ...

at the 1991 Grammy Awards. Two of its tracks charted on the ''Billboard'' Hot 100, with "Talk to Me" peaking at number 44 for three consecutive weeks on July 28 and August 4 and 11 and "Soul Inspiration" at number 72 on October 13, 1990.''Billboard'' Hot 100, Week of August 11, 1990 – Billboard.com.
Retrieved January 29, 2024. ''Compositions'' would be the last album and collaboration between Baker and producer Michael J. Powell.

Track listing

# "Talk to Me" (Baker, Vernon Fails, Michael Powell) – 5:03 # "Perfect Love Affair" (Baker, Joel Davis) – 5:19 # "Whatever It Takes" (Baker, Marc Gordon,

Gerald LeVert Gerald Edward Levert (July 13, 1966 – November 10, 2006) was an Americans, American singer-songwriter and Music Producer, producer. Levert performed with his brother, Sean Levert, and friend Marc Gordon with the R&B vocal group, LeVert. Le ...

) – 5:35 # "Soul Inspiration" (

Terry Britten Terence Ernest Britten (born 17 July 1947) is an English-Australian singer-songwriter and record producer, who has written songs for Tina Turner, Cliff Richard, Olivia Newton-John, Status Quo (band), Status Quo and Michael Jackson amongst many ot ...

Graham Lyle Graham Hamilton Lyle (born 11 March 1944, in Bellshill, Lanarkshire, Scotland) is a Scottish singer-songwriter, guitarist and producer. Between 1970 and 1997, he co-wrote 18 British Top 40 hits, 9 ''Billboard'' Hot 100 entries, 4 US Country No ...

) – 5:17 # "Lonely" (Baker) – 4:29 # "No One to Blame" (Baker, Fails) – 4:41 # "More Than You Know" (Baker, Vernon Fails, Michael Powell) – 4:48 # "Love You to the Letter" (James McBride) – 7:20 # "Fairy Tales" (Baker, Fails, Powell) – 7:55

Personnel

Musicians

– vocals, backing vocals * Vernon Fails – keyboards *

Greg Phillinganes Gregory Arthur Phillinganes (born May 12, 1956) is an American keyboardist, vocalist, and arranger. A session musician, Phillinganes has contributed to numerous albums over a broad array of artists and genres. He has toured with artists includin ...

– acoustic piano, backing vocals (7) * Ben Keys – programming * David Ward – programming * Michael J. Powell – guitars (1-4, 6, 7, 9), backing vocals (7) *

Earl Klugh Earl Klugh ( ; born September 16, 1953) is an American acoustic guitarist and composer. He has won one Grammy Award and received 13 nominations. Biography At the age of six, Klugh commenced training on the piano until he switched to the guitar ...

– guitars (7) *

Nathan East Nathan Harrell East (born December 8, 1955) is an American jazz, R&B, and rock bass guitarist and vocalist. With more than 2,000 recordings, East is one of the most recorded bass players in the history of music. East holds a Bachelor of Arts ...

– bass, backing vocals (7) *

Ricky Lawson William Riser III (November 8, 1954 – December 23, 2013), better known as Ricky Lawson or Ricky Remo, was an American drummer and composer. A native of Detroit, Michigan, he worked extensively as a session musician, collaborating with Stev ...

– drums (1, 4, 5, 7) *

Steve Ferrone Stephen A. Ferrone (born 25 April 1950) is an English drummer. He is known as a member of the rock band Tom Petty and the Heartbreakers from 1994 to 2017, replacing original drummer Stan Lynch, and as part of the "classic lineup" of the Aver ...

– drums (2, 3, 6, 8, 9) *

Paulinho da Costa Paulinho da Costa (, born Paulo Roberto da Costa on May 31, 1948) is a Brazilian percussionist. Beginning his career as a samba musician in Brazil, he moved to the United States in the early 1970s and worked with Brazilian bandleader Sérgio Me ...

– percussion (1, 2, 4-9) * Perri (Carol, Darlene, Lori and Sharon Perry) – backing vocals (2, 4, 7), BGV arrangement (4)

Production

* Executive Producer – Anita Baker * Producer – Michael J. Powell * Engineer – Barney Perkins * Second engineers – Tom Beiner, Steve Gallagher and Bart Stevens. * Assistant engineer – Milton Chan * Additional engineers – Darroll Gustamachio, Elliott Peters and Gerard Smerek * Mixing – Barney Perkins (tracks 1, 3 & 5–9); Gerard Smerek (tracks 2 & 4) * Mastering –

Bernie Grundman Bernie Grundman (born 16 December 1943, Minneapolis) is an American audio engineer. He is most known for his mastering work and his studio, Bernie Grundman Mastering, which he opened in 1984 in Hollywood. The studio, which includes engineers Chr ...

Bernie Grundman Mastering Bernie Grundman (born 16 December 1943, Minneapolis) is an American audio engineer. He is most known for his mastering work and his studio, Bernie Grundman Mastering, which he opened in 1984 in Hollywood. The studio, which includes engineers Chri ...

(Hollywood, California) * Art direction – Anita Baker and Carol Bobolts * Photography – Adrian Buckmaster

Awards

Grammy Awards The Grammy Awards, stylized as GRAMMY, and often referred to as The Grammys, are awards presented by The Recording Academy of the United States to recognize outstanding achievements in music. They are regarded by many as the most prestigious a ...

Charts

Weekly charts

Year-end charts

Certifications

References

{{Authority control 1990 albums Anita Baker albums Elektra Records albums Albums produced by Michael J. Powell Albums recorded at Unique Recording Studios