| Tender Lover | ||||
|---|---|---|---|---|
 Vinyl edition of standard artwork | ||||
| Studio album by | ||||
| Released | July 7, 1989 | |||
| Recorded | 1988–1989 | |||
| Studio | Elumba Recording Studios Galaxy Sound Studios M'Bila Studios (Hollywood, California) | |||
| Genre | ||||
| Length | 48:51 | |||
| Label | ||||
| Producer |
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| Babyface chronology | ||||
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| Singles from Tender Lover | ||||
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Tender Lover is the second studio album by AmericanR&B singer-songwriterBabyface. The album was released on July 7, 1989.[1] It is the follow-up to his debutLovers (1986). It was his first album withSOLAR (Sound of Los Angeles Records) after the label entered into a distribution deal with Epic Records. In some regions of Europe,Tender Lover was released with a different cover picture and simply titledBabyface.[2]
| Review scores | |
|---|---|
| Source | Rating |
| AllMusic |   [3] |
| Christgau's Record Guide | B[4] |
| The Rolling Stone Album Guide |  [5] |
Babyface and fellow songwriter/producerDaryl Simmons first met each other as teenagers inIndianapolis, Indiana. The two played in a couple of bands together and later joined the funk outfitManchild.[6] The band recorded two albums before disbanding in the late 1970s.Cincinnati-based bandMidnight Star came to perform in Indianapolis, which became good friends with Babyface and Simmons.[6] Babyface then left Indianapolis for Cincinnati to write songs with Midnight Star – one of which became the song "Slow Jam" from their 1983 albumNo Parking on the Dance Floor as well as a couple of songs produced by Midnight Star founding memberReggie Calloway onThe Whispers' 1984 albumSo Good. Around that same time, Calloway was producing thedebut album for the bandThe Deele, who had just gotten signed toSOLAR Records. Group membersL.A. Reid andDarnell Bristol asked Babyface to join, which led him to ask Simmons to help with songwriting and touring duties.[6]
After joining The Deele, Babyface and Simmons tried getting songs to other acts on SOLAR such asShalamar,Dynasty andLakeside, but all of the acts turned them down.[6] Although they were signed to a label, Reid, Babyface and Simmons kept paying dues on the production side in order to make something happen for them. They spent three years inLos Angeles working with The Deele and writing songs, as Babyface and Simmons were determined not to go back to Indianapolis.[6] After a few years of trying to gain some recognition, at least one of their songs was accepted and recorded in 1986, "Personality" by Dynasty, from their "Daydreamin'" album, written and produced by L.A. and Babyface. Then in 1987, the team secured another production placement by writing and producing the song "Rock Steady" for The Whispers from their 1987 albumJust Gets Better with Time.[6] Simmons went back to Cincinnati, which caused Reid and Babyface to call him for more collaborations, as their production career started taking off.[6]
Just as he had done in The Deele, Reid became the driving force of the newly established production team. Under his control, he made the decisions on what songs went to certain artists and who they wanted to work with. They went on to work on albums fromKaryn White,Sheena Easton,Johnny Gill andPaula Abdul.[6] Although the production of the album was credited toL.A. Reid & Babyface, Simmons revealed that Babyface actually produced the bulk of it with Reid handling the uptempo songs as he came from a funk background, while he and Babyface were more focused on ballads.[6] They would record the songs with Reid overseeing the production of the music while Babyface concentrated on the aspect of lead and background vocals.[6] According to Simmons, they would work long hours with Reid being in the studio many sleepless nights fine tuning the songs.[6]
Tender Lover was mixed by Jim Zumpano, Jon Gass and Barney Perkins,[6] the latter of which worked onAnita Baker's albumRapture as well asDeBarge'sIn a Special Way.
Released on July 23, 1989,Tender Lover contains Babyface's debut Top 10 hit, "It's No Crime", which reached #7 on the U.S. Hot 100 and later single "Whip Appeal", which reached #6 in the same chart. To date,Tender Lover is his highest charting R&B album as it topped thatchart for eight nonconsecutive weeks; "Tender Lover" and "It's No Crime" were #1 R&B singles from this album. On June 28, 2001, Tender Lover was certified 3× Platinum by theRecording Industry Association of America (RIAA).
Tender Lover was a critical and commercial success, reaching number fourteen on theUSBillboard 200 and opened at number one on theTop R&B Albums chart. Babyface received numerous nominations for Favorite Soul/R&B New Artist at the17th American Music Awards and threeGrammy nominations, the top-ten US singles "Whip Appeal" received a nomination forBest Male R&B Vocal Performance, "It's No Crime" forBest R&B Instrumental Performance and a nomination forProducer of the Year withL.A. Reid. Also, it won him aSoul Train Music Award for Best R&B/Soul Album, Male in 1990.
A couple of songs from this album have been covered by a few artists. Short-livedA&M Records group B.B.O.T.I. covered "Where Will You Go" from their first and only albumBad Boyz of the Industry in 1993. SingerBobby Valentino covered "Soon As I Get Home" on his second album, 2007'sSpecial Occasion.
"Soon as I Get Home" appeared in the 2010 film,Our Family Wedding which starredForest Whitaker andAmerica Ferrera.
| No. | Title | Writer(s) | Length |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1. | "It's No Crime" |
| 4:02 |
| 2. | "Tender Lover" |
| 4:19 |
| 3. | "Let's Be Romantic" |
| 5:01 |
| 4. | "Can't Stop My Heart" |
| 4:31 |
| 5. | "My Kinda Girl" |
| 4:39 |
| 6. | "Where Will You Go" (Prelude) | Edmonds | 0:40 |
| 7. | "Whip Appeal" |
| 5:49 |
| 8. | "Soon as I Get Home" | Edmonds | 5:09 |
| 9. | "Given a Chance" | Edmonds | 4:21 |
| 10. | "Sunshine" | Edmonds | 5:11 |
| 11. | "Where Will You Go" | Edmonds | 5:09 |
| No. | Title | Writer(s) | Length |
|---|---|---|---|
| 12. | "Tender Lover" (Dub L.A.) |
| 5:53 |
| 13. | "My Kinda Girl" (12" Version / Scratch Mix) |
| 7:06 |
| 14. | "Whip Appeal" (12" Version / The Ultimate Whip) |
| 5:31 |
Weekly charts[edit]
| Year-end charts[edit]
|
| Year | Single | Chart position[14] | |
|---|---|---|---|
| US Pop | US R&B | ||
| 1989 | "It's No Crime" | 7 | 1 |
| "Tender Lover" | 14 | 1 | |
| 1990 | "My Kinda Girl" | 30 | 3 |
| "Whip Appeal" | 6 | 2 | |
| Region | Certification | Certified units/sales |
|---|---|---|
| United States (RIAA)[15] | 3× Platinum | 3,000,000^ |
^ Shipments figures based on certification alone. | ||
