Rapture

1	Sweet Love 4:26
2	You Bring Me Joy 4:24
3	Caught up in the Rapture 5:07
4	Been So Long 5:07
5	Mystery 4:56
6	No One in the World 4:10
7	Same Ole Love 4:05
8	Watch Your Step 4:54

Barnes & Noble

It's a bitch being a romantic in a cynical age, but with Rapture, her 1986 debut album, Anita Baker made a fervent belief in romance seem more like a desirable strength than an unavoidable weakness. The songs on Rapture spoke of mature love and a faith in forever, even after a few previous forevers turned out to be painfully temporary. Also, Baker sang from a position of affluence, an important reminder at the time that you could have professional success without losing your soul. Baker's songs were sturdily constructed odes to her zealous convictions, and she sang them with a creamy alto that recalled classic jazz greats like Carmen McRae and Sarah Vaughan. More than most genres, R&B caters to teenage audiences, but Baker's music spoke loudly and proudly to those who had already been around the block a few times. In doing so, she paved the way for such artists as {|Des'ree|}, Maxwell, Erykah Badu, and Toni Braxton Martin Johnson

All Music Guide

Though Anita Baker got some airplay out of The Songstress, that promising solo debut didn't bring her financial security. In fact, Baker was earning her living as a legal secretary in her native Detroit when she signed with Elektra in the mid-'80s. Elektra gave her a strong promotional push, and the equally superb Rapture became the megahit that The Songstress should have been. To its credit, Elektra made her a major star by focusing on Baker's strong point -- romantic but gospel-influenced R&B/pop ballads and "slow jams," sometimes with jazz overtones -- and letting her be true to herself. Rapture gave Baker one moving hit after another, including "Sweet Love," "Caught up in the Rapture," "Same Ole Love," and "No One in This World." Praising Baker in a 1986 interview, veteran R&B critic Steve Ivory asserted, "To me, singers like Anita Baker and Frankie Beverly define what R&B or soul music is all about." Indeed, Rapture's tremendous success made it clear that there was still a sizeable market for adult-oriented, more traditional R&B singing. Alex Henderson