Track Listing

1. Intro - Bobby Brown, Whitney Houston
2. It's Still My Thang
3. Feelin' Inside
4. She's All I Need
5. My Place
6. Been Around the World
7. Give It Up
8. Happy Days
9. Forever
10. Sunday Afternoon
11. Heart and Soul

Product Details

• Amazon Sales Rank: #219350 in Music
• Released on: 1997-11-04
• Number of discs: 1

Album Details
Japanese Release to Contain Exclusive Bonus Tracks.

Amazon.com
Bobby Brown has a chip the size of Florida on his shoulder; does that mean his art is going to suffer? Absolutely. Even before the proper album begins, he's got wife Whitney Houston singing his praises with a snippet of "Nobody Does It Better." On the first track, "It's Still My Thang," he declares that, "It's still my prerogative." After letting us know that he is the best and he ain't gonna change (while slyly reminding us he was once capable of turning out actual hits), Bobby proceeds to turn out the real sludge: a bucket full of songs ensnared by slick soul balladery, senseless tabloid bashing, and glossy late '80s New Jack production. When Brown made his solo debut on the pop charts, he was an uncompromising talent, hungry for success and critical recognition. At the height of his creative powers, with songs like "My Prerogative" and "Don't Be Cruel," he delivered a Head kick to the stagnant late-'80s R&B scene. Now he's singing syrupy ballads like "She's All I Need" and "My Place," songs so saccharine that they wouldn't even make the cut on an Isaac Hayes B-sides album. --Aidin Vaziri

Customer Reviews

Sigh...
Bobby Brown has a lot going on in his life. He's been arrested on numerous occasions. He had reunited with New Edition only to diss them not even a year later. After all this, he still released another album and expected it to be accepted with open arms by the public.

I didn't expect this album to be all that good, but then I didn't expect the album to be this BAD. This album was no doubt put together because Bobby needed something to do. The album has eleven tracks, but in some ways the album can be said to have nine tracks because "Feelin' Inside" and "Give It Up" are so uninspiring you'll forget them halfway through listening to them. The intro has Whitney Houston sucking up to him by singing: "Nobody does it better/Makes me feel sorry for the rest/Nobody does it quite the way you do/Bobby, you're the best." Did anyone ask for her opinion? Next comes "It's Still My Thang," where you hear him saying "And like I told you eighty years ago/It's still my prerogative don't you know." EIGHTY years ago? What's he talking about?

The last two songs on the album have problems all their own. "Sunday Afternoon" is way too literal, talking about how a typical Sunday afternoon is for him. He even tries to hype himself by telling how other guys on the street are "rollin' in their jeeps/Pumpin' the funky sounds of me, Bobby Brown." "Heart And Soul" sounds like a mirror of "Been Around The World," but both of those songs are uniquely bad. "Been Around The World" is a boring track that tells how he's seen a lot of women worldwide, but he still comes home to "her." And it doesn't help that the song has a very annoying drumbeat that's reminiscent of Free Instrument Time in third grade Music class. "Heart And Soul" is the same thing without the drumbeat, but then he adds very raunchy and ridiculous lyrics.

No full song on this album is worth listening to. Guest spots from unknown rappers like Carole Brown and Irvin Fomar, not to mention Bobby himself, degrade the songs even more. And Bobby still thinks it's obligatory to say "Peace B. Brown. We outta here" at the end of most of the songs. (He even says it in the liner notes.) I think everyone would be a lot happier if that statement referred to his being in the studio.

A worthy flop
Looks as if Bobby Brown's cocky attitude got the best of him. After successfully re-teaming with New Edition and then bashing his group (Brown claimed he could make as much money on his own rather than having to split it with 5 other people...so it's all about money, eh Bob?), Bobby Brown released this mess, and it sold approximately no copies. No hit singles. Not a redeeming tune. Not to mention a horrible attitude. Bobby Brown is over. I'm sure he will not be missed.

A sad ending to a career...
This is a very bad and boring record. That said, I would like to offer a few mild defenses of Mr. Brown.

First, the voice. It still sounds the same and it sounds great. This album is bad because of the songs, not because of the singing.

Second, the production. Many reviewers have made comments along the lines of "This sounds so 1992", etc. The pursuit of the latest trend in hip-hop studio gimmicks is a truly empty pursuit. Many musical greats in R&B have been consistently "behind the times" on record. Marvin Gaye, with his jazz and doo-wop inflected late records, comes to mind immediately. Aretha Franklin and Gladys Knight are two more great talents who were behind the times from about 1970 to the present day. By the way, Bach's music was considered old-fashioned in his day. So let's please not encourage the meaningless pursuit of what's "new" and "trendy" in music. Soulful singing, funky grooves, memorable melodies, and meaningful lyrics will do it every time...it is unfortunate that those things are not to be found on this record...or on many others these days.

In conclusion, don't buy this record!