Babyface

For a time in the '90s, Kenneth "Babyface" Edmonds was half of the hottest hit-making team in pop, along with his songwriting and production partner, Antonio "L.A." Reid. His Midas touch generated massive hits for Whitney Houston, Boyz II Men, Paula Abdul, and even Eric Clapton. But where Reid used that momentum to climb the corporate ladder (eventually becoming head of Arista Records), Babyface followed his art and ended up a spent force -- but not before having a number of smoothly unobtrusive R&B hits.

Lovers, recorded after L.A. and Babyface had left their band the Deele is competent but predictable, with the singer lavishing his light tenor on slow, soulful ballads like the Stylistics'"You Make Me Feel Brand New." Unsurprisingly, Tender Lover also includes a few powerhouse ballads, the best of which (such as "Whip Appeal") capture the insinuating cadences of a lover's pillow talk. A Closer Look provides highlights from both albums, as well as two live tracks and duets Babyface recorded for albums by Karyn White and Pebbles.

For the Cool in You further refined that formula, increasing the potency of the uptempo tunes while scoring a major hit with the warmly sentimental "When Can I See You Again," and then Babyface peaked with The Day, an all-star, hit-encrusted effort that more or less epitomized the R&B pop aesthetic of the mid-'90s. But after the nakedness of MTV Unplugged exposed his weaknesses as a singer, his career stalled and his creativity crashed. Christmas With Babyface is low key and agreeably traditional, and would have made a nice, quiet exit. (A Collection of His Greatest Hits would make nice time capsule fodder.) But Babyface, convinced he could some-how seem hip, came back with Face2Face, a painful grab for street cred on which the only thing more painful than the maudlin "Still in Love With U" is hearing Snoop Dogg work his persona on "Baby's Mama." (J. D. CONSIDINE)

From 2004's The New Rolling Stone Album Guide