The narrative of Toni Braxton as an anonymous wife and Babyface as an anonymous husband flows well until song number seven. He’s supposed to have left her for another woman by then, a woman she hopes gives him an STD, so it’s unlikely either would be so eager to Take It Back so soon. By the next song, they’re officially Reunited, back in “love”, only to split-up again. “I’d Rather Be Broke than be with you,” she says, as if a pussy-whipped fool like Babyface would’ve been smart enough to a demand a prenup. But this time she means it. In fact, she gets pleasure out of introducing her new “friend” to him. This love story ends in divorce.

The two get near-equal croon time, but Braxton has two solo songs compare to Babyface’s one. They also share compositional credit, but the music for every song is produced by Babyface. That last fact, along with the fact that his music sounds about the same as it did when they first started making music together a little over twenty years ago, gives the album a consistent sound. This is contemporary soul music, the smooth syrupy kind real-life romantics sop with their morning pancakes. The vocals rarely match the music on an aesthetic level, but, considering the American divorce rate, it’s an album a lot of people can relate to.

my rating : 3 of 5

2014