Burnin' is a studio album by American recording artist Patti LaBelle. It was released by MCA Records on October 1, 1991, in the United States to mixed reviews. The album features several collaborations, including duets with Gladys Knight and Michael Bolton, and a reunion track with Nona Hendryx and Sarah Dash from Labelle. It yielded three Billboard R&B chart hits: "Feels Like Another One", "Somebody Loves You Baby (You Know Who It Is)" and "When You've Been Blessed (Feels Like Heaven)".
The album, released on CD, LP, and cassette, was certified Gold in April 1992 by the Recording Industry Association of America for sales in excess of 500,000 copies. It reached number 71 on the Billboard 200 and number 13 on Top R&B/Hip-Hop Albums. Burnin' won the Grammy Award for Best Female R&B Vocal Performance at the 1992 ceremony, jointly with a single by Lisa Fischer. In 1992, LaBelle released her first solo live album, simply titled Live!, featuring several songs from Burnin' as it was recorded during this album's promotional tour.
Under the pseudonym "Paisley Park", Prince co-wrote the song "I Hear Your Voice" along with his vocalist collaborator Rosie Gaines and her husband Francis Jules. Prince helped produce the track.[1] The album track "Temptation", B-side of the fourth single released from the album, "When You Love Somebody (I'm Saving My Love for You)", was written by Cuban-American singer Martika, who originally released it on her album Martika's Kitchen.
The album earned largely mixed reviews. Chicago Tribune editor Mitchell May felt that while LaBelle was once known for her aggressive, overpowering performance style, she was adopting a noticeably more restrained, cooler approach on Burnin' , writing: "Maybe the pressure to go all out on every note was eased by the presence of guest artists like Gladys Knight, Luther Vandross, Michael Bolton and Big Daddy Kane."[4] Dave Obee from Calgary Herald wrote, "Not only is she on fire, she's lighting matches and tossing them in all directions. Many hit gravel and quickly burn out. Look out, though, for the ones that touch anything flammable. Consider the song "I Don't Do Duets", a duet [...] with Gladys Knight. Listen as two of the strongest, most soulful and experienced voices turn a fair-to-average song into a R&B masterpiece. It's no surprise that La Belle couldn't keep the heat turned up at that level for the entire disc, but the best stuff here more than makes up for its weak moments."[3]
Arion Berger from Entertainment Weekly gave it a B+ and wrote: "Most of the material displays LaBelle's show-biz-soul wailing and emoting to perfection, whether she's up on her feet. Except for the sloppily sentimental "I Don't Do Duets," LaBelle rises to the challenge of the material here [...] Burnin' is smart and resourceful."[5] Connie Johnson of The Los Angeles Times ranked Burnin' two and a half out of five stars, noting a reduction of LaBelle's usual intensity,[6] while AllMusic's Ron Wynn remarked that the album was "more a presentation and entertainment spectacle than a memorable production" and called it an "aesthetic disappointment."[2]
The single mix of "Feels Like Another One" features rap by Big Daddy Kane.
"Temptation" is a bonus track for CD and cassette. "Crazy Love" is a bonus track for CD and LP. As of 2012, both tracks are available for digital download.
↑"Patti LaBelle ARIA chart history to 2024". ARIA. Retrieved July 26, 2024– via Imgur.com. N.B. The High Point number in the NAT column represents the release's peak on the national chart.
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