2005, EAN: 0194690430565

{|Libra|} marks {|Toni Braxton|}'s departure from {|Arista|}, her longtime label. It was a stormy relationship that ended with the fast death of 2002's fine {|More Than a Woman|}. Only on… Altro …

{|Libra|} marks {|Toni Braxton|}'s departure from {|Arista|}, her longtime label. It was a stormy relationship that ended with the fast death of 2002's fine {|More Than a Woman|}. Only one {|Neptunes|}-produced single was spun off from it, which peaked somewhere in the eighties of the Hot 100. Half a year after the album's release, {|Braxton|} was off {|Arista|} and on the {|Universal|}-distributed {|Blackground|}, but {|Libra|} didn't surface until fall of 2005. (Granted, {|Braxton|}'s no stranger to protracted gaps in her release schedule.) {|Libra|} offers no surprises. It's lean and balanced, just like all other {|Braxton|} albums, though too many songs are tepid and merely functional for background listening, so it winds up a safe distance from the likes of the self-titled debut and {|Secrets|}. {|Take This Ring,|} produced by {|Rich Harrison|}, adds some unexpected rambunctiousness, yet it's about one-tenth as exciting as {|Amerie|}'s like-sounding {|1 Thing|} (also {|Harrison|}'s work). Beyond the obvious single choices -- produced by big names like {|Scott Storch|} and {|Bryan-Michael Cox|} -- two songs handled by {|the Underdogs|}' {|Antonio Dixon|} ({|Sposed to Be|} and {|Finally|}) are as sublime and plush as any other pair in {|Braxton|}'s catalog. Although this is her spottiest album to date, her fans shouldn't have any trouble appreciating it. ~ Andy Kellman Music>Music>Soul>Soul>Soul, Empire Editions Core >3<