Toni Braxton - Pulse (Advance Review) (2010)

No matter how big an act they are there is something mysterious that happens to artists and their labels once a talent turns thirty, or at least is forced to admit it, and the curiosity lasts until the artist hits their forties, when they are considered a vet and jazz, gospel, covers and a new comeback adventurism is allowed. As we speak, this phenomenon is happening to Usher and it will be interesting to see if it happens to Beyonce when in two years, she supposedly turns 30. It happened to multi-Grammy Award-winning Toni Braxton after the double-platinum The Heat (some might argue it happened after the 20 million-seller Secrets). Back then, Braxton's record label suddenly had no idea how to market her and the material began to suffer from trend chasing, a nearly always disastrous decision. Despite the fact that Braxton was every bit as vital and talented as she was in her 20s, only Las Vegas seemed to understand what to do with one of the best selling R&B females of all times.

Now Braxton's on the other side, back with a throbbing Pulse, after losing nearly an entire decade because of sub-par songs and bewildering branding of Braxton as a sex kitten at a time when the lady was well known to the world as a maturing wife, mother, and a spokesperson for autistic children and their affected families. Hopefully, Atlantic will have a better approach; they already have a better album.

Pulse is better. Better than the dismally depressing Libra and the wildly uneven More Than A Woman. Braxton even dares to sing more in her alto, abandoning the tenor she's been favoring on those BlackGround and latter-day LaFace/Arista releases. Babyface isn't behind the boards to make another double-diamond Toni Braxton or Secrets, but with exciting new producers like Lucas Secon (Jordan Sparks, Pussycat Dolls), Frank E (Madonna, Nelly Furtado) and Chuck Harmony (Chrisette Michele, John Legend) and old-timers like Harvey Mason Jr. and Troy Taylor, the 42 year old Braxton may have finally found her new groove.

That groove is a dance jam when the project works on all cylinders. The second single, the Chicago house inspired "Make My Heart" debuted on Wendy Williams and on the Maddscientist's 808 club banger, "The Wave."  Even the totally contemporary "Looking at Me" is a welcome dose of head-bobbing fun. Pulse may be the first Toni Braxton album that has not just one or two, but several bouncy car jams ready to jumpstart a dreary day. Here Braxton ably competes against the Beyonces and Rihannas of the world, though the question will be how much audiences are looking to see Braxton, who's always been more the girl next door than the diva vixen labels have made her, dance around onstage.

To ensure Braxton diehards stay on board, there are plenty of ballads here, including the projected third single "Hands Tied," a hooky synth heavy track readymade for urban AC. Unfortunately, the sameness in tone of some of the ballads and mid-tempo grooves like "Wardrobe" almost threaten to drag things back down to the days of Libra. The saving grace for these conservative made-for-radio cuts is that the writing is nearly back to the esteemed levels that made Braxton a star in the first place, particularly on power ballads like the title track, Chuck Harmony's sunshine trip on "It's You," and the inventive sultriness of "Clockwork." Over time, even the original version of "Yesterday" (sans Trey Songz) grows on as a rival to the big "Unbreak My Heart" days of song.

Between the much improved writing and the re-branding of Toni as a dance dame, a tried and true approach for the maturing female artist, Toni Braxton finally has another real shot at a hit album after years of living in the shadows of premature bloom. Together Braxton and Babyface may have been the perfect combination of singer and producer, and maybe the two recently flailing icons need each other to have the comeback their talents deserve. Until such time such a mythic reunion can be realized, Toni Braxton's Pulse proves that this singer's career still has a pulse, and it's a damn strong one too. Recommended.

By L. Michael Gipson