Breathe for Toni...

Pulse (2010) - Toni Braxton

For most, the last memorable Toni Braxton album would have been "The Heat" from 2000. There was "More Than A Woman" in 2002 and "Libra" in 2005, but from an Australian point of view, "Woman" got a limited release whilst "Libra" never made it to the stores.

Touted as one of the stronger forces of the 90's, although not half as prolific, with the two albums that she had, she managed to make massive impact on the charts.

Fast forward to 2010, at the age of 42, with the last decade passing by without a proper hit, it was always going to be interesting to see what she comes up with. Countless leaks and album push backs later, "Pulse" finally hit the stores this month, even in Australia.

In this day and age, it's a brave move to release an album consisting of only 11 tracks, although the release of a deluxe edition may lead one to think it's a marketing gimmick.

From what I have collected, there's no less than 21 proper album tracks + 2 remixes of "Yesterday" that's included or had been in contention to be released on the album, at some point in time.

"Yesterday" is by far the most memorable and stand out track, so it wasn't hard to see why it was the lead single, sounding a bit like a Ryan Tedder production, which seems to be the flavour at the moment as far as ballads go, it's that unmistakable voice that sets the song apart.

The album doesn't break any new grounds, just what Toni sounds like when she was at her best, a collection of ballads mixed in with a few uptempos with the sound of the 90's, being ever present.

From the actual album, stand out tracks include:
Yesterday, Hands Tied, If I Have To Wait, Why Don't You Love Me.

From the left overs and deluxe editions:
Not A Chance, Stay, It's You, I Hate Love.

Judging from the sales predictions, Toni may not have secured the sales that she was after, despite countless TV performances left right and centre, but it was nice and refreshing to see some proper talent doing the rounds.

Welcome back Toni Braxton, I've been missing you since "Secrets" and "The Heat".

Tracklist:
01 Yesterday
02 Make My Heart
03 Hands Tied
04 Woman
05 If I Have To Wait
06 Lookin At Me
07 Wardrobe
08 Hero
09 No Way
10 Pulse
11 Why Don't You Love Me
US Itunes Deluxe Edition
12 Yesterday (Remix) Featuring Trey Songz
13 Stay
14 Rewind
15 The Wave
16 Caught (Don't Take Your Hat Off) Featuring Mo'Nique