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Having created a creatively captivating yet commercially unfulfilling body of music during her stint on CTI in the late 1970's,Patti Austin emerged as an enormous vocal powerhouse on songs such as "Something Special" and especially the strong groove "Razzmatazz" on Quincy Jones' 1980 album The Dude. During that time "Q" created a joint project with Warner Brothers Records as a way in which to create his own pop/jazz/R&B roster of artists on a label referred to as Qwest. While it was George Benson's Give Me the Night that provided the Qwest label with its first release,it seemed that it needed a female touch to balance the concept out. With that talented session dream team of Toto's Steve Lukather along with keyboardists Bob James,Richard Tee and Greg Phillinganes along with Heatwave's capable and prolific songwriter/producer Rod Temperton Austin had a golden opportunity to showcase her vocal talents that,while on prominent display from being somewhat of a child star jazz vocalist,could've really used a stronger showcase as she had just entered her 30's. And that is when this album came along in 1981 which,if I have my history right was the Qwest label's second album release. "Do You Love Me" is a mildly new wave synthesizer charged adult contemporary dance number-whose strong guitar groove and well crafted melody made it a strong contender for all around success. "Love Me To Death" is one of my personal favorites here. It's a bubbling,sexy sophistifunk type number not all that dissimilar to a female perspective on Michael Jackson's "Rock With You"-not to mention having one of the thickest high bass lines I've ever heard as well as making use of Patti's lower vocal register. "The Way I Feel" as well as "Stop,Look And Listen" both share an upbeat pop/funk type sound,again in the vein of a lower key Michael Jackson of the same period with that important balance of hope and ennui integral to the blues/jazz tradition of lyricism. The title has a sleek adult contemporary soul production of an almost country-pop type song on which Austin confidently offers a potential suitor a happy home...with her in it. Of course there's "Baby Come To Me",the duet with James Ingram this album is most known for. I actually forgot what a funky,grooving slow jam this actually is. "The Genie" finds Austin in an implicitly sexual mood-using the title as a metaphor for physical desire to a danceable pop/funk number using a snake charmer type sound on the intro. "Symphony Of Love" explores a slick reggae rhythm while my favorite "Oh No,Margarita"-a very funky Brazilian jazz number written in part by Austin herself,finds her warning a girlfriend about a man who is not exactly for her. The closer "The Island" goes far deeper into the Brazilian jazz approach with some wonderfully percussive playing from all the instrumental participants and Patti's addition of some sensuous vocalese. One of the qualities I heard often about Patti Austin is that the fact that her voice lends itself so well to a diverse array of musical styles isn't always to her favor-as many writers/producers simply seem to heave their own unwanted material upon her.For his part Quincy and Rod Temperton manage to play to Austin's vocal eclecticism here while also providing her with a completely even instrumental backing. In many basic ways,this album has a somewhat similar intent to Michael Jackson's iconic Thriller album: to reach out to a diverse music buying audience while completely satisfying the creative signatures of the artist themselves. While exploring modern dance grooves and even country to some degree, this albums musical diversification does actually lay quite a bit more within the jazz idiom (that includes funk) more often than not. Which makes sense because that is the origin point of Austin's vocal talents. In that respect? This is just about as ideal as Patti Austin's debut for the then very new record label could possibly manage to be.