Straight From the Heart

Personnel: Pebbles (vocals); Peaches, K-Axe (rap vocals); Mario Winans (various instruments); Peter Moore (acoustic guitar); Tony Rich (guitar, organ, Vocoder, keyboards, drum programming, background vocals); Tomi Martin (guitar); Chucky Thompson (strings, horns, keyboards, drums); McKinley Horton (piano); Kenneth Wright (organ, keyboards); Kyle West, Joe Rich (keyboards, drums); Organized Noize (keyboards, drum programming); Armando Colon (keyboards); Richbourg (bass, drums); LeMarquis "Marq" Jefferson, Tony Cunningham, Preston Crump (bass); Tony "T-Bone" Hightower (drums); Ancel Dewberry (programming); 5Fifty5 Crew, Debra Killings, 4.0, Brenda Richie, Sleepy Brown, Marc Nelson, Tami Davis, Jason Sylvain, Aaron Reid (background vocals); Cherelle, Big Rube, Society Of Soul.
Producers include: Pebbles, Richbourg, Mario Winans, Sean "Puffy" Combs, Chucky Thompson.
Engineers include: Tom Cassel, Mike Wilson, John Frye.
Personnel: Pebbles (vocals).
Audio Mixer: Tom Cassel.
Pebbles was at the height of her career in the late '80s, when she was following in the footsteps of Paula Abdul as a lightweight dance-pop diva. For most of the early '90s, her career had suffered as R&B fashions changed, embracing a harder, hip-hop influenced sound. With Straight from the Heart, Pebbles attempts to fit into the sound of the mid-'90s and the results are surprisingly successful. Although Pebbles' voice has improved over the years, developing into a seductive, silky instrument, Straight from the Heart is more of a showcase for her producers (including Puffy Combs and Organized Noize) than the singer herself. Featuring elements of jazz, funk, and hip-hop, the record is a diverse and soulful catalog of contemporary R&B; even when the songwriting is weak, the record sounds first-rate. Straight from the Heart may not have any single as strong as "Mercedes Boy," but it ranks among Pebbles' most consistent efforts. ~ Stephen Thomas Erlewine