My Everything (Anita Baker album)

My Everything is the sixth studio album by American singer Anita Baker. It was released by Blue Note Records on September 7, 2004 in the United States. It was Baker's first album for the label and her first album of new material in ten years. For her comeback album, Baker wanted to be "in control" of everything, and once again teamed up with Barry J. Eastmond and George Duke. Kenneth "Babyface" Edmonds also contributed. Baker wrote or co-wrote eight of the album's ten tracks. The last track, "Men in My Life" was written for her then-husband and two sons.^[1]

My Everything
Studio album by Anita Baker
Released	September 7, 2004
Recorded	2003–2004 at Soup Can Studio (Detroit, MI); East Bay Music Studios (Tarrytown, NY); Conway Studios, Brandon's Way and Le Gonks West Studios (Hollywood, CA); The Village Recorder (Los Angeles, CA); Record One (Sherman Oaks, CA)
Genre	R&B, soul
Length	44:27
Label	Blue Note
Producer	Barry J. Eastmond Babyface
Anita Baker chronology
The Best of Anita Baker (2002) My Everything (2004) Christmas Fantasy (2005)
Singles from My Everything
"You're My Everything" Released: 2004 "How Does It Feel" Released: 2004

The album debuted at number four on the US Billboard 200 and reached the top of the Top R&B/Hip-Hop Albums chart, selling 132,000 copies in its first week.^[2] By May 2005, the album had sold 568,000 copies in the US and been certified Gold by the Recording Industry Association of America (RIAA).^[3]

Critical reception

Professional ratings

Review scores
Source	Rating
Allmusic	[1]
Entertainment Weekly	B[4]

According to the review aggregator Metacritic, My Everything received "generally favorable reviews" based on a weighted average score of 67 out of 100 from 8 critic scores.^[5] AllMusic editor Thom Jurek wrote that "some may be frustrated that, after such a long time, Baker doesn't push the envelope more stylistically. This may be true in terms of the material itself, but that's not necessarily a bad thing. Right down the line, Baker delivers on what she does best [...]. This is a worthy return, qualitatively standing head and shoulders above most everything else in its class."^[1] Beth Johnson, writing for Entertainment Weekly, remarked that "Baker picks up where she left off in '94. Granted, there isn't a monster hit on My Everything on par with her R&B; classics like "Sweet Love," but in these say-anything times it's next to revolutionary that she can whip her warm, luxurious voice into take-me-now passion while keeping it entirely."^[4]

Track listing

No.	Title	Writer(s)	Producer(s)	Length
1.	"You're My Everything"	Anita Baker Curtiss Boone Esther Ridgeway Gloria Ridgeway Gracie Ridgeway	Barry J. Eastmond	5:03
2.	"How Could You"	Baker Eastmond	Eastmond	4:21
3.	"In My Heart"	Baker Eastmond	Eastmond	5:06
4.	"Serious"	Dawn Thomas	Eastmond	5:25
5.	"How Does It Feel"	Baker Eastmond	Eastmond	4:24
6.	"Like You Used to Do"	Baker Eastmond Kenneth Edmonds	Babyface	5:11
7.	"Close Your Eyes"	Baker Eastmond	Eastmond	4:42
8.	"You're My Everything" (Revisited)	Baker Boone E. Ridgeway G. Ridgeway Ridgeway	Eastmond	1:12
9.	"I Can't Sleep"	Baker Jimmy Haslip Russell Ferrante Lori Perry William Kennedy	Eastmond	5:08
10.	"Men in My Life"	Baker	Eastmond	3:44

Personnel and credits

Musicians

• Anita Baker – vocals, backing vocals, arrangements (1-5, 7, 8, 10)
• Barry J. Eastmond – keyboards, percussion, backing vocals, arrangements (1-5, 7, 8, 10), horn arrangements (1, 9)
• George Duke – additional synthesizers, percussion
• Leo Colon – additional synthesizers
• Eric Rehl – additional synthesizers
• Russell Ferrante – acoustic piano (9), arrangements (9)
• Phil Hamilton – guitars
• Paul Jackson Jr. – guitars
• Robert Randolph – guitars
• Babyface – guitars (6), arrangements (6), backing vocals
• Gerald Albright – bass
• Alex Al – bass
• Nathan East – bass
• Reggie Hamilton – bass
• Jimmy Haslip – bass
• Ron Jenkins – bass
• Al Turner – bass
• Bernard Davis – drums
• Steve Ferrone – drums
• Will Kennedy – drums
• Ricky Lawson – drums
• Bashiri Johnson – percussion
• Rafael Padilla – percussion (6)
• Gary Bias – tenor saxophone (1, 9)
• Dan Higgins – baritone saxophone (1, 9), tenor saxophone (1, 9)
• Eric Marienthal – alto sax solo (9)
• Reggie Young – trombone (1, 9)
• Gary Grant – trumpet (1, 9)
• Jerry Hey – trumpet (1, 9), horn arrangements (1, 9)
• The Ridgeway Sisters – backing vocals (1), BGV arrangement (1)
• Gordon Chambers – backing vocals
• Perri – backing vocals
• Kenya Ivey – backing vocals (6)

Production

• Executive Producer – Anita Baker
• Producers – Barry J. Eastmond (Tracks 1-5 & 7-9); Babyface (Track 6); Anita Baker (Track 10).
• Engineers – Anita Baker, Dylan Dresdow, George Duke, Barry J. Eastmond, Allen Sides, Kevin Syzmanski and Ghian Wright (Tracks 1-5 & 7-10); Paul Boutin (Track 6).
• Assistant Engineers (Tracks 1-5 & 7-10) – Greg Burns, Jared Nugent, Kevin Syzmanski and Tom Wilber.
• Mixing – George Duke and Erik Zobler (Tracks 1-5 & 7-10); Jon Gass (Track 6).
• Mix Assistants – Stefaniah McGowan (Tracks 1-5 & 7-10); Edward Quesada (Track 6).
• Production Coordinator – Maria Eastmond
• Art Direction – Gordon H. Gee
• Design – Greenberg Kingsley
• Photography – Andrew Eccles
• Hair – Q
• Make-up – Reggie Wells
• Wardrobe – Evan Ross and Anita Baker
• Project Management – Shaneika D. Brooks

Charts

Weekly charts Chart (2004) Peak position Canadian Albums (Nielsen SoundScan)[6] 85 Canadian R&B Albums (Nielsen SoundScan)[7] 22 Dutch Albums (Album Top 100)[8] 89 Italian Albums (FIMI)[9] 29 US Billboard 200[10] 4 US Top R&B/Hip-Hop Albums (Billboard)[11] 1

Year-end charts Chart (2004) Position US Billboard 200[12] 179 US Top R&B/Hip-Hop Albums (Billboard)[13] 50

Certifications

Region	Certification	Certified units/sales
United States (RIAA)[14]	Gold	500,000^
^ Shipments figures based on certification alone.

See also

• List of number-one R&B albums of 2004 (U.S.)