Every now and again you'll find a singer whose interpretative gifts mesh perfectly with the producer or songwriter at hand. Such magic can be found when Toni takes on one of Babyface's acoustic-based, almost-folky pop tunes. "Let it Flow," "There's No Me Without You," and "Why Should I Care" are all gorgeous ballads with acoustic guitars in the forefront and the heat set on slow-burn, and Toni more than rises to the challenge. Of course, these songs were all solely written and produced by Babyface, so the argument may be made that the artistic vision isn't truly Toni's. The final audio result, however, is truly fantastic.

Unfortunately, R. Kelly doesn't serve Braxton as well; Babyface and Toni often seem two halves of the same whole, while R. Kelly's composition "I Don't Want To," which he also produced, merely sounds like Toni singing along to an R. Kelly karaoke tape. And even Babyface can fall short now and then, proven on the sleepy ballad appropriately titled "In the Late of Night." "Unbreak My Heart," however, is one of the rare moments in R&B that manages to build a bridge to pop and still maintain soul in the recording. No shock that this soaring ballad sealed Toni's then-pending true crossover success.

Even more of a payoff comes when Toni tries something new, as is found on "You're Makin Me High," a hardcore-esque number that boasts lyrics as hard as its groove, and "Talking in My Sleep," a scorcher of a ballad that finds Toni purring her verses in spoken word form. But the main focus here is on achieving classic, romantic soul moments, and in that sense Toni Braxton's "Secrets" is a home-run.


I JUST LOVE THIS CD   December 5, 2002
Javier Lopez (Peru)
12 out of 14 found this review helpful

I bought this album back in 1997 and actually I don't know why i bought it I think that was that I saw on cable the "you're making me high" video and I saw in a store and bought it.
This album is amazing the lyrics are beautiful, there's no a song that I don't like, the rhythms are very good also and besides that I like this album it was one of the biggest hits of 1997 with song such as: "you're making me high" (my own favorite) the song did it to #1 in the Hot 100, Hot R&B song and Club dance charts another hit and maybe Toni's biggest song "un-break my heart" is also in this album "Un-break" became also a #1, another great song is the soft "how could an angel break my heart" were features Kenny G.
Here's also one song from the 1996 hit soundtrack "waiting to exhaale" the song is "let it flow". Actually I love all the ssongs in this album from the first one "come on over here" until "I the late of night".
This album won 3 or 4 Grammy awards (I'm not sure about the amount)and sold over 10 million copies worldwide.


Toni!, Toni!, Toni!   April 12, 2000
J. Highsmith (Mitchellville, Maryland United States)
13 out of 16 found this review helpful

I remember buying this CD the day it came out. Her first CD was already a classic so I expected the same from her sophomore release. On her first CD, Toni had a combination of slow songs, midtempo grooves, and uptempo grooves. After hearing the single, "You're Makin' Me High" I expected the album to be more of the same just like her first CD. After the CD was over, I was impressed by the way Toni Braxton presented different tales of slow jams. On "Secrets" Toni Braxton had a lot more producers than she did on the first CD. Babyface and L.A. Reid did most of the work on the first CD, but on "Secrets" there's more of a variety, which doesn't hurt the CD at all. Babyface, this time around is actually working by himself, without his business partner L.A. Reid. The best examples of Toni's slow jam presentation are "There's No Me Without You" which is produced by Babyface, "Talking in his Sleep", "I Don't Want To", and "Un-Break My Heart". This is a great CD for anyone that likes slow jams or ballads. If you are a fan of more uptempo and midtempo songs this might not be the CD for you. Her first CD might be a better recommendation.


amazing r&b/jazzy/soft rock album   December 31, 2006
3 out of 3 found this review helpful

I bought this album sometime after Unbreak My Heart was released, I was about 13. I thought it was one of the best albums I owned and it's aged really nicely too. I still listen to it time to time when relaxing. She may have played it safe with her sophomore album by working with hot r&b producers like babyface, r.kelly and tony rich, but it really works. The ballads are beautiful and smoky hot and her voice blends into the music so beautifully. A lot of singles were released from this album from 1996 through 1997, some of which were just released to radio while others had music videos. I remember her getting a lot of billboard, ama and grammy awards at the time in her revealing dresses, and her being the talk of the award shows the next day at school. Another memory is the remix of you're making me high that had a reggae/hip hop vibe to it. Just be warned that this CD doesn't really have any fast tracks, it's mostly soft, jazzy r&b ballads.


I like this CD just as much now as I did back in '97   August 2, 2005
Andrew Brooks (Carson, California)
3 out of 3 found this review helpful

When it comes to modern music I'm a hard sell...I much prefer older music (sixties/seventies/eighties--I'm 21 at the time of this review) but there are some exceptions. Toni Braxton is one of those.

I saw the music video for "You're Makin' Me High" in 1996 when I was thirteen. I became intrigued. Then "Un-break my Heart" came out on music video, and I loved the song. Emotional, expressive, poetic...the exact characteristics I look for in music.

"Secrets" is an awesome album. My fave songs in order are "You're Makin' Me High," "Un-break My Heart, "Let It Flow", "Come Over Here", and "How Could An Angel Break My Heart." If you're a Braxton fan, get this CD. It's awesome.