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List Price: $9.98 | | Label: Mca
Salesrank: 52019
Released: October 25, 1990 |
| Our Price: $10.29 |
| Used Price: $0.25 |
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| Media: Audio CD |
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The Lover in Me Track Listing:
1. No Deposit, No Return
2. Lover in Me
3. Follow My Rainbow
4. Without You
5. If It's Meant to Last
6. Days Like This
7. One Love
8. 101
9. Cool Love
10. Fire and Rain
The Lover in Me Reviews:
Outstanding Late 80's Music 
2006-04-30 - This was one of my favorite albums when I was growing up. I will always be a fan of the mid to late 80's Urban Contemporary albums (beginning most likely with Jeffrey Osborne's 1986 "Emotional" and culminating with Lisa Stansfield 1990 "Affection") This was one that strangely flew under the radar. A lot of people think this is pop fluff or 80's crap, but I ask you, why is it still so soulful and interesting 18 years later?? I think this music is still very futile and seeringly good. Out-of-Print or not, this is stilla pretty easy one to find, and worth seeking out, as the entire CD is full of great songs. Here is my track by track of the album
1)No Deposit, No Return: This should have done the same if not better business that the upcoming title track. It had a lot more punch, grit and vocal power than "The Lover in Me," not to mention the keys played exquisitely with the synths and the funky background vocals. My first and favorite pick of this album.
2)The Lover In Me: The #2 pop, #3 R&B smash that was saturated on pop and urban radio summer 1988. A great tune, with flare and a sexy vocal. Like I said, not as strong as track 1, but just as noble an attempt. A lot of fun and extremely danceable.
3)Follow My Rainbow: Used so prominently thru Sheena's stint on Miami Vice. There she gave a very touching performance as Sonny Crocketts 7 week pregnant wife, and performed this one live on the show. It was a touching scene, made all the more heartbreaking when she is murdered after performing this gem of an 80's slow jam. A powerhouse ballad to be reckoned with, that has aged very gracefully
4)Without You: The slowest uptempo song on the record. Not really in the same league as the rest of the album, but a pretty song, kind of a cooldown nearing the end of the first half of the record. Cute song, with a nice soulful chorus.
5) If It's Meant To Last: The most poppy track on the whole record. Fun, really fast, but cute all the same, and all about what you should do if u really want it to last...love that is...
6)Days Like This: One of the more boring L.A. and Babyface tracks, this one incorporates a tinkly sounding wedding march, with a hard pap of a drum beat. There isn't really much wrong on this track besides that its a little cheeky, and boring.
7)One Love: The song with a guest appearance! This one features the Hot off A Hit band The Deele (remember the classic Two Occasions) shouting out a chant and singing backup to the scottish chanteuse. This one runs a little bit longer than it should, but its still a good song.
8) 101: That sneaky Prince. He takes credit for this immaculate production, then in the writing credits himself as Joey CoCo. This is one of Mr. Nelson's most beautiful compositions, and has a great meloncholy premise, mixed with dusky beats and amazing vocals. Pristine
9)Cool Love: Kind of like Prince's early attempt at Hip-Hop, a sweet Kooky love song, with some vocals done quietly by prince in the mix. Good one, used to be my fave, but good is still good!!
10)Fire and Rain: A beautiful quiet storm ballad, that should still be played today, a very pretty Angela Winbush production, she had skills back in the 80s, and made beautiful music with her now ex husband Ronald Isley...he left her for one of the members of So-So 2000 R&B Throwaways JS, but we won't go there, he left a genius and this is one of her masterpieces...still very breathtaking to this day
This album had the hit producers of the day, a great bunch of sexy pics to check out, and a track listing that was just undeniable...to some this is a throwaway, to me this is her best work since "For Your Eyes Only" and the first and only real 100% testament to how good Sheena is in the right setting. R&B was the best sound for her, and besides a few track with Prince, this is the only document left. Get this and cherish it for the classic it should have been!
Great Music 
2006-02-28 - I've been looking to purchase this CD for some time now. When I first bought it, I owned a Walkman, and didn't even think about CD's then. Of course when I thought about what parts of my collection to restock, the Lover in Me crossed my mind.
What I love about this CD is that I am a huge fan of LA Reid and Babyface's productions. Lover In Me was but one of the CD's they collaborated on in the late 1980's. Reid and Face did the bulk of the production. There are also tracks produced by Prince, Angela Winbush ("Fire and Rain" is awesome!), and Jellybean.
There are many standout songs, and some that blend in. I like the Jellybean song the least (If It's Meant To Last). It isn't a terrible song, but it didn't move me .
Standout songs for me are, No Deposit No Return, Lover in Me, Follow My Rainbow, Days Like This, 101, Cool Love, and Fire and Rain.
I feel this is a great CD because I still want to hear the songs after all the years that have passed.
For the Sheena Easton lover in all of us ...
2005-02-19 - "The Lover in Me" was released in December of 1988, and for a minute there it looked as if the 2nd phase of Sheena Easton's career was going to bear fruit. It was a good idea that didn't really pan out.
In the last three years or so of the 1980s, "R&B" music was becoming less and less obscure, and was being thrust into the mainstream pop scene. After 7 generic pop albums, the final 2, of which, were poorly received, Sheena signed with a new label, in this case MCA, and sexed up her image and sound. "The Lover in Me" features that "new" R&B sound. Unfortunately, however, it was widely considered contrivance, as Sheena was merely jumping onto a bandwagon (which isn't her fault because she had NO control over her career at this point).
Contrivance or not, many of the songs are very glossy, exquisitely produced, and are a lot of fun. There were 4 singles: "The Lover in Me," "Days Like This," "101," (written by Prince) and "No Deposit, No Return." Sadly, "The Lover in Me" was the only hit, and it charted all the way up at #2 pop. "Days Like This" and "101" were hits on the R&B chart, but "No Deposit, No Return" was dead on arrival.
As usual, we get the standard Sheena Easton fare, from the danceable and catchy "If it's Meant to Last," to the adult-contemporary-friendly "Without You," to the tender ballads "Follow My Rainbow" and the sexy "Fire and Rain." Sex is a big key with this album. Sheena's vocals were always sleek and seductive, and this time the seductiveness is shoved right out front for all the world to witness (and if you look at the cover of the album you'll see exactly what I mean: the "hot" late 80s perm, the "hot" red dress, the "hot" red lips, the "hot" cleavage).
As usual, my favorite song is one of the singles that didn't chart very high, or in this case not at all, the Price-penned "101." This single song is everything Sheena had solidified throught the 1980s; it has a terrific, ominous beat; interesting, thoughtful, pondering lyrics; and, of course, Sheena's oustanding vocal, with sex thrown in for good measure. In this song, Sheena sings mostly in her lower-register, and this is something we don't hear very often.
Perhaps unfortunately, this album is NOT a reissue (because Sheena had signed with a different label, remember), so that means we don't get any bonus-previously-unreleased songs. It's interesting to wonder what else Sheena and the moneymakers at MCA might've come up with.
By the way, I mention a "2nd phase" in Sheena's career. This album was the first of that phase, and 1991's "What Comes Naturally" was the second.
Give it a listen
2004-07-07 - Fire & Rain is as good as a R&B soul ballad gets. Angela Winbush produced this cd and it gets as much soul as you can get out of Sheena Easton. Not a bad cd.
Pretty Good Effort
2004-01-22 - I'm a pretty big Sheena Easton fan so this review may be a bit biased, but I'll let you decide.
1) No Deposit No Return - It starts off well with the beat reminiscent of Word Up by Cameo; it's catchy but a bit long and Sheena unfortunately screeches a bit too much (sorry Sheena!). The beat wins out though. 3.5 out of 5
2) The Lover In Me - Fantastic dance song! 5 out of 5
3) Follow My Rainbow - This song was first featured on Miami Vice when Sheena guest-starred for a few episodes. Great power ballad! 4 out of 5
4) Without You - The weakest song on the album. Starts slow and builds to become a mediocre midtempo dance song. 1 out of 5
5) If It's Meant To Last - Very fast generic dance song. Sometimes I like it. Sometimes, I skip over it. 2.5 out of 5
6) Days Like This - Midtempo R&B song. Doesn't grab you right away like the title song, but good. 3.5 out of 5
7) One Love - Very much like a Pebbles song (in a very good way). Very slinky and sassy with Sheena letting the vocals rip without screeching (see comments on first track). 4.5 out of 5
8) 101 - Love this song! Sheena sings a duet with herself (in a way) alternating between her lower register and upper register. Very seductive vocals and music. 5 out of 5
9) Cool Love - Eeee! I'm Very cool on this song (actually cold). Too cutesy Prince for me. 2 out of 5
10) Fire & Rain - Lovely song with restrained vocals! Slowly paced without being boring. 4.5 out of 5
Overall, I give the album 3.5 out of 5. They should reissue the album with the dance remix of the title song and the instrumental versions of the singles from the album (hint hint).
