Cherrelle Album: “Affair”

Complete powerhouse of a singer. How did Cherelle miss being a mega superstar??

This is by far her best album. Strong vocals thumping beats make it hard to stand still. She jumps from funk to sweetness without missing a beat.

Hard to find CD is worth the extra $$$$.

The "Affair" album was one the very first CDs I ever bought! Well, it was the very first CD I ever bought that wasn't Classical or Baroque music. I played this disc over and over and over again in my apartment on Darling Street, off Toorak Road in South Yarra. Between this and my CDs of Handel's "Belshazzar" and the Parrott recording of Schütz's Christmas Historia, I must have driven my neighbours mad! And confused them, too!

I already had "High Priority" on LP and a bunch of 33cm singles by Cherrelle and Alexander O'Neal and I was a total Jimmy Jam & Terry Lewis nut. Hearing their work on CD with such high quality sound was a special event for me.

This album was the one I listened to early on Saturday night when I was getting ready to go out - while I was showering, doing my hair and getting my black linen double breasted padded-shouldered suit ironed! The best part of the night!

I hope that this CD is re-released with the original cover and artwork. It was all perfection at the time and it still looks great.

Viva Cherrelle!

I first purchased this album when it originally came out, in 1988, in the form of a cassette. However, at the time we could not have known that Jimmy Jam and Terry Lewis would completely make us forget about it in September, 1989 when Janet Jackson released RHYTHM NATION 1814. Cherrelle's AFFAIR possesses the same fire, the same energy, the same funkiness that RHYTHM NATION did, but it was by no means as huge as that CD was. Was it the fact that because of Janet being a Jackson, her album got more airplay, or because Cherrelle was more popular in the R&B genre, whereas Janet was both a pop AND R&B artist? I believe it was the latter. But make no mistake...in no way, shape or form is AFFAIR inferior to RHYTHM NATION. Like Janet's album, the Jam and Lewis written and produced tracks on AFFAIR have a theme running throughout it: a relationship from beginning to end that is kept a secret.

It starts out with "Looks Aren't Everything", which is sort of a fiery reprisal of her previous hit, "You Look Good To Me" and each song that follows it shows a different stage in the relationship. After going through being picked up, discreet, satisfaction about what is going on between these two people, recognizing that eventually something that is too good to last eventually ends, the pain that is felt and the unfaithful person comes back "Home". Included is Cherrelle's first #1 R&B solo hit, "Everything I Miss At Home", a soft jazz-like cut that was kind of out of the ordinary for the material that Jam and Lewis produced for her. It also features some background assistance from Cherrelle's famous duet partner on the hit "Saturday Love", Alexander O'Neal, who was equally popular during this time with his work with Jam and Lewis. Alexander appears throughout this CD, most notably ad-libbing on "Discreet" and the duet which scored another hit single, "Keep It Inside". The remaining tracks ("Foolin' Around", "My Friend", "Crazy", "Lucky") were co-written by Cherrelle and slightly differs from the sound that she had perfected with Jam and Lewis, but they are sweet and romantic ballads that are enjoyable to listen to.

I recently purchased AFFAIR again on CD after hearing "Everything I Miss At Home" on the radio and remembered just how good it was. If you have never brought any of Cherrelle's material and are a fan of Jam and Lewis' sound, then this is an absolute must to get! Listen and enjoy.

This is clearly one of my most fun cd's that I have had the pleasure to indulge in! When I'm in a cd funk, this is one of my fallbacks that I pop in until something new comes along. To me, this was one of Cherrelle's strongest pieces of work, both in music and vocals! I have my favorites, but why bother naming them when I always run the entire disc thru? That Jimmy Jam & Terry Lewis combo will always be one of my favorites and the work they did with Cherrelle on this album will always be classic. ALWAYS AND FOREVER LOVING THIS!!! (Note: I know I used the word "always" a lot...and I don't care. This is the cd to have, especially if you're a Cherrelle fan.)

The special thing about "Affair" is that it represents Cherrelle's very first #1 R&B hit, "Everything I Miss at Home" courtesy of Jimmy Jam & Terry Lewis' Flyte Tyme Productions. Hot on the heels of her sophomore CD, "High Priority," which featured her almost #1 hit, "Saturday Love," Cherrelle got back in the studio and really got down! From the beautiful aforementioned first single to the second single in the title cut, this CD kicks out one jam after another.

If you enjoyed "Fragile" and "High Priority," you'll no doubt enjoy "Affair." It's sad that her association with Flyte Tyme was so shortlived because it's apparent that Jimmy & Terry would have had many, many more years of hits with her after this, her last real GOOD CD.

If you dig the Minneapolis sound that Flyte Tyme is famous for, you'll LOVE this! If you're a TRUE Cherrelle fan, why not check out "Ladies Night Out," which features Cherrelle, Jean Carne and Shirley Jones all LIVE doing their own segments on one CD. It should be available here on Amazon as well. It's incredible! :-)