Pebbles - Always (1990)

Pebbles followed her self-titled LP with Always, which went gold and spawned two number one R&B hits, the gritty "Giving You the Benefit" and the fluttering Pebbles/Babyface duet ballad "Love Makes Things Happen." Salt-N-Pepa appear on the pumping smash "Backyard." The lovely ballad "Always" features her cousin Cherrelle and broke the R&B Top 20. The urgent "Say a Prayer for Me" is a lyrical snapshot of '80s-era ills. Other standouts are "Give It to Me," the ethereal ballad "Why Would I Believe," and the sweet, bouncy "Stay With Me." Some tracks from Always are on Pebbles' Greatest Hits released by Hip-O/Universal on April 25, 2000 and Heart of Soul [Polygram] issued in January 2000.~Ed Hogan