Babies Makin' Babies 2: Misery Strikes Back

Now a series, Babies Makin' Babies takes a turn for the (emotional) worse on this set, once again selected shrewdly by ?uestlove. Since breakup songs tend not to work as baby-making material, the phrase "Misery Strikes Back ...... No More Babies" is attached to the title, just to let the listener know that there will be no expressions of devotion or bliss -- not that a scan of the song titles wouldn't be entirely indicative of the matter. The tone couldn't be set any better than with the Ohio Players' opening "Our Love Has Died," a bitter dirge if there ever was one, with spooky background vocals, mournful horns, and one of the most angrily dejected lines you will ever hear in a song: "The tombstone that I put on your finger must be razed." Ever the mixtape pro, ?uestlove then brings in a brief, misty-eyedBlackbyrds instrumental (from the soundtrack to the heartbreaking Cornbread, Earl and Me, a film that starred a very young Laurence Fishburne) to allow for a breather, and Betty Davis then enters with "Anti Love Song," where she abstains despite remaining every bitthe predator ("You know I'd make you drop your guard/'Cause I'd have you eatin' your ego/I'd make you pocket your pride"). While there are some well-known and oft-compiled selections, like Al Green's "How Can You Mend a Broken Heart?" and Bobby Womack's "That's the Way I Feel About 'Cha," they serve the theme of the compilation and ensure that the disc isn't seen purely as another crate-digging excursion. (Besides, they will always sound good, regardless of context.) "Our Love Has Died" excepted, D.J. Rogers' "If You Didn't Love Me (Don't Go Away)" is the deepest selection (it hasn't even appeared on either of his anthologies released to date), and it's also one of the disc's highlights, crossing the loose yet partially programmed sound of Sly & the Family Stone's There's a Riot Goin' On with early Hall & Oates. ?uestlove, who was tripped up by a number of licensing disputes and fell far from obtaining everything he wanted, still manages to present a strong and unique custom-made set. He devises another quiz in the liners, and if you score between 1-24, "Welcome to the tearodome, Newbie."