Review: R&B star Babyface packs a remarkable 39 songs and a subtle Prince tribute into 100 minutes

That may have been some kind of record. Babyface, the 1990s R&B star and uber-producer behind hits for Whitney Houston, Eric Clapton and Boyz II Men, performed a remarkable 39 songs in 100 minutes on Friday night at sold-out Mystic Lake Casino Showroom.

Compare that to 39 numbers in 105 minutes by Janet Jackson in June at Xcel Energy Center.

That’s quite an impressive number for Babyface, especially considering he recorded only four No. 1 R&B songs himself. But he’s a smart packager and producer both in the studio and onstage. And he put on a heartwarmingly cuddly show that proved that Green Day, Red Hot Chili Peppers and Alanis Morissette have nothing on him this year when it comes to ‘90s nostalgia on a Twin Cities concert stage.

Last seen in Minneapolis as an opening act for New Edition in 2016, Babyface opened Friday with a video parody of Nicole Kidman’s welcome to movie theaters, telling us why we go to concerts — to love, to cry, to care. Then he hit the stage in a sparkly rhinestone patterned jacket and his trademark sunglasses. But the shades were gone midway through the opening “Every Time I Close My Eyes.”

Babyface is a smoothie who figured out a way to spice up a ballad-heavy repertoire with sequined-clad dancers, guitar and saxophone solos, old photos and video clips, back stories about a couple of superstars, and quick-changing medleys of the hits he produced and/or penned for others.

In fact, more than half the material arrived in medleys. A 16-song, 19-minute marathon covered smashes Babyface created with men including Johnny Gill, After 7 and especially Bobby Brown, whose “Don’t Be Cruel” and “Every Little Step” added some much-needed liveliness to the evening.

Next came a seven-song, four-minute medley of mostly choruses of hits Babyface crafted for women including Toni Braxton, Mary J. Blige and TLC. The women didn’t deserve such a short shrift. It would have helped if Babyface had at least one female backup singer to join his three male vocalists.

At least, Madonna’s “Take a Bow” and Houston’s “Why Does It Hurt So Bad” got full treatments. And Babyface told quick anecdotes about both singers, as well as himself.

While trying to catch his breath between selections, he admitted that, at 66, he’s feeling his age because he’s “Babyface, not baby body.”

The nickname was bestowed upon young-looking, Indianapolis-reared Kenneth Edmonds by bass superstar Bootsy Collins when dealing with the newcomer’s band, the Deele, in the ‘80s. Since then, Babyface has amassed an admirable résumé that includes working on more than 100 Top 10 hits, 25 No. 1 R&B songs and seven No. 1 pop hits and winning 13 Grammy Awards.

On Friday, on acoustic guitar, Babyface played the first song he’d ever written, “Wit You,” a short, simple, repetitious effort by a sixth grader. Backed by three singers and five instrumentalists (including a left-handed bassist and, like Babyface, a left-handed guitarist), he also delivered his swooning, harmony-happy Boyz II Men triumphs “I’ll Make Love to You” and “End of the Road.”

Amid all the fanfare, Babyface was perhaps best on his acoustic guitar, playing the pretty, yearning “When Can I See You” and the plaintive, yearning 1997 Clapton hit “Change the World.” Near the end of the latter, Babyface switched to a rhinestone-encrusted electric guitar for a brief, roaring rave-up that included a taste of Prince’s “Let’s Go Crazy,” one of the most subtle tributes to the Purple One in his hometown by a visiting star.