Tender Lover is the second studio album by American R&B singer-songwriter and musician Babyface. It is the follow-up to his debut Lovers (1986). It was his first album with SOLAR (Sound of Los Angeles Records) after the label entered into a distribution deal with Epic Records. Tender Lover is notable for being one of the recordings where the album tracks received more attention than the singles released in the Quiet Storm radio format.

It's a tribute to Bobby Caldwell's consummate songwriting skills that his three original compositions – including the previously recorded, melancholy would-be classic "Stuck on You" – fit in perfectly alongside standards by the likes of Cole Porter and Sammy Cahn/Jimmy Van Heusen on the very tradition-minded Blue Condition. Best known for easygoing R&B-flavored adult pop vocals, Caldwell reaches back and superimposes himself in front of lively big-band arrangements that recall classic Frank Sinatra, Tony Bennett and Bobby Darin recordings. He never approaches those idols in terms of vocal distinction, but that doesn't seem to be his point. He's more reflecting upon his inspirations than trying to emulate them, rewarding longtime fans with the sort of artistry they suspected might exist all along. The uninitiated, however, might enjoy all the surrounding pleasantries and wonder why we need another guy out there doing classics when he clearly doesn't measure up to those standards vocally.

Argentinean Alberto Ginastera was among the most successful mid-twentieth century composers in retaining the populist accessibility of his early works while incorporating elements of serialism as his style developed. His later works may not have the hummable melodies or propulsive rhythmic drive of his early period, but they have a comparable dramatic logic and emotional directness, which give them an immediate appeal. His two cello concertos, written in 1968 and 1981, are clearly "modernist" works of his late period, but they are warmly lyrical, intensely dramatic, and orchestrated with intriguing inventiveness. In their slow sections, they are also prime examples of the mysterious, gorgeously evocative atmospherics of which Ginastera was a master throughout his career.