"Fire And Desire," Rick James & Teena Marie

[Deleted]

One of the greatest and biggest quiet storm staples ever.  Absolutely flawless love ballad.  It's one of the finest moments for the both of them.

Here's the All Music Guide review.

This remarkable duet with Teena Marie, for whom he’d written and produced the hit ”I’m a Sucker for your Love”, put a softer, more traditional R&B spotlight on punk-funker Rick James. One of the quieter interludes on 1981’s Street Life LP, ”Fire & Desire” allowed James to let spin his autobiographical story of a soured relationship, across this tender, smoldering, and ultimately heartbreaking ballad. From the spoken word interludes to the verses which showcase James’ absolutely outstanding vocal chops, the song barely needs the sparse instrumentation that revolves around a deep bass line and strings. And that’s all before the underrated Marie even opens her mouth. Once she does, though, she provides a delicious counterpoint to James’s style, which is unimpeachable.

[Nick]

One of the best duets ever.

Awesome delivery by Teena.

[Luckie Starchild]

Classic! I don't know whether this hit the Billboard chart... was it released as a commercial single?

Joshie -- I expect you to have the answer for me. :)

[Deleted]

Actually I had to just go back and edit. This wasn't a #1 R&B hit. In fact, it was never even released as a single. :o

[real2reel]

I love it

[reception]

Here's a clip.

[Soulsista]

Classic duet!

[Ling-Ling]

I won't argue that this is a classic. Clearly it's a quiet storm staple.

That being said, I think this is one of the most overrated songs of all time. I absolutely hate it. It just drags on and on and I think Teena Marie sounds like shit on it. A screechy wobbly mess. And don't even get me started on their "CLASSIC" BET Awards performance, DYING. It's exactly what it would look like if my aunt and uncle got drunk at a family reunion and started singing it.

[Dreams]

It's wonderful. One of the best, most soulful duets of all time, up there with the likes of "With You I'm Born Again," "Don't Look Any Further," "I Just Can't Stop Loving You" etc. I love that it's so long and both of their vocal performances are so... real and commanding.

I also love their other duet "The Once And Future Dream".

[B-Boy]

I love this song. Classic duet.

[Caviar]

The BET Awards performance is absolutely epic.

[Agent Yoncé]

Jul 15, 2014 11:58:52 GMT -5 Caviar said:

The BET Awards performance is absolutely epic.

For all the wrong reasons, IMO. Nonetheless, the song is still beautiful to this day. An undeniable R&B staple.

[Glove Slap]

Never forget. Kinda strange that 10 years later they've both been gone for a while already.

I like this song, but there's several others from both that I'd easily rank above this.

[Soulsista]

I love it!

[Live Your Life]

As already stated in this thread, an absolute classic.

And speaking of their BET Awards performance, the moment that came after it was even more epic.

[Deleted]

I miss Teena so much. One of my all time favs. :'(

[#LisaRinna]

That performance was a mess.org but this song is a classic.

[🇯🇲 lucy88 🇯🇲]

Love it. Great song to slow dance to. Reminds me of something Teddy Pendergrass would record.