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By Gail Mitchell Fri Sep 7, 6:34 PM ET

LOS ANGELES (Billboard) - Returning after a two-year break with his 11th album, Kenny "Babyface" Edmonds signals a stylistic change of direction from R&B on "Playlist," which encompasses sensitive rock covers ranging from James Taylor's "Fire & Rain" to Jim Croce's "Time in a Bottle."

"Playlist" (September 18) is the first release under Island Def Jam Music Group's relaunched Mercury Records division, and it reunites Babyface and his former writing/production partner, IDJ chairman Antonio "L.A." Reid.

Q: So why does a hitmaking singer-songwriter do a covers album?

A: "I've always wanted to do an acoustic record, something leaning toward the 'When Can I See You' and 'Change the World' kind of ballads. But I was told by record companies to keep (my music) more contemporary R&B. I feel I did that a couple of times. Even though reaction was good, and I think I pulled it off as a musician, as an artist it wasn't necessarily all me. Playing acoustic songs on the guitar has always come naturally. I grew up doing that even more than doing the songs associated with being my thing."

Q: Moving from "Whip Appeal" (a hit single from his 1989 album, "Tender Lover") to covering Bob Dylan and others: Can your fans make the same switch?

A: "We should at least be daring and try something new, or what's the point? I picked songs I grew up listening to and liked by Dylan, James Taylor and others. They're not far away from who I am and who I became as a writer.

"Choosing to do this is opening doors that weren't necessarily closed but weren't all the way open. There's a potentially wider audience out there: an audience who may not have totally ignored me but haven't been able to get to me because of the music I've been doing. I'm not so R&B-sounding that I don't fit well into an AC (adult contemporary) format. And it's a format I'd like to reintroduce myself to because it's more of a buying audience."

Q: What's the hardest part about a covers album?

A: "Most of the time when someone covers a classic, it makes you want to hear the original version instead. So I had to make some artistic changes to make them a little more me. That's the hard part: trying to make a record people would want to listen to without it sounding like remixes. The key to that really comes down to the emotion of it. And that's how you want any record to work."

Q: You also wrote two original songs.

A: "I was a little anxious because, how were they going to stand up against the classics and not come off as just a move to get some publishing? I hadn't come up with anything. Then one day I was playing my guitar, thinking I had to write something vulnerable and very honest. The most vulnerable thing in my life was my divorce (Tracey Edmonds filed for divorce in 2006, after 14 years of marriage), but even more so as it relates to my kids -- how I wanted to reassure them that we were going to make it through everything. 'Not Going Nowhere' came fast and straight from the heart. 'The Soldier Song' grew out of a friend's son who had returned from Iraq and learned that a friend of his had been killed there."

Q: Has your songwriting process changed?

A: "I still write with the same intensity. I've been able to stay in the game because melody is always king. I don't hang out in the streets or clubs, so I don't know the hot phrases. Truth is, I didn't know the hot phrases when I was younger and supposed to know them. It's not always a question of being so hip or so ghetto to have an edge."

Q: You've worked with rockers Fall Out Boy and the 88. Are there more musical challenges on your radar?

A: "I've worked with Chrisette Michele, Keyshia Cole and Ashanti, and may do more R&B. But after writing with Rascal Flatts, I'd like to do more contemporary country. In many ways, it's today's pop music. It might have a twinge of country flavor but not a lot. It's really old pop music, and that's where I come from. Not writing just one type of music helps keep you on your toes. There's always more to learn."

Reuters/Billboard