René & Angela

The 1980s R&B duo René & Angela had the kind of recording career that makes life difficult for the compilers of anthologies. Initially signed to Capitol Records (the catalog of which is controlled by the major label EMI), they released three albums, René & Angela (1980), Wall to Wall (1981), and Rise (1983), which produced a stream of singles, seven of which reached the R&B charts, but only one, 1983's "My First Love," hit the Top Ten. Then they moved to Mercury Records (the catalog of which is controlled by the major label Universal), where they broke through to mass success with the gold-selling album Street Called Desire, which spawned five R&B chart entries, four of which hit the Top Five with two reaching number one. Shortly after, they broke up. The two major labels have never cooperated on a René & Angela best-of, so there is no single-disc compilation of their most popular recordings. This discount-priced album, part of a Capitol Records series of identically titled releases, doesn't change anything. Among its 12 selections, it contains the duo's nine Capitol singles, plus three album tracks, in more or less chronological order. Ten of these tracks turned up on Capitol's full-priced, 14-track 1996 best-of (the exceptions being the non-chart singles "Can't Give You Up" and "Keep Runnin'"). You can't accuse Capitol of deliberate deception, since there is a track listing on the back cover. But consumers don't keep as close track of what labels performers record for as the labels themselves do, and lacking some sort of disclaimer, it still will be easy for people to be fooled. Indeed, Capitol must be counting on it. Otherwise, why put out a compilation (make that two) on an act that had only one Top Ten hit on the label? ~ William Ruhlmann, All Music Guide