Excellent work from Rene & Angela – the sweetly soulful duo who recorded some brilliant sides of modern soul at the start of the 80s! Most of Rene & Angela's work is long out of print – which makes this 12 track collection an essential way to start checking out their skills in the CD era. The selection of tracks is great – with a mix of uptempo groovers and some of the mellow bubbling numbers that set Rene & Angela apart from the rest of the post-Ashford & Simpson crowd. Titles include "Wall To Wall", "Secret Rendezvous", "Do You Really Love Me", "Turn It Out", "My First Love", "Keep Running", "Imaginary Playmates", and "I Love You More". CD

A bit late in the game for Rene & Angela, though they're still pumping out some classic 80s groove numbers, with Angela Winbush's flair for great songs. There's a few numbers here that are moving a bit too far into the commercial radio slow jam territory for our tastes, but there's a couple of nice sleepers too. Includes "Save Your Love (For #1)", "I'll Be Good", "No How-No Way", "You Don't Have To Cry", "Street Called Desire", "Your Smile", 'Who's Foolin' Who" and "Drive My Love". LP, Vinyl record album

A really wonderful album of polished 80s soul – a key effort from Angela Winbush after the breakup of Rene & Angela! Angela was one of the artists who reminded us throughout the 80s that underneath the gloss of the reigning production style of the day, solid songwriting still wins out – and here, in the years before she went on to help the Isleys revive their careers, she's stepping out as a proud solo act on her own. The more laid back numbers are the ones we're going for here, but Angela also does a respectable job with some of the more radio oriented material too. Titles include "It's The Real Thing", "Thank You Love", "Lay Your troubles Down", 'Please Bring Your Love Back", "Menage A Trois", "I've Learned To Respect (The Power Of Love)" and "I'll Never Be The Same". LP, Vinyl record album

24 tracks from Lionel Richie, Stephanie Mills, Freddie Jackson, Jermaine Jackson, Teddy Pendergrass, The Dramatics, Klymaxx, Rene & Angela, The Dells, Al Green, Peabo Bryson, Bobby Womack, The Isley Brothers, The New Birth, and more. CD

A pair of classic albums, served up here in a single set! First up is the sound of Angola, circa 1972 – served up here in a beautiful album of songs from Bonga! The music is relatively spare – mostly just lead acoustic guitar, bass, and percussion – the latter of which is played by Bonga himself, almost always with this lively quality that really matches his vocals – which themselves are filled with all these fantastic inflections that almost remind us of salsa singers of the time – no surprise, given how much Latin music styles were hitting the scene in West Africa during the 60s and 70s. But the style here is very different, too – as Bonga's richly expressive in the way he uses his voice – almost more folkloric, given the acoustic guitar instrumentation – yet surprisingly powerful too, despite the spareness. Titles include "Ku Tando", "Balumukeno", "Uengi Dia Ngola", "Paxi Ni Ngongo", "Muimbo Ua Sabalu", and "Muadikime". Angola 74 is a beautifully sophisticated setting for the voice of Bonga – as he works here with lively small group backings, and a bit of larger orchestrations as well! There's this fantastic blend of folk roots and modernism in the music – maybe a bit like some of the more experimental work from Havana at the time, but a bit like some Brazilian projects too – as the enigmatic vocal inflections of the leader mix with his own percussion – all given nice shadings in color by acoustic guitar. Titles include "Venda Poro", "Kubangela", "Ma Kongo", "Kinga Kueta", "Ghinawa", "Roots", and "Marika". CD

A pair of classic albums, served up here in a single set! First up is the sound of Angola, circa 1972 – served up here in a beautiful album of songs from Bonga! The music is relatively spare – mostly just lead acoustic guitar, bass, and percussion – the latter of which is played by Bonga himself, almost always with this lively quality that really matches his vocals – which themselves are filled with all these fantastic inflections that almost remind us of salsa singers of the time – no surprise, given how much Latin music styles were hitting the scene in West Africa during the 60s and 70s. But the style here is very different, too – as Bonga's richly expressive in the way he uses his voice – almost more folkloric, given the acoustic guitar instrumentation – yet surprisingly powerful too, despite the spareness. Titles include "Ku Tando", "Balumukeno", "Uengi Dia Ngola", "Paxi Ni Ngongo", "Muimbo Ua Sabalu", and "Muadikime". Angola 74 is a beautifully sophisticated setting for the voice of Bonga – as he works here with lively small group backings, and a bit of larger orchestrations as well! There's this fantastic blend of folk roots and modernism in the music – maybe a bit like some of the more experimental work from Havana at the time, but a bit like some Brazilian projects too – as the enigmatic vocal inflections of the leader mix with his own percussion – all given nice shadings in color by acoustic guitar. Titles include "Venda Poro", "Kubangela", "Ma Kongo", "Kinga Kueta", "Ghinawa", "Roots", and "Marika". LP, Vinyl record album