When
Debra Anderson left
Stargard in 1980,
Rochelle Runnells and Janice Williams didn't hire a replacement -- instead, they decided to carry on as a duo. Released in 1981,
Back 2 Back was
Stargard's first album as a duo, second album for Warner Brothers, and fourth album overall. Losing
Anderson wasn't a fatal blow for
Stargard; Runnells and Williams could sing their heads off. Nonetheless,
Back 2 Back was the first
Stargard album that fell short of excellent. Produced by Norman Whitfield, this vinyl LP isn't unlike the records that he produced for
Rose Royce in the late 1970s -- and it has more in common with
Stargard and What You Waitin' For (the group's first two albums) than 1979's sleeker The Changing of the Gard. Runnells and Williams were hardly strangers to Whitfield's work; the legendary producer/songwriter wrote
Stargard's two biggest hits, "What You Waitin' For" and "Theme From 'Which Way Is Up'." But Whitfield, for all his credentials, doesn't do all that much for
Stargard on
Back 2 Back. This isn't a terrible album; it's generally competent, but it's uneven and unremarkable. Funk tunes like "High on the Boogie," "It's Your Love That I'm Missin'," and "Back to the Funk," although mildly catchy, are quite formulaic and sound like recycled versions of "What You Waitin' For." The album's most memorable tracks are its ballads, which include Runnells' "Just One Love" and David Gates' "Diary." But even the LP's best offerings don't prevent the listener from feeling disappointed -- especially when considering how superb
Stargard's previous album, The Changing of the Gard, was.
Back 2 Back is only recommended to completists. ~ Alex Henderson