On the basis of the Deele's debut
Street Beat, it would have been hard to predict that
Babyface and
L.A. Reid would change the course of urban R&B during the late '80s and '90s. Though the record -- especially the Top 10 R&B hit "Body Talk" and its two followups, "Just My Luck" and "Surrender" -- is pleasant, synthesized soul and lite funk, it doesn't show many signs of innovation, and only the hit single demonstrate much songcraft. In other words, it's a good, but not extraordinary debut, by two artists who would prove themselves exceptional. ~ Leo Stanley