"Where's Your Angel?" by Lani Hall

Song#:  0533
Date:  03/21/1981
Debut:  90
Peak:  88
Weeks:  3
Genre:  Pop, Adult Contemporary



Pop Bits:  Discovered in Chicago by Sergio Mendes, Hall made a move to L.A. and joined Mendes' latest group Brasil '66. It was this iteration of the group that hit with their first A&M LP "Herb Alpert Presents" (#7, 1966). The association with Alpert (the "A" of A&M) became important as the groups toured together and eventually in 1974, Hall married Alpert. Hall left the group in 1971 and recorded a few solo albums that didn't really go anywhere. She finally got this single on the pop chart, if briefly, and it became here only solo song to do so. However, she changed up her musical direction and moved to the Latin pop genre beginning in 1982. She had far more success in that market and even one a Grammy in 1985 for Best Latin Pop Performance for her album "Es Fácil Amar." Despite a bout with the Epstein-Barr virus, she has continued to record and has recently collaborated with Alpert for a pair of jazz standards albums.

ReduxReview:  The arrangement sounds so dated now and it kind of takes away from the song and Hall. I think there might be a good song hidden underneath all the Casio-ish accompaniment, but probably not a single-worthy one. Hall was an integral part to the success of Brasil '66, but if this is representative of her pop solo stuff, her personality was kind of lost in mediocre tunes and production.

ReduxRating:  4/10

Trivia:  In 1983, Sean Connery returned to play James Bond in "Never Say Never Again." Although typically not considered a true part of the Bond series, the movie did feature the typical pop theme song. For this film, the title theme song was sung by Hall after another artist, Bonnie Tyler, turned it down. Written by Michel Legrand, it didn't hit the pop chart but did reach #22 on the AC chart.

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