By the mid-'80s, Peabo Bryson had celebrated many a successful hit and secured an impressive tenure on the Billboard R&B charts. But it was 1984's Straight from the Heart that helped shatter the glass ceiling and make Bryson a celebrated star on the adult contemporary and pop charts as well. His ballad "If Ever You're in My Arms Again" was the catalyst, and the uptempo number "I Get Nervous" proved to be a reasonably strong follow-up. Trying to build on this success, Bryson released Take No Prisoners a year later, and it was met with a lackluster response. Though songs like "There's Nothin' Out There" and "She's Over Me" fared well on the R&B circuit, they failed to make an impression on the pop charts -- an unfortunate circumstance, as many of the songs on the album bested the material on Straight from the Heart. This two-fer is a nice snapshot of an artist enjoying the second of many phases of success during his career.