The title track from Set the Night to Music, written by Diane Warren and originally the 11th track of Starship's 1987 album No Protection, was remade as a duet with Maxi Priest. Released as the album's lead single, it reached number 6 on the Billboard Hot 100 and number 2 on the Hot Adult Contemporary chart.[1] In Canada, "Set the Night to Music" peaked at number nine on the pop singles chart and number one on the Adult Contemporary chart.[2] It became the 17th biggest Canadian Adult Contemporary hit of 1991.[3]
Rob Theakston of AllMusic gave Set the Night to Music a three out of five stars rating. Theakston said, "By the '90s, Roberta Flack had completely immersed herself in the adult contemporary portion of the radio world, and this 1991 album is concrete proof of that. Largely based on collaborations with fellow adult radio singer Maxi Priest, Set the Night to Music is an odd assortment of standards with a few new compositions thrown in here and there for good measure [...]The production values and choice of instrumentation give this album a slightly dated feel, with a greater emphasis placed on polished synthesizers over the warm tones of a Fender Rhodes or grand piano, but all in all it's a strong album that presents Flack's classy, distinct vocal styling in a palatable fashion."[4]