Daryl Hall & John Oates

by Hall & Oates

Product Description:

Hall & Oates: Daryl Hall (vocals, keyboards); John Oates (vocals, guitar).

Additional personnel: Chris Bond (guitar, synthesizer); Clarence McDonald (keyboards); Leland Sklar, Scotty Edwards (bass); Jim Gordon, Ed Greene, Mike Baird (drums); Gary Coleman (percussion); Sandy Allen (backround vocals).

Recorded at Larrabee Sound and Western Sound Recorders, Los Angeles, California. Originally released on RCA (1144). Includes liner notes Ken Sharp.

Digitally remastered by Elliott Federman (SAJE Sound).

Depending on your perspective, this is either the first or second album where Hall and Oates finally figured out how to combine their Philly soul roots with their folky singer/songwriter influences in a way that sounded more or less organic. What's not in question, however, is that the album's best track, "Sara Smile," is an all-but-perfect soul ballad, ravishingly sung and played.

Most of the rest of the album is very nearly as good. An early clue to the new direction: "Gino the Manager" (written about future ex-husband of Mariah Carey and Sony CEO Tommy Mottola) which anticipates the duo's early '80s new wave work.