Customer Reviews

Abandoned Luncheonette

5 star:		(47)
4 star:		(7)
3 star:		(0)
2 star:		(0)
1 star:		(0)

 

 

"Abandoned Luncheonette" features the kind of music at which Daryl & John are most adept-Philly Soul. All the songs here are excellent, with the cream of the crop being "When The Morning Comes", "Las Vegas Turnaround", "I'm Just A Kid (Don't Make Me Feel Like A Man)", the title track, "Lady Rain" and "Laughing Boy". "Everytime I Look At You" is the most soulful track on this CD, which has a "hillbilly" banjo and violin-laden instrumental at the end. This is probably as close to country that H & O ever got! This has to be the best CD in their entire catalog. Oh, and "Abandoned Luncheonette" also contains their first hit single, "She's Gone", which appeared on the Billboard charts on two separate occasions. If you are a fan of soul and/or pop music, you can't go wrong here. Please buy this CD!

ABANDONED LUNCHEONETTE, for an Hall and Oates's second album, is great. However, for a followup to their debut, the disappointingly dull WHOLE OATS, ABANDONED LUNCHEONETTE is simply amazing. The duo had certainly matured a lot since WHOLE OATS, too. Filled with enough strong tracks, this album is one of their best, thanks to strong songwriting and a fabulously low-key production by Arif Mardin. The songs seem to reflect the atmosphere of the time when it was recorded: quiet and humble, but happy and joyful at the same time.

All Hall and Oates albums have a lost gem or two hiding around, and ABANDONED LUNCHEONETTE's opening track seems to be one. "When the Morning Comes" is one of the best folk songs Hall and Oates wrote, and even the synthesized oboe it featured made it all the more strong. "Had I Known You Better Then" acts mainly as a flashback to one of John Oates's love affairs, and his lyrics, though mundane, tells the story well. "Las Vegas Turnaround" is a nod to the pop music of the time with a giggly subject about his girlfriend Sara (of "Sara Smile" fame) as an airline stewardess. "She's Gone," though, is a seamless songwriting collaboration between Hall and Oates. Poignant and with memorable lyrics and a greaceful melody, it is the best song on ABANDONED LUNCHEONETTE, and perhaps this is the only place to find it in its original five-minute length (with an exception of THE ATLANTIC COLLECTION).

This album is also great because "She's Gone" is not its only strong track. The title song has some of Hall's best lyrics, while the mandolin-driven "Lady Rain" has a somewhat sad and serious melody. The only weak song on ABANDONED LUNCHEONETTE is "Everytime I Look At You," a failed effort to fuse rock 'n roll with country music.

Hall and Oates have had a remarkable career, and they are known chiefly in rock history for the chart-topping peak period in the early and mid-1980s. While those period albums could be very good, only BIG BAM BOOM could match the strength of their 70s work. MARIGOLD SKY, Hall and Oates's 1997 comeback effort, was remarkable, and it actually captures the true Hall and Oates spirit more than any other of their records. While starters for Hall and Oates would do best with the double disc set STARTING ALL OVER AGAIN, ABANDONED LUNCHEONETTE would make a close follow-up in terms of overall quality.

Interview Hall & Oates, and they will tell you they feel like Voices is their first album!! While I agree that the period between WarBabies and Xstatic was not brilliant,there was some flourishes of brilliance such as Ennui On The Mountain from 75. ABANDONED LUNCHEONETTE was undoubtedly their masterpiece!!!.This album is mostly acoustic, and takes some getting used to if you've only heard Private Eyes kind of stuff.This album sounds more like Cat Stevens , Dan Fogelberg,Carole King,etc . I had thought of H&O as kind of throwaway pop,the way I currently think of Britney,until I bought a used vinyl of this in the early 80's, I suddenly took them very seriously.My favorite is the title track simply because of the storyline and the constant time changes.There is a new DVD of them live in 1976 called Musikladen that has an outstanding version of this song where the ending kicks into hard rock.Buy this and you will find yourself humming "Will you survive,learn to drive,I know you cant describe the dreams-im just a kid dont make me feel like a man". Las Vegas turnaround is also a standout track.you should also get Whole Oates and the various collections of demos that cover the 69-71 years (Past Times,Really Smokin,Lot Of Changes comin,Backtraks).The songs on these are even better, just recorded poorly.If you like these early albums, seek out newer artists like Bernard Butler , Edwyn Collins, Five For Fighting,Train,Stereophonics.I guarantee you will like them. I personally thought the Voices album pulled the keys out of the ignition that was keeping them aflight-It's A Laugh-and the funny thing is everyone thought the Abandoned Luncheonette would be open forever!!! (pun intended)

This was the best album i heard in college back in 1973 and is still one of the top albums today.....your missing something if your never heard this or their previous album whole Oates!

The only album Hall & Oates have released that comes close to this album is Change of Season, and that was nearly eighteen years later. With the exception of two songs, this album is almost perfect. The violin solo on "Everytime I Look At You," is amazingly well crafted. The opening song, "When The Morning Comes," defines their style, and is maintained throughout the album. Noteworthy songs also include their first hit, "She's Gone," "Las Vegas Turnaround," "Lady Rain," and the title track "Abandoned Luncheonette" which does a great job of contemplation over wasted years. This is still an excellent album almost twenty years later.

Daryl Hall and John Oates' second album remains, even after thirty-plus years, their masterpiece. Working together with the great Arif Mardin they created a masterpiece of blue-eyed soul which captured a sense of innocence, wistfulness and nostalgia. Sure they had albums which sold more or which had bigger hit singles or which got more airplay, but none of their other albums quite captures the originality of this one. The stand-out track has to be She's Gone; one of the best songs ever written and a showcase for Hall's wonderful voice. Yes, you've probably heard it hundreds of times but every time it's fresh and new. Another fabulous track is the title track, Abandoned Luncheonette, a four minute elegy to the diners of their youth. Beautifully sung and orchestrated, if this song doesn't make you feel sad for the loss of innocence then you've a hard heart. When The Morning Comes is a perfect start to the day (and the album) while Everytime I Look At You is seven minutes of pure soul pop and a perfect finish to the album. If you like Hall and Oates but haven't got this album buy it now - you won't regret it.

The most successful recording duo of all time have produced dozens of stellar hits, but this album recorded in around 1975 is an absolute gem. Far different than their power eighties mega-sellers, the stripped back approach employed on this ofering is resplendent in beautiful vocal harmonies. The tasteful non-electric play is really a watershed moment for the young Hall & Oates. The band and choice of instrument, including the more traditional banjo and strings, show how grounded they were in the post singer-songwriter hey day of early 1970s. Some songs even lean toward the country-rock that was popular at the time. Sweet and innocent sounding, they were earning their way in the world of music. Like a first novel by a green artist, these are the exciting results.
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Not a duff track in the bunch, centered around the super-single "SHE'S GONE", which evently charted but only after the success of the equally brilliant "Sarah Smile" (from the follow up album).
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Daryl and John are in fine voice; expressive nuances spring forth on "WHEN THE MORNING COMES", "HAD I KNOWN YOU BETTER". The stories songs like "LAS VEGAS TURNAROUND" & "LAUGHING BOY" are equally fine and well developed dramatic numbers.
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This is a down to earth offering. Even the cover art, which features...well...an abandoned luncheonette, takes us back to a time almost forgotten.

They may well have had more popular songs and albums, but in my opinion Daryl Hall and John Oates never recorded a better album. Desert Island Classic.

If you like Hall & Oates and you don't have this one you just don't know what you are missing. I remember well when I heard it for the first time...in a record store and it was the album playing at the time. The minute I walked in the store those thrilling intro notes of "When the Morning Comes" started and I just had to have this record. To this day that is my favorite song on the album but the entire work is one of those that you can play over and over and never tire of. This is a MUST HAVE!

This great album from the 70's has a down-to-earth acoustic feel, and if you're a fan of Hall & Oates, if you like "unplugged" music in general, or if you enjoyed the duo's acoustic Change Of Season tour, you really should add it to your collection. You'll never find sweeter harmonies or a smoother blend of varied vocal textures. The highlights include the long version of "She's Gone" with sax solo intact. "Had I Known You Better Then" is a soulful little gem with gentle touches of folk and country -- every music lover should appreciate the seamless blend of their voices in the verse and then an equally wonderful contrast in the chorus as Oates holds down the bottom while Hall's voice glides up so effortlessly. Some of Oates' best vocals are in this laid-back folksy style. Youthful lightheartedness with musical maturity best describes "Las Vegas Turnaround (the stewardess song)" with its tongue-in-cheek sense of fun and first-rate harmonies, and also "When The Morning Comes" and the title track "Abandoned Luncheonette." The last of these three is a 1940's big-band-influenced delight. "Lady Rain" has a darker mood and features a wickedly frenzied electric violin solo. Abandoned Luncheonette was released in 1973 and was only the duo's second album -- but it still stands as one of their best.

"Abandoned Luncheonette" is a highly listenable album, even if the only thing it will be remembered for is "She's Gone". Other than "Las Vegas Turnaround" and "Everytime I Look at You" ; there is nothing on the album worth skipping over, and the latter even has its high points. "When the Morning Comes" is an excellent opening track- could have been a minor hit in its own right. "Abandoned Luncheonette", "She's Gone", and "Had I Known You Better Then" are basic bread- and-potatoes Hall and Oates in my opinion, and this is not a bad thing. The true standouts are Oates's "I'm Just a Kid Don't Make Me Feel Like a Man" with some witty lyrics and a nice climax toward the end, and the medley "Lady Rain/ Laughing Boy" which, and your taste may differ, I consider one of the most powerful combinations of songs on vinyl.