Along the Red Ledge [Original recording remastered]

Hall & Oates, Daryl Hall & John Oates | Format: Audio CD

Product Details

• Audio CD (August 27, 1996)
• Original Release Date: 1978
• Number of Discs: 1
• Format: Original recording remastered
• Label: RCA
• ASIN: B000002WZO
• Also Available in: Audio CD  |  Audio Cassette  |  Vinyl  |  MP3 Download
• Average Customer Review: 4.4 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (37 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #375,218 in Music (See Top 100 in Music)

Editorial Reviews

Along The Red Ledge was a return to the soulful rock sounds that superstars Hall and Oates were known for. It proved to be a huge hit with the fans netting several hit singles and accumulating another platinum chart record for the team. As an eighth album in their extensive catalog, the Philly duo explored a redefined approach to their trademark sound, which would continue their winning streak for the next long run of platinum plus albums into the new millennium.

Enlisting a new producer in David Foster, the new conglomeration got down to business and put together a stellar list of ten new songs and kicked things off with the huge radio hit It s A Laugh. Clocking in less than four minutes, this magical song had the melody, harmony and familiar guitar and piano interplay that only Hall and Oates could create.

Their band included some of the hottest musicians of that era with stellar players like Kenny Passarelli, Caleb Quaye, long time stable mate Charlie DeChant and future superstar producer David Foster.

If that wasn t worth its weight in gold, the duo also brought along some very big heavyweights for the session including the late great George Harrison, Toto s Steve Porcaro and Steve Lukather, King Crimson founder Robert Fripp, Cheap Trick s Rick Nielsen and of course Westbrook Park, PA native and Philly soul brother Todd Rundgren.

The sessions were recorded and mixed in Los Angeles and New York City and proved to be the winning combination to capture some of this collective duo s most powerful recordings from the late seventies. Along with their aforementioned hit It s A Laugh, Melody For A Memory finds Hall and Oates with a very classy nod to the progressive rock style they found on their previous works like Is It A Star, Winged Bull and more of their harder edged material. The Phil Spector influenced The Last Time is a very interesting departure from the rest of the album. Drenched in 12-string rhythm guitars, the wall of sound drum beat , the strategically placed string section, and Hall s strong vocal, made this one of the finest album tracks in their repertoire. If you never heard this song before, you will never stop playing it. It is just one of those carefully crafted hypnotic tunes that you ll remember forever in the record player in your mind.

Growing up in the Philly area back in the sixties and seventies, you had the golden opportunity to have been blessed to listen to and buy the coolest soul and rock sounds ever waxed. Both Hall and Oates had their beginnings as well in several area bands that would eventually lead to their superstar partnership.

Daryl Hall (originally Daryl Hohl) was in the blue-eyed soul band, The Temptones, who had cut a few Temptations influenced sides. Later on, he formed Gulliver with another fine songwriter/vocalist Tim Moore, while John Oates was carrying some very fine melodies himself with his band The Masters. The significance of the second hit single culled from this album, I Don t Wanna Lose You, truly brings all of these rudimentary elements and influences to the forefront and helped deliver a slamming soul rocker that is still one of their finest songs ever.

Don t Blame It On Love captures the essence of their live performances at the time. On the level of 1976 s Room To Breathe from Bigger Than Both Of Us (Friday Music 1976) or from some of the more rocking offerings from 1977 s Beauty On A Back Street (Friday Music 1977), this track displays the incredible range this act could deliver on a consistent basis.
The amazing thing about Along The Red Ledge is that it has been out of print for over a decade in any format, that is until now. As a second installment in the extensive HALL AND OATES REMASTERS series, Friday Music has gone back to the original source tapes and this gem is now presented as pristine remaster. More to follow! --This text refers to an alternate Audio CD edition.

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

10 of 11 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars In search of a successful formula, July 18, 2000

By 

J. Collins "Paradise Bar & Grill" - See all my reviews
(REAL NAME)   

This review is from: Along the Red Ledge (Audio CD)

Hall & Oates' 70's releases are like musical schizophrenia...sometimes Pop, sometimes Rock, sometimes Soul or R&B. Even after they scored hits with "Rich Girl" and "Sara Smile," interested music buyers couldn't tell just exactly they were getting when they bought an H&O album. "Along the Red Ledge" continues this trend to (mostly) positive effect.

The original "A" side is a collection of tunes in a Pop/Soul vein, though "Melody for a Memory" has it's share of rock guitar. This is the side where Daryl shines most as a vocalist. At times harsh and sardonic, then wistful and contemplative, his vocal arabesques are as impressive as they are unique to him. Of the two singles, "It's a Laugh" and "I Don't Wanna Lose You," the latter is the real winner, awash in a glorious Philly Soul arrangement. Even the gimmicky stereo separation of "The Last Time" seems to pay homage to R&B recordings of yore.

With "Alley Katz," the album turns to a more guitar driven sound, akin to hard rock but miles from Heavy Metal. Oates' more subdued vocals are featured on a couple of tracks from this set, and he sounds fine. Though H&O and their backing band are more than up to the challenge, at least two of these tracks ("Alley Katz" and "Pleasure Beach") are predictable and dull. "Don't Blame It On Love" and "Serious Music" are standouts, along with the atmospheric closing cut, "August Day." This song is one of the most affecting tracks on the album, conjuring images of "heavy grey" skies and wistful regrets.

Within a couple of years after this album, Hall & Oates nailed that elusive synthesis of Pop, Rock and Soul and began a string of top-selling singles and albums. Though "Along the Red Ledge" isn't as successful at bringing those styles together, it is a pleasureable listen and a memorable album overall.

-Mic

8 of 9 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars One of their best, and possibly most overlooked., September 7, 2001

By A Customer

This review is from: Along the Red Ledge (Audio CD)

ALONG THE RED LEDGE, a Hall and Oates recording made in 1978, may be one of their finest, beaten only by their finest work, such as ABANDONED LUNCHEONETTE, MARIGOLD SKY, and BIG BAM BOOM.The reason this is so overlooked is that in the late 1970s, their records were in a commercial decline, thus not matching the successes made by the "silver" album or BIGGER THAN BOTH OF US. But strangely, the late '7os Hall and Oates albums had better selections, quality, and more experimentation. ALONG THE RED LEDGE would prove to be the best of them.

There are plenty of strong tracks here, and this record's first tune, the #20 hit "It's a Laugh" may be the least of them. Hall and Oates try quite a bit of different music here, ranging from raging punk-like guitars ("Alley Katz," and "Don't Blame It on Love") to swirling string arrangements ("Serious Music")to their hometown Philly-style soul ("I Don't Want To Lose You"). And while those are strong, Hall and Oates do very best on this album with the lighter songs, particularly "August Day," and "Have I Been Away Too Long." But the absolute highlight of ALONG THE RED LEDGE has to be "Melody For a Memory," a definite lost H&O classic that, to this date, has gotten almost no attention. The melody itself is powerful, while it eventually builds from calm, quiet instrumentation to loud, heavy rock guitars.

There are a few questionable elements, such as the vocals in "Have I Been Away Too Long," or just "Pleasure Beach." That song is a very underrated piece of music, and while it remains not a really great H&O song, it is certainly better than some paint it to be.

ALONG THE RED LEDGE, even with its flaws, presents a H&O fan with some Hall and Oates's finest work. It's definitely the best album Hall and Oates put out before they produced themselves in 1980, as it has the musical diversity and range necessary for a great record.

7 of 8 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars SURPRISING, AMAZING, EXPERIMENTAL- WOW !!, September 10, 2002

By 

Guitar Man (New York, NY United States) - See all my reviews

This review is from: Along the Red Ledge (Audio CD)

When you mention Daryl Hall & John Oates, most people snicker while memories of cheesy videos and slick soul-tinged 80's pop dance around in their heads. Too bad no remembers this gem of an album. It's an artistic triumph that reaches heights H&O never quite acheived again (although the two albums the proceeded it, 'X-Static' and 'Voices' came close). I was just a kid when 'Red Ledge' came out but even back then, I was blown away. Twenty-something years later have done nothing to diminish my enthusiasm. Songs such as "Don't Blame It On Love", which features Robert Fripp's ethereal Frippertronic guitar trills, a sick Caleb Quaye buzz-saw guitar solo, mad chord modulations and an unreal multi-layered vocal harmony break right in the middle of Quaye's solo, will leave you with your jaw on the floor- whether you like H&O or not!! "Serious Music", with more stellar harmonies, classical-styled harpsichord and another killer Quaye solo, is one of John Oates' finest songs. They band gets their soul shoes on for "The Last Time" (featuring a Spectoresque intro and George Harrison on acoustic guitar!!) and the Gamble & Huff-like rave of "I Don't Wanna Lose You". But these songs aren't the slicker pop-soul oriented efforts H&O produced in the '80's. These are tough, complex tunes with meaningful and sometimes poetic lyrics that reveal different meanings long after you've first heard them. RCA records probably thought that this would be the album that brought H&O into the big time, but instead, it was the worst selling album they'd had up to that point. Apparently, people who wanted "Sara Smile-part 2" couldn't grasp the experimental nature of this collection- and people who were fans of the music being made by the musicians H&O were hanging out with at the time (Fripp, Todd Rundgren, Rick Neilsen) didn't take H&O seriously enough to pay attention. It's too bad. Had this album been a hit, H&O may have experimented further, instead of moving in the slick direction they took after this grand commercial failure. Of course, things worked out pretty good for them in the end. And even on their most popular albums they always made room for a few tunes that pushed the envelope. But if you want to hear musicians at the height of their creative powers, this is an album that will shock fans and doubters alike.