Customer Reviews

Beauty on a Back Street (Original Recording Remastered)

5 star:		(1)
4 star:		(9)
3 star:		(3)
2 star:		(0)
1 star:		(0)

 

 

In 1977, Daryl and John were riding high on the success of the "Bigger Than Both of Us" album and it's #1 single "Rich Girl" and in August of that year put out "Beauty on A Back Street" which has a much more electric presence than its predecessor. Daryl and John both stated that they didn't like the production of this album (an artist is usually his own biggest critic) and they never really were until they started producing themselves in 1980 with "Voices".

There are a lot of signature songs here, plenty that would have been hits. The first release "Don't Change" was released as a remix on 7" vinyl (strings were added at the intro) and others like "Why Do Lovers Break Each Other's Heart?", "Love Hurts (Love Heals)" "Bigger Than Both of Us" and "You Must Be Good For Something" all defined the sound that differentiates this album from their two prior RCA releases. This album features Tom Scott on saxaphone.

The only criticism I have is that there's not a lot of upbeat John Oates material. I can give or take "The Girl Who Used To Be" and "The Emptyness".

Another song called "How Could You Survive" was also intended for this album. It was listed on the back of the songbook that goes with this. It later appeared on Daryl Hall's "Sacred Songs" album as "Survive".

Add this and "Along The Red Ledge" to your collection and play them back-to-back. You'll wonder why disco lasted as long as it did.

Update: The "Don't Change" remix is now available on Legacy's "Eco-Friendly" album called "The Very Best of Daryl Hall & John Oates"... but be careful, there are two albums with this same title.

"WHY DO LOVERS BREAK EACH OTHERS HEARTS?" Why-N-L doesn't SOMEBODY put this great song on one of the GREATEST HITS packages? This song was being played on every FM station around, and would of been huge if one of the "boy wonder" producers would of pulled his head out of the labels arse and promoted it,and the album. Of course it didn't help that H&O dismissed it because they weren't crazy about the production, but the album was unlike anything else-it wasn't "chock fulla' hits." Still, it was a nice change for H&O, and, I think there were several songs that could of been hits. Having Tom Scott on board, I thought, was a big plussoposi. All said, this may not be H&O's best release, (that would be "ABANDONED LUNCHEONETTE" in my opinion.), but it's still worth your money and time.

"Beauty On A Back Street" found Darryl Hall and John Oates veering way far away from the blue eyed soul that gave them their first handful of hits, and it took everyone by surprise. Radio stations shunned it upon release in 1977, and it became one of the very few H&O albums to not produce a Top 40 single. Not like there weren't any contenders here. "Why Do Lovers Break Each Others Hearts" and "Love Hurts/Love Heals" had hooks for days. It also contains one of John Oates' best (and saddest) ballads, "The Girl Who Used To Be." But the focus seemed to be on the fact that a couple of the songs on "Beauty" sounded more like the Rolling Stones or Led Zepplin than what was expected from Hall and Oates!

In particular, the lyrically mythic "Winged Bull" was a direct rip from "Kashmir," right down to the quirky strings and time signature. "You Must Be Good For Something" was Mick Jagger misogynist, and the six minute rocking opus "Bad Habits and Infections" was the hardest song the duo had recorded since the Todd Rundgren experiment (and inexplicably out of print) "War Babies." This wasn't your big sister's blue eyed soul pin-up record, and sales slumped accordingly. As for me, it remains one of my three favorite H&O CDs, and I snatched it up when it was reissued in 1996. If you wonder where that "Rock and Soul" tagline that got applied to Hall and Oates' career came from, this is an overlooked album to check out.

Even though sales of this were dismal when it was relaesed all those years ago, it remains for me a very solid rock and roll album that is very enjoyable to this day.. This was a time when every Hall and Oates album sounded different from the one before, and they were searching for a "sound" that worked and sold. They found that a few years after this release. Daryl Hall's vocals have an angry edge to them here that I find a lot more fun to listen to than his crooning and pleading on later albums. One of those fogotten gems!

More Rock and less "Blue-Eyed Soul" than other H&O albums, but very enjoyable. I recommend this to anyone who likes H&O, or '70's rock in general.

The 70s were underway and while everyone was going disco around them - Hall and Oates resolutely marched onwards to their own beat. This is actually a brave album balancing commercial pop with a rawer sound. Experimentation wasn't dead yet. Why I like this album is the mix of edge and soul behind the songs. "Don't Change"; "Why Do Lovers.."; "You Must Be Good For Something" and "The Emptiness" are just some of the most compelling tracks Hall and Oates have recorded. Hall had at this point, enough talent to write any pop ditty he wanted, but caught between the bubblegum pop and rockers of their time - Hall and Oates fit somewhere in between.

It sounds like the duo needed to get some stuff out of their system. I like the abandon of "You Must Be Good for Something" and the soul searching of "Bigger than Both of Us." Not everything on this is imminently listenable, but the tracks that are, definitely stand out.

This may be one of the duo's forgotten albums (unfortunately), but has some of their most memorable tracks. Worth searching out if you need a H & O fix...

I must admit, when I first heard Beauty on a Backstreet, my first reaction was: "No wonder it's out of print." The Girl Who Use To Be and The Emptiness seem lackluster for what I had come to expect out of John Oates. Love Hurts and especially Bad Habbits almost sound silly. So I wasn't surprised when I read this is the one album the Duo wasn't happy with. That said, here are the albums strong points. This is the most underrepresented album you'll find on any greatest hits album, no matter how complete. And, there are at least four good songs, you are unlikely to find anywhere else. The opening song Don't Change is excellent despite it's harder edge feel for the time. Why Do Lovers [which was released as a single that never charted] is also excellent and comes closest to their roots despite the first time hearing thinking, "isn't that the bass piano part in Chopsticks?" Bigger Than Both of Us, a more subtle relationship song, is the title of their previous album. My guess is it was left off the album of the same title. Despite how many reviewers have criticized Winged Bull, it is my favorite track of the album.

I love this album. This is one of their best IMO. It cost me 14 bucks but well worth it. The remastering of this is amazing.It sounds great. Nice and full with a good bit of bass, and good clarity too. I couldnt believe how good this sounded for being almost 40 yrs old. Wonderful job remastered. If you like Hall&Oates 70's music this is one you should pick up.

While this was not my favorite, this album is still great. Back in 1978 when H+O were on tour, I saw them at the long defunct Calderone Concert Hall in Hempstead, LI, NY. In the band at the time was one of the finest guitar players around, Caleb Quaye. Caleb plays jazz now and is still a legend.
My favorite track on this album is "Don't Change". It is just a great track. The one I can do without is" Bad Habits and Infections". I'm not sure what they were thinking.
Hall + Oates' sound was starting to change at this point, but there are enough great tracks on this album to add it to your collection. About three years ago, I found this album in mint condition at a used record store and bought it for $ 1.99.

I like the added guitar work on this album. I have to differ with one of the other reviews. While it is true that the three John Oates songs aren't upbeat, they are very good! The two songs that I would consider for the trash bin are Daryl Hall tracks: "Bad Habits and Infections" and "Winged Bull." I could never hear those songs again and be perfectly satisfied. I know this album had no big hits, but I believe it's worth owning, especially if you're a Hall & Oates fan.