Customer Reviews

Big Bam Boom [EXTRA TRACKS] [ORIGINAL RECORDING REMASTERED]

5 star:		(7)
4 star:		(6)
3 star:		(3)
2 star:		(0)
1 star:		(0)

 

 

For starters it's a great album. With their sixth number one song 'Out of Touch' leading the way, this re-mastered set by Daryl & John didn't go too far on the techno-side of rock; they left plenty of real instrumentation in but still were contemporary radio favorites with this and other songs like 'Method of Modern Love', 'Some Things Are Better Left Unsaid' and 'Possession Obsession'.

The album features 12-inch extended versions of 'Out of Touch', 'Method of Modern Love', 'Possession Obsession' and 'Dance On Your Knees'. The only one missing is the special mix of 'Some Things Are Better Left Unsaid' which appears on the '12-Inch Collection Volume Two', which I also recommend. (Pick up Volume One while you're at it).

The album also features recent interviews in the liner notes along with the lyrics.

As an extra treat, try playing the extended version of 'Dance On Your Knees' on your DVD player and play it backwards to hear Daryl singing 'Swept Away'.

I was excited to receive this album on CD as I was never able to find it at my local Best Buy for some time. I was even more eager to order the CD after I saw that this was a "ReMastered" CD. However, the sound quality isn't exactly crisp and clear. Portions of the CD sound muffled. I only paid $7.97 so I should have expected this. This album is truly a H&O classic and the additional remixes of "Out of Touch", "Dance on Your Knees", and "Possession Obsession" add a nice touch to close out this disc. However, the sound quality, though not horrible, was not what I hoped for.

Top album! The mix is typical 80's clean, but it's got the big bass sound behind it. Hall and Oates make most song writers these days look like hacks (probably because most are, in my opinion).

Many years has past that I didn't buy any music. I was talking with a friend and we were talking about Hall & Oats and while I was talking with him I was surfing Amazon and find a great deal on this CD and I said 'what the heck!' and bought it. When receive it I download it into my iTunes library as soon as start playing took me back in time. When I was in the 7th grade to be precise. Each song has a story enclose within. Of course Out of Touch, I could even remember the video, he he he. Possession Obsession and Dance On Your Knees are great. The best deal it is that this CD is a remastered version, the sound is awesome, clean and clear. The bonus tracks are just mix of the most popular songs of the CD, but to be sincere, I love the originals they were just perfect the way they are. Great Hall & Oats CD for those who love their unique style.

The time-frame in which this came out (late 1984) really was Hall & Oates at their peak. Perhaps not musically, but certainly this came out at the very high point of their career. They were on magazine covers, had their own HBO concert special ("The Liberty Concert" in 1985 - if you are a fan, check out the clips on Youtube). Some people have said that this album finds H&O "slipping" a bit, but I think it finds them in top form, and stands up next to just about anything they had done between 1980 and 1983.

This album is the natural progression of where their sound had been going since 1980's "Voices" and through 1982's "H2O" and through to 1983's "Say It Isn't So" and "Adult Education" -- namely a big beat, pop-dance-oriented sound. To add to the "big beat" sound Arthur Baker was brought in to remix the whole thing. (For those who don't know, Arthur Baker was one of the top remixers/dance-music producers of the 1980's, working with, among others, New Order).

The singles from this ("Out of Touch", "Method of Modern Love", Possession Obsession") are pretty representative of the sound of the album as a whole. Perhaps the one downfall of this album is that, bringing in someone to remix all of the tracks did result in a bit of a sameness of the overall sound and feel of the tracks. Also, as another reviewer stated, this thing is state-of-the-art 1984. That means it definitely sounds of its time. But, in my opinion, I have always really liked every song on this one. It's hardly high art, but it is solid mid-80's pop music.

If you are a casual fan looking to go a bit deeper with H&O than a hits compilation, then this one isn't for you (get "Abandoned Luncheonette" and "Voices" instead). But, if you are a more than just casual fan wondering if you should add this to your collection, I think you will be very happy with this one. In my opinion, I don't think there is a bad song on this album. A lot of 1980's "cheese" but, then again, that was really what the 1980's were about.

I can tell you the 2004 remaster is obviously far better than the original pressing LP and cassette versions of this thing that I had in the 1980's. But, I am not sure the 2004 remaster is that much ahead of the 1996 version (which I also owned). I would recommend the 2004 remaster because it does have the original lyrics/liner notes, and some bonus tracks, including the remix of "Out of Touch" that was included on the original 1984 cassette (the 1996 version has neither).

As for the songs, if you like "Out of Touch" and "Method of Modern Love" then you will like this album.

I bought the original version of this album years ago. Had it on cassette, I think, and updated to cd. Many years ago I was in a record store listening to the 12" version of "Out of touch" and I absolutely LOVED it. Those were the days record stores had headphones and allowed you to listen to albums before buying them...you didn't even have to buy the album! Good thing You Tube has come along to provide the "try" part before the "buy" part. So, seeing as this re-release has a 12" version of "Out of touch", I thought I'd buy it.

Time has dulled my enthusiasm for "Out of touch". At one time I would have called it an all time classic. It's still a really good song in any case, whatever version you listen to.

A criticism that comes to mind for compilations by this act is that you'd never get "Dance on your knees" on it, which opens this album. Having heard it on the album first, I'd always considered it the prelude to "Out of touch"...the way that it bleeds into it on the album. Think I've seen some compilations now which actually have "Dance on your knees" and "Out of touch" in sequence. The former runs at less than one and a half minutes in any case, so it barely qualifies as a song in its own right.

"Dance on your knees" is a great track, I think. A synthesiser quietly opens the piece and gets louder and louder until a thumping great drum beat pounds your ears. The rest of the song is anarchic-a cool beat with driving bass guitar, smashing cymbals and one of the most jarring synthesiser/keyboard rhythms you've ever heard. Then the 'crazy' ladies start their jibber-jabbering in God knows what language. Then there is the splending bleeding into "Out of touch".

"Out of touch" is maybe a song I could appreciate more in time. Perhaps I just loved it so much that I played this song to death and got a bit sick of it. It was catchy enough for me to want to listen to it a lot in a short space of time in any case. Features synthesiser/keyboard, and Darryl Hall's signature soulful voice.

Apparently "Method of modern love" was their second hit from this album...in the US at least. It's not a bad song. Has a Caribbean flavour to it, perhaps and a cool guitar effect for the intro. It has a dreamy sound to it...vocals included.

However, my own favourite track from the album [after the first two I mentioned] is "Some things are better left unsaid". It features another cool intro, the sounds of strings being plucked and a spaced out vocal delivery by Hall. Also love the ending to the song....there is a really good guitar riff to end proceedings and a good chant which fades away. Excellent song which people don't usually cite as one of the best from this album.

These are the best songs from the album, in my view. Hall and Oates show how to do a great 12" track with that version of "Out of touch". A criticism I made of a terrific album by Australian dance/pop/rockers Rogue Traders [their debut album in fact] was that despite having a bonus cd of extended mixes etc, these mixes were totally uninspiring. Perhaps artists from the 80's knew how to do a 12" version of a song right. It's a very welcome addition and I really hope that other artists do the same...e.g. I loved the EP of Falco's "Rock me Amadeus" [in fact, it's better than the single version]. Haven't seen that version on Falco compilations though.

The other 12" versions of songs from this album didn't do it as much for me, but if you like those songs, you'll enjoy having the length of the song doubled and having extra effects and bits thrown into the mix.

Hall's partner, John Oates does take the lead vocal duties in some songs, like "Cold dark and yesterday" and "Possession obsession".

There are some liner notes from this album which are reasonably long, and though I haven't read them yet, they seem to give good insights into how songs from the album came about [e.g. the notes for "Cold dark and yesterday" are interesting].

Overall, a good album with some excellent additions. If you like synth pop/rock, maybe check out some albums that I've recently reviewed here:

The Flowers-Icehouse
Gary Numan-Tubeway Army: The premium collection

Accidentally discovered a heavy metal band which uses synthesiser to great effect too: Coldseed's Completion makes the tragedy. Reviewed that here some months back.

"Big Bam Boom" was the last major Hall and Oates album, and this BMG's version improves the sound of the CD from its last reissue in 1996.

While each LP from the duo's Eighties output on RCA used modern technology to some degree, this album put even heavier emphasis on drum machines, keys and sampling. The electronics seems to write the songs, rather than complement them.

On both the regular and remix versions of "Out of Touch," it works brilliantly. Arthur Baker's explosive remix of "Out of Touch" brought the duo back to R&B radio and nightclub loudspeakers in a big way, thanks to the infectious drum track that's even sharper and more danceable than the regular version. Only Neil Kernon's reworking of "Family Man" (available on the "H2O" reissue) outdoes it in the Hall and Oates remix canon.

On "Method of Modern Love" and "Bank On Your Love," the electronics are overkill. The extra swooshes and echoes on "Bank On Your Love" are unnecessary when the work of Hall, Oates, drummer Mickey Curry, lead guitarist G.E. Smith and saxophonist Charlie DeChant are enough to sell the song. (Not drowned out, though, are the basslines of Tom T-Bone Wolk, who helped arrange the album.)

Thank heaven the harmonies of Daryl and John still burst through the production. Hall especially is in fine voice -- note how flexible it is on "Method of Modern Love" (if you can get past the echo effect on the track) and "Going Through the Motions." He balances his natural tenor and falsetto passages neatly.

Beyond the songs themselves, new liner-note interviews by Ken Sharp add a nice touch, as do graphics that blend in with those from the the original 1984 album's inner sleeve (preserved in the lyrics/credits section of this CD).

While up-to-date by the standards of its 1984 release, "Big Bam Boom" may be the most dated-sounding of Hall and Oates' albums. Sadly, on the duo's next two big-label releases (for Arista), Hall's vocal delivery -- a prime selling point of the duo since the early 1970s -- would become somewhat strained and cutesy, The duo's production became more bombastic, and eventually Hall and Oates fell out of favor.

However, having such a timepiece is still a treat for those who remember the period during which H&O were as big (and as good) as it got in American pop.

Let me make sure I've got this straight. "Two Sony XA7 decks run via identical Acoustic Zen coax cables to a Camelot Uther DAC"? Egads, man, it's not a Space Shuttle, it's a CD. Just put it on, turn it up and enjoy!

i saw the remasters and was pleased to see the 12"'s included as my original copies are pretty worn. However, getting to what matters, the sound. I opened and saw Darcy Proper's credit to the remastering and thought "oh no..." As usual, quite heavy noise reduction was used, leaving the sound feeling like it's trying to burst through a wall. It just sounds very processed. My recommendation for cd is either the 1996 remaster or the import Japanese 24 bit, which is a little bright but very nice overall. As for the the 12", i'm gonna splurge and get the Japanese 2-volume collection, which are 24 bit and reportedly sound very nice. Should have done that to start with! Oh well....

"Big Bam Boom" is the most exciting album the duo ever released. This remastered version is the definitive one with the extra tracks. Arthur Baker added an edge that made this album so fun. Beginning with the wild instrumental, "Dance on Your Knees". A percussive shout, "Dance on Your Knees" was the most reflective of the concept its title suggest. (This is the same team that gave Diana Ross her #1 Dance smash, "Swept Away". Arthur Baker's strength as a remixer gave him a shot at producing). The first single, "Out of Touch" was another loud but melodic track. It features some passionate vocals from Daryl Hall. The most soulful and most accessible was the 2nd single, "Method of Modern Love". After the instrumental break at the centre of the song, reverb takes over and leads into the crescendo. "Possession Obssession" also maintained that brittle edge. The song most similar to classic Hall & Oates was the third single, "Something's Are Better Left Unsaid". Retaining the theme of a love gone wrong as the lead single did. This album would be the duos most natural hit. Their Arista debut, though with it came with loads of hype and fan fare, would be the beginning of their lost commercial appeal. A music video was made for "Out of Touch" that captured a significant portion of "Dance on Your Knees" lending itself to a video album. RCA was wise to add the remixed/extended versions of its featured tracks. I would have been even bolder and replace the original album version with it's remixed counterpart and sequence it like the original track listing. My most favorite Hall & Oates album!