Customer Reviews

The Essential 3.0 Hall & Oates (Eco-Friendly Packaging)

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When it has came down to the music industry, the feeling of the great guilty pleasures of the 80's is back and alive & well. With the recent tragic death of Michael Jackson, many music listeners have been really interested in the classic MTV era of music favorites. That has said well with another big duo of the 70's and 80's, Hall & Oates. This year marks the duos, 40th Anniversary of making unique and great guilty pleasure music from start to finish. There is no doubt the duo from Philadelphia has been one of the greatest pairs that has made some of the most down to Earth diddies in music history. Which today, are still just as fun and to enjoy, as they were decades ago. Yet, there have been a lot of great Hall & Oates collection, but the best one, which came out in 2004, Ultimate Hall & Oates, was later renamed Essential Hall & Oates, has an extension. But, is the new extended version just as good of a buy, or better? Well, the maneater's verdict is in.

The 2009 extended edition of The Essentail Hall & Oates 3.0, is a 3 disc edition that reflects what has made Daryl & John the most unique and driven pair of great Blue-Eyed Soul and pop music of all-time. The collection has been remastered well, and showcases the best that can be imagined. The greatest hits contains all of Hall & Oates biggest hits from the 70's, when they made their marks at their lesser-known Atlantic records days, all the way to their big time days with RCA in the late 70's and 80's, to their classic return in the 2000 decade. All of the hits are included here including Maneater, Sara Smile, the somber and intimate One On One, the bass driven and upbeat You Make My Dreams, as well as 2002, recent favorite Do It For Love. Everything from the first 2 discs is here well, but the 3rd disc could've brought in a bit more for the hard core Hall & Oates fan. While the only major hit you get from Daryl in his solo works was Somebody Like You, there could've been a bit more on the 3rd disc on their recent tracks like Heartbreak Time, Getaway Car, and their 2004 cover of The Spinners classic, I'll Be Around.

Still, overall with this collection, and their upcoming boxed set coming out in October, The Essential Hall & Oates 3.0, is a collection of hits that is mostly worth its money, but the regular 2005 Essential Hall & Oates is definitely the best bet. But if you are a hard core fan, this would be something I would absolutely recommend a lot.

Album Cover: B

Songs: B

Price: B

Remastering: B+

Overall: B 1/2-

This three CD-album was originally released in 2009. It takes the old 2004 Essential Daryl Hall & John Oates two-CD album, and adds a third, seven track CD to bring the Essential album up-to-date, and expand it to forty-four(!) great Hall and Oates tunes. All of their greatest tunes are here, including She's Gone, You Make My Dreams, and Family Man. It's really jam-packed!

Now, if you already have the old Essential Daryl Hall & John Oates, then you probably will be upset that so much is the same. But, I must say that it would be impossible to make a new "Essential" album without covering a lot of the same ground. The nice thing is if you need to replace your old album, then this gets it back to you, better than ever. It's a great album, and if you are a Hall and Oates fan, then you will love this album!

The music is great...BUT the CD's have an Anti-Pirating protection that prevents them from being up-loaded into ITUNES, so they can't be loaded onto an IPOD, and my computer (WindowsXP) won't even play them.