Customer Reviews

Hall & Oates - Greatest Hits Live

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In their peak years (the early 80s), Hall and Oates and their band were touring the country relentlessly, and their concerts were absoultely outstanding. The music was re-arranged for a live performance, and with some studio polish worn away, the live version of a certain song was usually far superior to its studio incarnation. For years, many Hall and Oates concerts from the early 80s that were lucky enough to be recorded officially lie in the vaults forgotten.

With GREATEST HITS LIVE, we finally get a Hall and Oates live album containing an entire show (although a twenty minute intro has been edited out, according to the liner notes). There were two live albums from the duo's recording career. 1978's forgettable LIVETIME was taken from several different concerts. 1985's LIVE AT THE APOLLO was brief, half of it featuring Temptations David Ruffin and Eddie Kendricks, and the other half featuring only a handful of the Hall and Oates's hits; clearly part of a much larger show. It was good, but not satisfying enough.

GREATEST HITS LIVE changed that. If you own this CD, try to apply it to a huge sound system and turn it up...loud. It's just like being there. This recording was an outstanding one, having the quality of a studio recording. The performances, as with many Hall and Oates live shows from this period, are also outstanding. Featured is nearly every major hit from their career, along with the genius of such musicians as Hall and Oates, G.E. Smith, Charlie DeChant, T. Bone Wolk, and Mickey Curry.

Are there standouts? Since there are so many songs that are excellent, standouts are at first a hard pick. Especially fascinating is "Kiss on my List," turned from a soulful piano song to a fiery, rocking performance. "Sara Smile" finds Daryl Hall pleading for Sara near the end in a unique arrangement of the song. "I Can't Go For That (No Can Do)" was heard before on the LIVE AT THE APOLLO album, but GREATEST HITS LIVE features a more organized attack of this song. "Rich Girl" is a charmingly soulful performance, with G.E. Smith's guitar giving it a heavier feel. But perhaps the most remarkable tracks on this album are "Did It in a Minute," "Mano a Mano," and "United State," which are furious, with Daryl, John, and G.E. playing away on distorted guitars.

Is GREATEST HITS LIVE a worthwhile purchase? Certainly is. It is of excellent quality, and is packed with enough worthwhile performances. But there could be a better Hall and Oates live album. Something like a concert recorded sometime in 1984 or 1985, with songs from H2O, ROCK 'N SOUL PART I, and BIG BAM BOOM part of it. But that does nothing to diminish the pleasures of GREATEST HITS LIVE; for now it's the best one out there.

Finally RCA is doing something with the H&O catalog. Where's the box set though? This is a great live recording. Unlike a lot of acts, this is a great live band. Daryl and John really take the live shows seriously and it shows. This set contains some of my favorite H&O songs including rocking renditions of How Does it Feel.., Kiss on my list, Diddy Doo Wop and United State. The recording and mix are both good and thankfully editing is very minimal. I wish the would have left a little of the between song banter in though. Guess you can't have everything and finally we are getting something. There is a lot more in the vault, now there's hope we get to hear it. Buy this NOW.

An excellent recording of Hall & Oates in great voice.

Recorded on the Private Eyes Tour in 1982, you get to hear Daryl and John live during the beginning of their commercial renaissance. There are a few non-hits on there the first being a steller rendition of Diddy Doo Wop (I Hear The Voices) and the John Oates penned Mano a Mano. Oates sounds wonderful on this track singing his heart out and Hall and company singing wonderful background vocals. Another stand out track is another Oates penned tune How Does It Feel To Be Back-John Oates puts full force into this song while Daryl and company sing great backgrounds. On all the tracks-guitars rule this recording, and if you are a fan of great guitar playing by John Oates and G.E. Smith, then you will love this album. The highlight of this album is the last track United State from Voices-This track rocks-with the full guitar assault of G.E. Smith, John Oates and Daryl Hall, its heaviest the band ever got, they rock!!!

From 1981-1985 Hall & Oates had a stellar band and they weren't just a back up band. They were just as much as part of the show as Daryl & John. In fact, live and on record Hall & Oates in my view were a 6 piece rock band. G.E. Smith on lead guitar, the best guitarist they ever had, played his solos effortlessly, and in their live shows, he woud stand on amplifiers, throw guitars in the air, you name it he did it. The two new recruits on this tour were T-Bone Wolk (Now a 20 year veteran of the Hall & Oates band) on bass and Mickey Curry on drums provided the classic Hall & Oates backbeat. On sax and keyboards is Charlie DeChant (a 25 year veteran of the Hall & Oates band now) was also a show stopping member of the band.

This album showcases what Daryl & John do best-Playing live. To hear Daryl, John, G.E., T-Bone, Mickey, and Charlie on this recording will defintitely transport you back in time.

The only drawback to this recording is that is should have contained material from H2O and Big Bam Boom.

Its like attending a Live Show. The recording quality is tremendous and the song selection is great.

There are no real words to describe what it is truly like seeing these guys live - this collection is the next best thing to being there! The philly duo has been making music for over 20 years and today they sound better than ever. Soulful tunes with a rock edge has been their mantra from the very beginning and no one does it better. The collection encompasses songs from the deep, dark 70's to the dance, pop intensive 80's. Seriously, if you have ever loved Hall and Oates, but never seen them live - give yourself a treat, right now!

There was a time in the 1980s when Daryl Hall and John Oates would be proclaimed "the most successful duo in Rock history". This argument can definitely be substaniated. One thing that has always been a weak spot is the lack of a solid live album from the duo. There had been two previous live efforts - "Livetime" and "Live at the Apollo". However, both of these albums failed to capture a major chunk of the portfolio of the Hall and Oates collection. "Livetime" was a 1978 release - and this was released before Hall and Oates would reach their peak period in the early 1980s. "Live at the Apollo" was more of an EP release that coincided with Hall and Oates' performance at Live Aid. The focus of this live album would be the alliance with the Temptations as well as some additional cuts. It wasn't until 2001, when Hall and Oates would release "Greatest Hits Live". This would be by far - their best live release and something very worthy of "the most successful duo in Rock history".

Normally when there is a live album released by a group, I prefer it to have certain attributes. I usually prefer the live album to be a live recording of an actual concert - as opposed to a conglomeration of songs from several concerts or a tour. The reason for this is that it brings continuity to the performance and is able to capture the magic of the band. On a Live Set, I like when you hear the band first take the stage and when the encores happen. I like when the band talks with the crowd. I also prefer the performance to be on the CD in the order as it was played in concert. All of these factors contribute to the magic. From reading the liner notes, this collection doesn't appear to happen on one night. The liner notes do indicate that these performances come from 1982's "Private Eyes" tour. Despite breaking one of my fundamental rules, the production team (led by Daryl and John) really did their homework. They found a way to bring continuity to this performance. Despite the fact you don't hear a lot of dialogue and don't really know the order these songs were played (it is possible this is in order), this is a terrific performance. Much of the reason is that the recording of this performance is outstanding - especially for 1982. You'll hear the instruments clearly as well as the voices of Daryl and John.

An interesting fact I learned is that this was originally intended to be released as a Double Live album (back in 1982). For whatever reasons, the project was shelved. As mentioned above, this was recorded during the "Private Eyes" tour. As a result, there aren't songs that are included from "H2O" and "Big Bam Boom". Although I would have liked to have had a live album that included tracks from these albums, this collection does the job in satisfying me. This is a result of the outstanding quality of the recording, quality of the production, and the actual energy of the performance.

One thing that I really like is that there are some lesser known songs to the mainstream fan that are included. These songs that are included are "How Does It Feel to Be Back", "Diddy Doo Wop", "Mano A Mano", and "United State". I found that these were excellent songs done in the live setting. Most of the well-known songs that were released (up until 1982) are included in the collection. I would have also liked to hear songs like "Las Vegas Turnaround", "Your Imagination", and "Everytime You Go Away" - but this again doesn't hurt was has been included.

As mentioned - I can't tell if the songs are in the actual order as they were done. However, the flow is outstanding. You'll also hear the Rock and Soul connection by Hall and Oates. For the Rock songs, they have a great Rock feel and the Soul songs have a great Soul feel. The collection kicks off with "Did It In a Minute". This a perfect opening song. There are great harmonies included with this song. It flows nice into the second song "How Does It Feel to Be Back". The collection really starts to move into high gear with the fifth track, "Rich Girl". I love the quick tempo that the duo applies to "Rich Girl". The instruments almost sound three dimensional on the that track. The great instrumentation continues with some nice guitar work and "whoooo"s for "She's Gone".

Tracks 7 and 8 are the best two tracks. These are two of Hall and Oates' best songs. I always felt "Kiss On My List" would be a great live song. This song completely lives up to my expectations. The guitar work is once again outstanding. John Oates is terrific on background vocals. The smooth hit "I Can't Go For That" follows. This is a near 6 1/2 minute version. There is terrific "jam" session at the end in which Daryl leads a "No Can Do" chant. The guitar work is a perfect compliment to the song's trademark saxaphone. The momentum of the collection continues with "Sara Smile" - which has a great segue into "Wait For Me. "Private Eyes" then follows - another solid number. The duo will also do a version of "You Lost That Lovin' Feeling". I'm not a big fan of this song, but the version done is pretty good. The collection then wraps up with terrific versions of "You Make My Dreams" and "United State" (this is a perfect closing song).

The liner notes have no lyrics, but there is an outstanding writeup by Jeremy Holiday that talks about the duo with a nice focus on this recording. Overall, this is one terrific performance. I highly recommend this - especially if you are a Hall and Oates fan.

In fact, not only do they stil have it, they have something they lacked before. Now the music truly is theirs, their variations are true, unpredictable, and skilled. Daryl's voice is impeccable. It is his voice that lends the ease to the music. But don't underestimate John's role in this. His work is also flawless. They are masters of their creations. Having seen them live, I could never listen to the studio versions on CD again. This CD is the truest recording of their live work. Buy this CD Yesterday!!

Look, I love these guys. Really. But every song is played ridiculously fast.

I used to be in a band. We would rehearse and rehearse, and because of adrenalin, when it came time to actually gig, many times when we listened to the resulting tapes of the appearance, we were shocked to realize that every song was played at the same speed. That was because we were amateurs...rookies... These guys are not. So, why are some of the songs that should be played with more soul (Sarah Smile, etc.) played like Top 40 rockers?

Slow it down boys, where appropriate, and let your tunes stand on their own. By the way, the guitars are awesome on this album, first class, sometimes sounding more like Tom Petty before the signature voices kick in. Makes you realize how well crafted their songs really are.