Customer Reviews

Hall & Oates

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4 star:		(3)
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All too often in the mid 70's there was so much excellent and well crafted soul,funk and jazz inspired music that was delivered to pop radio as "soft rock" or "singer-songwriter pop". People like Todd Rundgren,Edgar Winter,Gino Vannelli and to a lesser extent Laura Nyro since she never charted on her on own all kind of fell into this world at one time or another along with many others. One duo decided that after three mildly unfocused albums on Atlantic that they would adopt the idea of soul-pop for it's own sake. They were Philledelphia's own Daryl Hall and John Oates and this self titled debut album for RCA set the pattern for the sound they would continue to refine and develope for the next decade. Of course the silver embossed,airbrushed androgony of the album cover was a big attention getter so,because so many people do tend to look at an album cover and make guesses based on that about the music within. Needless to say this isn't a glam rock sounding project as the cover might mislead you stereotypically. For the most part the album is a cleanly produced,romantic Philly soul style production with plenty of smooth,bluesy guitar riffing and on many of the songs some great,at times very funky Fender Rhodes work. "Camellia" and "Alone Too Long" are two uptempo pop/funk that could also work as radio friendly pop/rock too. Both are sung by John Oates whose mildly untutored,scaling low tenor tremmelo takes a bit of getting used to if your not used to it but it's because of that quality they sound somewhat different the usual Hall & Oates fare. "Sarah Smile" is of course the best known tune on this album and there are a number of Daryl Hall sung songs here that continue in the same Philly soul slow jam vein such as "Nothing At All" and "It Doesn't Really Matter" that find the duo developing their distinct harmonic style and major/minor chorded transitions both vocally and musically. The roots of many of their 80's classics like "One On One" and even "I Can't Go For That" can be found on these tunes. Because they were still relatively early in their career however they were still all too willing to experiment still. "Gino (The Manager),written about Tommy Mottolla and the bluesy shuffle of "Ennui On The Mountain" are both pretty edgy guitar rockers but because their comming at it from their soul roots there's still an unusually sussinct rhythm style rather than the noisy solos of a lot of rock music. Both explore,in a rather metaphorica way now and again explore the ups and downs of sudden fame. "Out of Me,Out Of You" and "Grounds For Seperation" kind of strech some of these soul rock concepts into more constructed tunes with multiple parts wheras "Soldering" is actually a very strong stab at rhythm box bassed reggae. So many pop CD reissues should be so lucky when it comes to reissues since the two bonus cuts-the funky soul/pop of "What's Important To Me" and "Ice",the former sang by Daryl and the latter by John are both strong tunes that actually sound as if they're just part of the original album itself. While this album still has a few awkward production moments and unusual musical shifts atypical of their later self produced efforts this album emcompasses a number of sub genres of rock,soul and pop/funk within it's framework and gave them a good flying start at their future success.

Although it only included one big Hall & Oates hit (Sara Smile), the rest of the album is very strong and the added bonus tracks make it extra special. It is my personal favorite Hall & Oates album of all time.

Great album. Most of the tracks are absolute classics. "Camelia", "Sara Smile", "Alone Too Long", "Out Of Me, Out Of You", are clear examples of the superb songwriting and vocals that H&O is known for. This album back in 74 also wore out the needle on my turntable. Worth having.

The Hall and Oates Cd came on time and in great condition. It was just what I needed. The songs the carried all those old memories. Thank you.

Despite some minor success with their first three albums on Atlantic (most notably "Abandoned Luncheonette"), this was the album that found Daryl Hall and John Oates breaking through. "Sara Smile" became the duo's first major hit, enough so that "She's Gone" to re-chart and go top ten two years after it was first released. They had honed their songwriting to a new found tightness, and Hall's soulful voice become was helping to carry the songs.

The merger was not quite perfect; while the soul influence is obvious, the production is dated. Strings have that super lush Philly-seventies sound, there's a faux-reggae number ("Soldering") and some overdone horn/orchestral stuff. (We won't even start on the androgynous cover and the original nude inner-sleeve pics...) The songs overcome the shortcomings, like "Grounds For Separation" and "Out of Me Out of You." The upbeat "Gino (The Manager Song)" and John Oates' occasional huskier voice provide contrast. As a snapshot of a career at the beginning of its trajectory, this album still stands up well.

This album features the song, Sara Smile, which is one of the most recognizable Hall & Oates songs ever. It is great to here the song in its original context. The whole album has that Arif Mardin/melancholy/storytelling feel to it. Buy this CD and enjoy it!