Customer Reviews

Private Eyes

5 star:		(11)
4 star:		(4)
3 star:		(6)
2 star:		(0)
1 star:		(1)

 

 

I've been a loyal fan of Daryl & John since 1975's "Bigger Than Both Of Us", and upon consideration of their whole catalog through "Marigold Sky" I think this is their best offering. The first side (I got everything on vinyl first) is quite entertaining with the three "hit" songs (Private Eyes, the funky I Can't Go For That, and Did It In A Minute) bracketing a soulful Motown-inspired Looking For A Good sign and Oates acceptably performing one of his token tunes, Mano a Mano. The second side (tracks 6-11), while not getting any airplay, is the real gem of this disc. It opens with G.E. Smith performing his usual outstanding guitar work on the rocker Head Above Water, and moves nicely to the alternative/punky Tell Me What You Want, reminiscent of their work on "X-Static." John then slips in for a better than usual performance on Friday Let Me Down. The disc finishes extremely strong with three songs that I feel represent Daryl & John's finest efforts. Unguarded Minute, while somewhat moody, definitely gets the juices flowing for what comes next. From the first beat of the drums to T-Bone's powerful bass line, Your Imagination is infectious - it deserves to be listened to loud. They finish with Daryl singing his heart out on the raw Some Men - while not as slickly produced as most of their stuff, it is proof that they don't have to use all of the effects to hide anything - and G.E. Smith agains shows that today's 90's pickers don't have anything on a guy who can play with a sense of music and use a chord in a solo every once in a while. Later albums feature more production gimics (ala H2O, Big Bam Boom), but for great lyrics, great arranging, outstanding musicians and two guys who put everything into their music, Private Eyes can't be beat. It is not head and shoulders above the rest of their impressive portfolio, but I think it wins by a hair. If you ever get a chance to catch these guys in concert, don't miss it.

Hall and Oates were, first and foremost, a singles band whose studio albums were often of secondary importance. The one exception was 1980's "Voices," which contained several excellent tracks beyond the obvious hits. With 1981's "Private Eyes," however, it was back to business as usual. The title song was the biggest hit on this album and one of the duo's all time best. Up against ... contempraries such as Duran Duran and Culture Club, it was a breath of fresh air on the radio at the time.

"I Can't Go for That" was also a big hit, while "Did it in a Minute" and "Your Imagination" (deservedly) scored some airplay as well. Beyond that is mostly filler material recommended only for diehard H&O fans. It should also be noted that the CD for this album contains no CD booklet, only a single page that repeats the back cover.

Overall, an unveven period piece that has more than its fair share of decent singles.

Private Eyes is 43 minutes and 30 seconds long and was released on September 1, 1981. Private Eyes reached #5 on the U.S. Billboard 200 Album charts and went Platinum. Four of the song chart from the album with I Can't Go for That (No Can Do) reaching #1 in three different categories. I have always been a Hall & Oates fan since the days of Private Eyes first came on the radio. I just love the songs on the CD like: Private Eyes, I Can't Go For That (No Can Do), Did It In A Minute and Some Men. The music is just great on this CD. I am giving Private Eyes an AAAAA+++++.

Private Eyes
#1 U.S. Billboard Hot 100 Singles (two weeks at #1)
#33 U.S. Billboard Adult Contemporary
Looking For A Good Sign
I Can't Go For That (No Can Do)
#1 U.S. Billboard Hot 100 Singles
#1 U.S. Billboard Hot Soul Singles
#1 U.S. Billboard Hot Dance Club Play
#12 U.S. Billboard Adult Contemporary
Mano a Mano
Did It In a Minute
#9 U.S. Billboard Hot Soul Singles
#29 U.S. Billboard Adult Contemporary
Head Above Water
Tell Me What You Want
Friday Let Me Down
Unguarded Minute
Your Imagination
#33 U.S. Billboard Hot 100 Singles
#45 U.S. Billboard Hot Soul Singles
Some Men

This was the album that started it all for me. I bought this in about, January 2003, yeah I know I got in really late. I loved Private Eyes the song for a long time, and was eventually driven to buy this. Private Eyes is of course, an unbelieveabley good song, but what really stood out for me was the ones I've never heard of before. Like Looking For a Good Sign, Head Above Water, and the biggest suprise of all, Did It In A Minute. I was stupified by how good the song was, everything in it, from the melody to the lyrics, are just perfect to me. The whole album is so good, it really is hard to describe.

Private Eyes is the best H&O album. Is there any album from Hall and Oates that runs the gamut of emotions that this album does? From uplifting (Private Eyes, Looking for a Good Sign) to mysterious (I Can't Go For That) to tough (Mano a Mano) to uplifting (Did It In A Minute), and the whole album just carries you. The best way to describe what this album means to me is that, in a deepest moment of despair, I'm putting this CD on, and everything doesn't seem to be as bad as I thought. NOW THAT'S A SPECIAL ALBUM.

Continuing their comeback from a late 70's slump/rut, the duo follows up the success of Voices with this smash LP, their highest charting album to date (#5 on the Hot 100). Private Eyes yields two #1's (the title track and "I Can't Go For That (No Can Do)"), plus the top ten "Did It In A Minute". While the title song sounds simliar to "Kiss On My List" from the previous album, "I Can't Go for That" has a unique R&B flavor to it and would become a hallmark track for H2O (get it..."Hall"-mark!). The album (what we used to call it) does have several weak tracks, as most do, but with the full-length version of "Can't Go For That", two other bonifide hits, plus the catchy "Your Imagination", it's basically a solid album overall. Also, as recording technolgy improved year by year, we hear a cleaner, sharper sound in this collection...something which would only keep expanding with each album (louder snare drum). Incidentally, I possess TWO copies of this LP on vinyl. - Fred

Continuing their comeback from a late 70's slump/rut, the duo follows up the success of Voices with this smash LP, their highest charting album to date (#5 on the Hot 100). Private Eyes yields two #1's (the title track and "I Can't Go For That (No Can Do)"), plus the top ten "Did It In A Minute". While the title song sounds simliar to "Kiss On My List" from the previous album, "I Can't Go for That" has a unique R&B flavor to it and would become a hallmark track for H2O (get it..."Hall"-mark!). The album (what we used to call it) does have some weak tracks, as most do, but with the full-length version of "Can't Go For That", two bonifide hits, plus the catchy "Your Imagination", it's basically a solid album overall. Also, as recording technolgy improved year by year, we hear a cleaner, sharper sound in this collection...something which would only keep expanding with each album (louder snare drum). Incidentally, I possess TWO copies of this LP on vinyl. - Fred

Private Eyes is a great Hall & Oates album. This is the first H&O album that heavily concentrates on the use of synthesizers to create a sound as sharp as a needle & cold as ice,that sounds as fresh today as the day it was recorded. The smash hits on this album "Private Eyes" & "I Can't Go For That(No Can Do)" are excellent songs. My Particular Favorites are "Unreguarded Minute" & "Your Imagination". If your looking for your first Hall & Oates album to purchase, this should be it!!!

I was in seventh or eighth grade when this record came out and it was one of the first I ever bought. My parents got pretty sick of it, but it helped me learn early on that sometimes, the best songs on a record weren't the ones you heard on the radio. (My favorite was probably "Head Above Water.") Today, looking over the personnel list, I'm shocked by the number of names I later came to recognize: Larry Fast (of Peter Gabriel's band and Synergy) on synths, G. E. Smith (SNL) on guitar, Jerry Marrotta (also of Peter Gabriel, and King Crimson) on drums. Now I have this on CD, of course, but if my memory is correct this record's two sides were labeled "Side 1" and "Side A," so it was impossible to determine which you were supposed to play first! Cute.

The second self-produced album from the best rock duo in the business, Daryl Hall and John Oates shine with two former number one songs: "Private Eyes" and "I Can't Go For That (No Can Do)". There are 12" singles of these two along with "Your Imagination" and are worth the search. "Looking For A Good Sign", "Head Above Water" and "Italian Girls" would have been big hits in their own right but "H20" was hot on this album's heels.

PS, Another reviewer above mentions "Kiss On My List". This is on the "Voices" album.