Disco de Hall & Oates: “Essential Daryl Hall & John Oates”

(This is the same collection as what was originally released as "The Ultimate Daryl Hall and John Oates," with an altered title and different cover art.)

Who would have thought a duo from Philly with a couple of modest blue-eyed soul hits would become a pop juggernaut? Even more so, who'd have even dared predict that these songs would have maintained their integrity almost two decades later? Those are the questions begged by this "Essential" collection, that, for once, comes pretty darn close to deserving the moniker. Daryl Hall and John Oates get the royal treatment on this two disc set, the first American release that covers all three of their major label gigs and even a few choice cuts from their more recent forays back into music making.

While it is easy to hear the seventies attempts at hard core soul in "She's Gone," "Sara Smile" and the underrated "Do What You Want, Be Who You Are," there's also the dabs of folk that popped up in their best early albums. I'd heartily recommend "Abandoned Luncheonette" from that period, but it didn't take long before their pop sense began to emerge. Like so many other acts in the seventies, Hall and Oates had no problems pushing their styles around. It made a softer rock single like "Rich Girl" instantly memorable. It also made their middle seventies output commercially rocky, at one point they joined a chewing gum promotion to play concerts in high schools based on student gum wrapper collections! So while modestly successful singles like the terrific "It's a Laugh" and commercially questionable albums like "Beauty On A Back Street" and "Live Time" were making the duo look like they were on their way to the history books, Hall and Oates decided that the only people who could properly understand their sound was - themselves.

This realization got them on track to record the self produced "Voices," and the golden period began. As showcased on the later half of disc one, the gigs in those high schools had made Hall and Oates more savvy than ever, and songs like "Kiss On My List" and "You Make My Dreams" own the kind of hooks that you just couldn't shake. Both men had also come into their own as singers, as John Oates' turn at the classic "You've Lost That Loving Feeling" shows. Hall's gospel inflected performance on "Everytime You Go Away" had tongues wagging, pouring out such superlatives as "Genius."

With the flow of hits that followed, it would be hard to deny that claim. From "Private Eyes" to "Possession Obsession," everything that hit the airwaves sounded alive and immediate. The remasters here help hold up the songcraft that Hall and Oates seemed so infallible at during their strongest moments, and that they were willing to experiment with the formula (bringing in folks like Robert Fripp and Arthur Baker) made it all the juicier.

The Arista albums seemed like a misstep, but in retrospect, Hall and Oates had probably just hit the overexposure mark. (It didn't help that "Ooo Yeah" was overproduced.) "So Close" remains a great song, and even the lesser heard "Don't Hold Back Your Love" sounds as good as the peak period. The album wraps up with "Promise Ain't Enough" and "Do It For Love," showing that, although the flash may not be as bright as before, the H&O songwriting team remains pretty strong.

If I have any quibbles, it would be that a few albums are completely ignored and some ommisons seem glaring. Those moments would be (for me anyway) "War Babies," a brilliant early experiment in rock with Todd Rundgren, the Stones/Zepplin/soul of "Beauty On A Back Street," the "Live at The Apollo" medley that was a substantial hit, a single only version of the O'Jay's "Love Train" from the "Earth Girls Are Easy" movie, Hall's solo hits from "Three Hearts in the Happy Ending Machine" and the wacky disco of "X-Static's" "Portable Radio." But that would have necessitated a three disc set, and there's nothing already on the collection I'd cut off! So over all, "The Essential Daryl Hall and John Oates" is worth every penny. It also has me salivating for the coming reissues of their classic seventies and eighties albums.

Note - this is a re-packaging of the earlier Ultimate Daryl Hall and John Oates. The track listing is identical.

Daryl Hall and John Oates are generally classified as white soul singers but this description is too simplistic - they adapted their style to suit changing musical fashions. This double CD shows just how varied their music was. While they had six number one hits (Rich girl, Kiss on my list, Private eyes, I can't go for that no can do, Man-eater, Private eyes, Out of touch) and many other big hits in their American homeland, they never came close to that level of success internationally. In Britain, they had just two top ten hits (I can't go for that no can do, Man-eater) with nothing else getting close although they had plenty of minor hits while Paul Young made the UK top five with a cover of Every time you go away - the very different original Hall and Oates version is included here.

Apart from their six American number ones, this collection includes all the other important hits that they recorded together but not Daryl's solo hit Dreamtime. Here you can find their covers of Family man (Mike Oldfield) and You've lost that loving feeling (Righteous brothers) as well as their original classic songs such as She's gone, One on one, Did it in a minute, Say it isn't so, Adult education, Method of modern love, Everything your heart desires, So close and Sara smile.

Many less famous tracks are also to be found on this fantastic compilation of the best of the music that Daryl Hall and John Oates recorded together.

2 CD's, 37 songs, all remastered....you can't go wrong! It is all here, folks! Every hit and then some!

Hall & Oates had such a long string of hits over a pretty long period of time. They were one of the most known writing duo in the late 70's/early 80's and it is all showcased here on the ESSENTIAL!

You get all their HUGE hits "I Can't Gor For That", "Maneater", "Kiss On My List", "She's Gone", "Rich Girl", "Private Eyes" etc.......all the way to key tracks from their many CD's. There are a lot of Hall & Oates on this CD and it pleases from beginning to end.

Very nice CD insert that tells you when each song debuted and where it charted as well.

This is great music that everyone knows and sings along to when they hear it and is still just as relevant today as it was 20+ years ago. *******Check it out********

There have been countless Hall and Oates compilations released over the years and none of them have been as extensive as this one. Some came close but would skip over the early years and miss key tracks like "She's Gone". This particular track is my personal favourite, and you cannot beat the original album version included here. I believe Hall and Oates re-recorded it in the late 70's or early 80's into a shorter mix.

This compilation is digitally remastered and includes album tracks and every single, except for "OOh Yeah" and the medley from "Live at the Appollo" ("My Girl"?). Besides those two omissions, I think all fans owe it to themselves to grab a copy. Some key standouts are "How does it feel to be back", "One On One", "Don't Hold Back Your Love" "So Close" and "Rich Girl".

This is a very easy album to listen to. Buy it for the original version of "She's Gone" if anything. LOVE THAT SONG!

It wasn't until maybe this last year that I realized how many of Hall and Oates songs I really liked. So I went looking for a "greatest hits" album, and found this one.

Now, I don't have ANY of their CDs, so this sufficed nicely. Having said that, many of their songs are on soundtracks and such, and that might be enough for an average follower.

But I was very pleasantly surprised how much I liked the songs I've never heard of on the CDs (there are two). Almost as much as the ones I already know of!!! That's always a good deal.

I highly recommend this collection who enjoy late 70s and early 80s pop music as much as I do. And the lyrics - I don't think these guys get enough credit as song writers lyrically. The melodies and hooks are great, but the lyrics are so clever.