We continue our look back at the music of 50 years ago…..
There are some great voices in pop music but you would be hard pressed to find one better than Daryl Hall. Hall and his partner John Oates, released their debut LP, “Whole Oats”, in 1972 and it showed alot of what helped them become superstars later in the decade and into the 1980’s.
It helped to have Arif Mardin producing. He had a way with blue-eyed soul, having done records with the Rascals and also the Dusty Springfield classic “Dusty in Memphis”. He also handled the horn and string arrangements.
This is pure pop music led by that remarkable voice. The Philly duo complement each other well. Hall wrote most of the songs and delivers on various instruments including keyboards, mandolin and even vibraphone on the soulful “Fall In Philadelphia”. Oates sometimes doesnt get enough credit for his contributions to this group. He handles guitars, harmony vocals and does many of the arrangements. He sings on his two songs, “Southeast City Window” and “Thank You For” and while he’s no Daryl Hall, it’s serviceable.
Other songs that stand out include the uptempo “I’m Sorry” (which sounds like their later stuff), “Goodnight and Good Morning”, “Southeast City Window” and “Lilly (Are You Happy)”.
If you got burned out on Hall & Oates when they trotted out some formula stuff over and over again in the 80’s…try this and catch them when they were fresh and new, and few outside of Philly knew who they were.
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