Search - Hall & Oates :: Collection

Strange but nice collection

Peter Durward Harris | Leicester England | 05/09/2005

(5 out of 5 stars)

"Daryl Hall and John Oates both began their musical careers in Philadelphia. For a time, they were lead singers of rival groups but they eventually teamed up as a duo. Success came slowly at first but their soul-influenced rock music eventually became enormously popular in America, where they had six number one hits and several other top ten hits. They were unable to replicate this success in Britain although they had a couple of UK top ten hits and plenty of lesser UK hits.



If you're looking for a collection of huts, this isn't it. There are a few hits here, but not many. The liner notes seem to have been written for a hits collection as they briefly describe the career of Hall and Oates, listing their biggest hits. Yet no information is given about the other tracks on this compilation, which are nevertheless worth a listen. About half the tracks are from their 1976 album, Bigger than the both of us.



The set opens with Rich girl, one of their American number ones, but not a UK hit. Next comes Family man, an American top ten hit and UK top twenty hit - this was a cover of a Mike Oldfield song. The original version (featuring Maggie Reilly as the singer) had been a minor UK hit the year before. Other highlights include Back together again and Downtown life.



If you've already got a Hall and Oates hits collection and wish to explore their music further, you might choose this - there won't be much duplication. Similarly, if you just want to get a sample of their music and don't mind whether the songs were hits or not, you might choose this. But otherwise, ignore this and buy one of the hits collections instead."