This collection documents how the growth process began. Rather than
grind out a series of obvious radio hits, Hall & Oates experimented with a wide range
of musical crossbreedings during their tenure with Atlantic Records. As Hall puts it:
"Those records are really an example of us trying to test our boundaries, to see how
we could step away from our R&B roots and go in a singer - songwriter direction. We
were full of exuberance and didn't think about the future - we just reveled in the now and
wanted to see where we could take our talents."
"Looking
back, I'd say those albums were three steps toward finding a sound," adds Oates.
"Whole Oats had a folksiness to it, Abandoned Luncheonette started combining acoustic
folk with a little bit of funk, and War Babies was our more adventurous rock 'n' roll
side. The albums that followed drew on all of those elements." |
There's a
freewheeling diversity to these recordings that comes through even today. Ideas more fully
realized on later Hall & Oates albums find their first expression here. More than
anything, these tracks are snapshots of two artists beginning to define who they are, both
individually and as a partnership. Daryl Hall (born
Daryl Franklin Hohl on October 11, 1949 [comment webmaster: *** "Dangerous
Dances": 1946 ! ***]) made his commitment to music early on. Growing up in the
racially integrated community of Pottstown, Pennsylvania, he was particularly drawn to the
R&B sounds of the era. It was only natural, then, that when he moved to Philadelphia
at age 17 to attend Temple University, he would also plunge into the City's vibrant music
scene. |
Daryl Hall and John Oates
German Website
