 What Oates likes is that,
although a lot of high-tech gear was used on the sessions, Ooh Yeah still comes out
sounding clean and uncluttered. "We had
every type of equipment at our fingertips; we had the ability' to go in any number of
directions from a technical point of view." he explains. "The fact that it came
out so real, as band-oriented, and as simple as it did, is to the credit of all the people
who worked on it."
For Hall and Oates, this album's initial success is like
history repeating itself - a fresh surge of adrenalin that seems to coincide with the pair
splitting up for a while only to return with renewed vigor.
It happened before, when Hall, disconsolate at a series of
poor-selling releases, went solo to record Sacred Songs with ex-King Crimson guitarist
Robert Fripp. Rejuvenated |
by the experience, he
rejoined Oates to record Voices, the 1980 album which was the first to fully combine their
unique blend of vocal harmonies with the essence of their soul/R&B roots. "Voices was the first Hall and Oates album, everything else
before that was a search," confirms Hall. "We were floundering around, trying to
find the right direction but it was never 100 per cent. Until Voices, we weren't producing
ourselves and that third party had a strong influence. Those years between 1975 and '80
were a learning experience for us."
"Those early' albums had hit singles (Sarah Smile, Rich
Girl, She's Gone) but they weren't selling very well," Oates agrees. "We still
felt they had good music but they were a victim of time and place, and were out of sync
with the world. It took Voices to make everything click."
With Voices, it seemed that the dynamic duo could do no
wrong. That and the follow-up Private Eves rendered no less than eight hit singles,
including I Can't Go For That, which topped the charts in adult contemporary, pop, R&B
and dance categories! |
Daryl Hall and John Oates
German Website
