| A fitting influence,
considering the theme of so many songs. As danceable as the album is, Daryl characterizes
it as a "love-making album. lt's a very romantic record, more directly sexually and
emotionally oriented than our other albums. I'm a sexual being, I like sex and talking
about it, making love, but it's not sex at the expense of romance." The themes resonate in Daryl Hall compositions like "Everything
Your Heart Desires" and "Rocket To God": in the interplay with co-lyricist
Oates ("Talking All Night," "ReaLove"): with long-time collaborators
like the Allen sisters, Janna and Sara ("l'm In Pieces," "Missed
Opportunity"): and with Holly Knight ("Soul Love"). The songs often
playfully counterpoint each other: "Talking All Night" is about the exhilaration
of being so excited with somebody that you just talk through the night, totally unaware of
time. And "l'm In Pieces"? "lt's kind of a sequel," Daryl laughs.
"That's what happens to you after you 'talked' all night..." |
But the songs aren't
all romantic. The hard-driving, funky Bob Clearmountain-mixed "Downtown Life" is
anything but a celebration of New York's fabled downtown scene. "lt's the New
Yorker's love/hate relationship with the city," says John, who like Daryl, is a
long-time resident of the West Village. "The neighborhoods are changing,
disappearing; there's a lot of bitterness." Adds Hall: "The second verse is
autobiographical. I used to live near Lou Reed and he used to walk the dog in front of my
house..." Velvet Lou was a neighbor of mine Now
he walks the dog in Jersey, Brother Yuppies in black doin' white collar crime Scared away
the local color But they can't steal the night... Likewise, Oates' anthemic "Keep On
Pushin' Love," has a hard edge: See the homeless man on a frozen stoop He gets the
walk-on-by from the business suit See it happening everyday (you know) it doesn't Have to
be that way... |
Daryl Hall and John Oates
German Website
