Search - Hall & Oates :: Essential Daryl Hall & John Oates

I can go for this (yes can do).

H3@+h | VT | 09/21/2005

(4 out of 5 stars)

"Wow. In just a few short years we went from one very dated 1983 collection to four. Hey, fine with me. Hall & Oates are one of those groups that when you look at a tracklist like this, you forget just how many hits they really had. Then when you give it a listen, you remember how great they really are, and how much you've always enjoyed them. I usually tend to listen to more alternative and hard rock, but being a child of the 80's, and a music lover in general, I can't help but love Hall & Oates. This 2-disc collection is a generous 37 tracks, half of which is easily recognizable to any radio listener. My personal favorites are "You Make My Dreams", "Private Eyes", "Family Man", and of course "Maneater". I also really like the songs "Out Of Touch", "Method Of Modern Love", and "Some Things Are Better Left Unsaid", all from the same album. The great thing with an "Essential" type collection though, is that you get all the hits, as well as the early and later songs. In short, it's an excellent collection of Rock & Soul."

Missed Opportunity

Michael Kerner | Brooklyn, New York U.S.A. | 06/15/2005

(3 out of 5 stars)

"For so many acts, hits collections can often tell a good story about the life of the artist, or can just be re-packaged into something that was just a missed opportunity by any artist. Since Sony & BMG merged in 2004, the move was conjured into one big company that thought they just knew a good thing about making so much for so many acts. For one of the greatest duos of all time, Hall & Oates, that just didn't seem to add up all the way. Back in 2004, Hall & Oates had a magical collection of their hits simply put as Ultimate Hall & Oates. Unfortunately, this is that package re-made over again.



What was then 2004's Ultimate Hall & Oates, now The 2005 Essential Hall & Oates, is the exact same double album of the duos biggest songs of all. The album still does reflect what made Hall & Oates fantastic. The collection includes so many of their big hits including Sara Smile, One On One, Maneater, She's Gone, and other great tracks Hall & Oates have made. Unfortunately, there are a few disadvantages with this collection. Instead of adding new and recent tracks like I'll Be Around, Man On A Mission, and Getaway Car, this collection overshadows them. Another disadvantage, is that the songs weren't remastered as well as the previous Ultimate Hall & Oates package. It just doesn't sound as organic and fresh as it did before.



For so many who have purchased other Hall & Oates packages, you're just better off with the original Ultimate Hall & Oates package. If you can't find the previous editon, this colection will just have to do.



Songs: B



Album Cover: B+



Remastering: B-



Price: C 1/2+



Overall: C-"

The definitive Hall and Oates collection

Peter Durward Harris | Leicester England | 08/01/2005

(5 out of 5 stars)

"Note - this is a re-packaging of the earlier Ultimate Daryl Hall and John Oates. The track listing is identical.



Daryl Hall and John Oates are generally classified as white soul singers but this description is too simplistic - they adapted their style to suit changing musical fashions. This double CD shows just how varied their music was. While they had six number one hits (Rich girl, Kiss on my list, Private eyes, I can't go for that no can do, Man-eater, Private eyes, Out of touch) and many other big hits in their American homeland, they never came close to that level of success internationally. In Britain, they had just two top ten hits (I can't go for that no can do, Man-eater) with nothing else getting close although they had plenty of minor hits while Paul Young made the UK top five with a cover of Every time you go away - the very different original Hall and Oates version is included here.



Apart from their six American number ones, this collection includes all the other important hits that they recorded together but not Daryl's solo hit Dreamtime. Here you can find their covers of Family man (Mike Oldfield) and You've lost that loving feeling (Righteous brothers) as well as their original classic songs such as She's gone, One on one, Did it in a minute, Say it isn't so, Adult education, Method of modern love, Everything your heart desires, So close and Sara smile.



Many less famous tracks are also to be found on this fantastic compilation of the best of the music that Daryl Hall and John Oates recorded together."