Start with Abandoned Lunchenette from 1973, the first H&O album I ever heard. Then you can work your way toward their popular 80s albums.

purplethunder3121 said:

Start with Abandoned Lunchenette from 1973, the first H&O album I ever heard. Then you can work your way toward their popular 80s albums.

My absloute favorite from them

Big Bam Boom, but really anything up to that is just great stuff.

I'd go with the self-titled (aka silver) album, Abandoned Luncheonette, Along The Red Ledge, and H2O. Maybe try War Babies, but it might be kind of weird to people who are mostly familiar with their hits. Sort of like Peter Gabriel era Genesis is to some people who mostly know Invisible Touch era. On the Red Ledge album, George Harrison from The Beatles plays a guitar solo on The Last Time. It also has August Day, one of my favorites. You can hear it here around 3:25

I like Daryl's solo album Soul Alone. He has a remake of a Marvin Gaye song on it but with different lyrics.

Check out their glam period. The video (single version) is edited to the album version, so there's parts with pictures. Although Hall & Oates released this song first, the Tavares version became a hit first. The original was re-released a few years later and also became a hit

I only know their 80s albums at the exception of X-Static ( good imo ) 1979 , my favorite would be

Here are my Top 5 fav albums of Hall & Oates

1. Private Eyes (1981)

2. Voices (1980)

3. Live At The Apollo (1985)

4. Big Bam Boom (1984)

5. H20 (1982)

Daryl & John have a new single with Train

1. Big Bam Boom and 2. H20

Rock & Soul pt. 1 is a great, greatest hits album also

MickyDolenz said:

MotownSubdivision said:

One of those acts I only know for their singles, I've gotten curious about investing in their LPs now. What are Hall & Oates' best albums?

Hmmmm. Me, too. I picked up most of their lates 70's, early 80's albums when Best Buy used to sell CD's for $5 bucks but I've never listened to any of them.

MotownSubdivision said:

OK, I just recently purchased Big Bam Boom, Going into it, I thought the heavy use of synth and guitar would hurt the overall sound but the production sounds great. You can definitely tell what decade this album came out but the techniques used good up better than I thought they would.

And as a sidenote: The 12" of "Out Of Touch" has some cool stuff on it. First, there is the video mix for "Out Of Touch" plus an extended mix (7:35). On some singles, there is a long extended mix of "Dance On Your Knees" (6:38) - the 1:25 into that "Out Of Touch" segues from on the album. It's a storm of 80s sound.

I think those two tracks are golden, and the album uses a lot of then-new technology. Even the title refers to just making bigger sounds. Yet oddly, despite new digital recording, they recorded on analog, but used things like the Fairlight and Synclavier.

But the hidden gem at the end is "Possession Obsession".

There is a 2004 remastered version of the album with the above two remixes (not the "Video mix") and two other remixes.

Previous stuff before this record though is just a beautiful pop & blue-eyed soul journey. Start from the beginning, truly, and run through it all.

TrivialPursuit said:

MotownSubdivision said:

OK, I just recently purchased Big Bam Boom, Going into it, I thought the heavy use of synth and guitar would hurt the overall sound but the production sounds great. You can definitely tell what decade this album came out but the techniques used good up better than I thought they would.

And as a sidenote: The 12" of "Out Of Touch" has some cool stuff on it. First, there is the video mix for "Out Of Touch" plus an extended mix (7:35). On some singles, there is a long extended mix of "Dance On Your Knees" (6:38) - the 1:25 into that "Out Of Touch" segues from on the album. It's a storm of 80s sound.

I think those two tracks are golden, and the album uses a lot of then-new technology. Even the title refers to just making bigger sounds. Yet oddly, despite new digital recording, they recorded on analog, but used things like the Fairlight and Synclavier.

But the hidden gem at the end is "Possession Obsession".

There is a 2004 remastered version of the album with the above two remixes (not the "Video mix") and two other remixes.

Previous stuff before this record though is just a beautiful pop & blue-eyed soul journey. Start from the beginning, truly, and run through it all.

I could never figure out how to play a song backwards but I read years ago that when "Dance On Your Knees" was played backwards, you could hear Diana Ross' "Swept Away", which was produced by Daryl Hall that same year.

This thread made me go back and listen to their self-titled Daryl Hall & John Oates debut album. It's still so great in its production and song crafting. "Sara Smile" is on it.

I have the vinyl and recorded it on my computer. It's nice to hear it with that warm middle you get on vinyl. It reminds me a bit of For You or something from early Billy Joel, Ambrosia, Christopher Cross, or Ace. Has those wonderful yacht rock vibes to it.

The inside photography is gay as fuck.

I have literally had sex in a gay bathhouse and it wasn't as gay at that second photograph.

kitbradley said:

I could never figure out how to play a song backwards but I read years ago that when "Dance On Your Knees" was played backwards, you could hear Diana Ross' "Swept Away", which was produced by Daryl Hall that same year.

There is a lot of backwards words in that remix. Back in the day, you could turn your stereo on, select Phono, and just set your needle on the record and spin it backward. As long as you didn't flip the lever for your turntable to spin at 33 1/3 or 45, the sound would come through the needle, but the motor wasn't engaged.

These days, you just throw it in Cool Edit Pro. haha

They were always singles artists.

TrivialPursuit said:

This thread made me go back and listen to their self-titled Daryl Hall & John Oates debut album. It's still so great in its production and song crafting. "Sara Smile" is on it.

I have the vinyl and recorded it on my computer. It's nice to hear it with that warm middle you get on vinyl. It reminds me a bit of For You or something from early Billy Joel, Ambrosia, Christopher Cross, or Ace. Has those wonderful yacht rock vibes to it.

The inside photography is gay as fuck.

I have literally had sex in a gay bathhouse and it wasn't as gay at that second photograph.

RJOrion said:

1. Big Bam Boom and 2. H20

Rock & Soul pt. 1 is a great, greatest hits album also

Yes!!

TrivialPursuit said: