Tuesday, June 21, 2005

getting our oates

Hall & Oates - Rich Girl
There is something vaguely amusing about Hall and Oates, well they make me laugh anyway especially the rather 'oily' clip of them schmoozing through 'She's Gone' on the Old Grey Whistle Test. Is it Daryl's immaculately blow dried hair? Is it the way they glance coyly at each other? Neither...it's obviously John Oates...a small man with a big moustache! Once again I have my Dad to thank for my rather guilty pleasure in digging Hall and Oates.

Both of these tracks are from their 1976 album 'Bigger than the both of us'one of Dad's favourites to blast through the mono cassette deck in the Talbot Sunbeam. As we queasily sweltered on our way to the car ferry I would bitch about his crap muzak and wish I'd had the good sense to record 'Back in Black' before leaving the house. My pubesecent metalhead self couldn't recognise that this was and is great pop music. It's really 'thought through' and produced and slick but damn...can they write a chorus!

Hall & Oates - Back Together Again


The cover of this album probably explains the problem a lot of people have with old Daryl and John, it's blue eyed soul, it's over-produced. There they sit, crafting another pop-soul meisterwerk, their stylised apartment is immaculate and you can almost smell the over-powering 70's cologne. I care not for such quibbles, I played their Greatest Hits in the car recently and could not stop singing along with it....badly!

Buy 'Bigger than the Both of Us'

Hall and Oates.com

No comments: