A look at music that was rock, pop, and radio of the 1980‘s, with takes on the greatest, the worst, the underappreciated, and the burned. It‘s a deep dive into the retro greatness of the decade, at the intersection where rock music, pop music, power pop, guitars, drums, memorable tunes, and guilty pleasures come together. Longtime radio rock DJ and music writer Rob Nichols hosts, along with his artist and writer friends, to dig into the music.
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A look at music that was rock, pop, and radio of the 1980‘s, with takes on the greatest, the worst, the underappreciated, and the burned. It‘s a deep dive into the retro greatness of the decade, at the intersection where rock music, pop music, power pop, guitars, drums, memorable tunes, and guilty pleasures come together. Longtime radio rock DJ and music writer Rob Nichols hosts, along with his artist and writer friends, to dig into the music.
Ep. 49: Hall and Oates - How Many Albums Were Actually Great?
RockPopandRoll
41 minutes 47 seconds
11 months ago
Ep. 49: Hall and Oates - How Many Albums Were Actually Great?
Daryl Hall and John Oates made lots of albums. And had a strong run of early hit singles."Wait For Me""Sara Smile""She’s Gone""Rich Girl"What was the Hall & Oates heyday? The string of albums that they created at their career pop-rock apex? It came in the 1980's: Voices. Private Eyes. Big Bam Boom. Rock and Soul Part 1. Maybe even Live at the Apollo.
Were they great albums?
Early on, as artists tend to do, Hall & Oates had trouble clearly defining their sound, alternating among folk, soul, rock, and pop.
None of their early albums—Whole Oats, Abandoned Luncheonette, and War Babies—were big sellers. A single would hit but not album traction on the charts - meaning the LP's were not big sellers.
"She's Gone" off Abandoned Luncheonette was covered by Lou Rawls and Tavares, the latter version reached #1 on the R&B chart in 1974.
Their first album for RCA, Daryl Hall & John Oates contained "Sara Smile", which hit #4 on the Billboard Hot 100 chart in June 1976. Old label Atlantic then re-released "She's Gone", which reached #7 in October 1976. Abandoned Luncheonette hit #33 on the album charts on November 20, 1976, and stayed on for 38 weeks.
Bigger Than Both of Us (1976) had a second single, "Rich Girl", that became Hall and Oates' first #1 hit in March 1977.
A couple more top 20 singles. But it really wasn't the Hall and Oates we would know in the 1980's.
They ended up building a fantastically successful body of work and career. The biggest-selling duo in rock history. Radio singles. Lots of radio music.
But are there two albums and a half H&O albums that do really rock? Or pop-rock? Or are a 9 or 10 on the scale of "Is that a great album"?
I thought I knew - I always think I know. But maybe I was wrong.
We did some research and lots of listening to remind us of what it was. Take a podcast ride on the RockPopandRoll and Hall & Oates Philly Express soul/pop/R&B train and see what station - great albums or no - is the destination.
Email Rob at rockpopandrollpodcast@gmail.com
Website: www.rockpopandroll.com
RockPopandRoll
A look at music that was rock, pop, and radio of the 1980‘s, with takes on the greatest, the worst, the underappreciated, and the burned. It‘s a deep dive into the retro greatness of the decade, at the intersection where rock music, pop music, power pop, guitars, drums, memorable tunes, and guilty pleasures come together. Longtime radio rock DJ and music writer Rob Nichols hosts, along with his artist and writer friends, to dig into the music.
