Hall and Oates
(RCA/Legacy)
When Daryl Hall first broke into the R&B club in the mid-‘60s as the lead singer of the Temptones, the Philly boy was one of the only white faces in the crowd. But Hall made heads turn with his soulful vibrato and quality songwriting prowess, which helped him earn the company of future Philadelphia soul architects Kenny Gamble, Leon Huff and George Bell, recording a single with the trio's group at the time, Kenny Gamble and the Romeos. Shortly thereafter he met fellow Temple University alum John Oates, let his hair grow long, and began churning out some of the most well-known radio hits of the last 40 years - between 1980 and 1988 they charted five platinum or multi-platinum LPs - as Hall and Oates.
Whether the duo dabbled in hippie folk, prog-rock, new wave or adult contemporary, however, the core of their sound always remained the soul music of their Philly roots, a trait that can be traced throughout the thread of this career-spanning four-CD box set. With tracks dating back to those Temptones days on through to a live collaboration from 2008 on a cover The Mad Lads' obscure Stax soul classic "I Want Someone" (featured on Hall's popular webcast "Live from Daryl's House," Do What You Want, Be What You Are is a most definitive look at the artistic trajectory of this legendary duo, for better or for worse. In addition to the gaggle of hits packed into this collection - "She's Gone," "Sara Smile," "Rich Girl," "Kiss On My List," "Private Eyes," "Maneater," "Out of Touch," "Missed Opportunity" and the rest of the usual suspects - you also get some seriously deep rarities from all eras of H&O as well, including a gang of live tracks from a previously unreleased 1975 concert performance at London's New Victoria Theatre, and "Don't Go Out," a strange, six-minute-long outtake from their 1980 smash album Private Eyes written by Oates during his "art rock period" and inspired by Needle Park-era NYC.
Sadly, no tracks from Hall's 1980 collaboration with King Crimson guitarist Robert Fripp Sacred Songs make an appearance on here. But if this box proves to be a success, here's hoping we'll see a Legacy Edition of that experimental soul masterpiece in the not-too-distant future, because it definitely deserves to be rediscovered. Or maybe even War Babies, the duo's 1974 foray into AOR produced by Todd Rundgren. (Anything but 1990's Change of Season, which is terrible, no matter how you slice it.) But if you are not some kind of OCD record geek, Do What You Want, Be What You Are will prove to be - wait for it - "Everything Your Heart Desires."
Standout Tracks: "Girl I Love You" (The Temptones), "Abandoned Luncheonette (live)," "Rich Girl," "Kiss on my List," "Private Eyes," "Missed Opportunity" RON HART
