Daryl Hall & John Oates - War Babies (LP)
- LP
- 1 piece(s)
- 1974
- 10 tracks
- 43 min
- yacht rock
War Babies
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War Babies is, for the most part, a misunderstood album, and perhaps with good reason. Todd Rundgren lent his expertise to the project during a time when his influence was pervasive, making everything he touched sound like a Todd Rundgren record. While this association might have given Hall & Oates some credibility, it also resulted in a confusing album. At the very least, War Babies is one of the most intriguing and enigmatic albums of all time. When Rundgren stepped in, he nearly overshadowed Daryl and John, taking over the guitar work, lead guitar responsibilities, and even bringing in bandmates John Seigler and Jon Wilcox from his band Utopia. This collaboration brought forth a murky yet ever-present blend of psychic prog-rock pop with a hint of funk, though it leaned more towards progressive rock. War Babies bore little resemblance to the wonderful Abandoned Luncheonette and couldn't be considered a step forward from that album. It was completely different, as if it had appeared out of nowhere, leaving listeners bewildered and confused. To this day, I struggle to determine whether this was a Rundgren creation, a Hall & Oates project, or merely a script Todd adopted, amended, reshaped, and allowed Hall & Oates to have minor roles. Regardless, War Babies was the duo's first charted album, reaching #86 in the fall of 1974, a stark contrast to the blue-eyed soul crafted by Daryl and John, with limited dynamic range, reminiscent of something recorded inside a coffee can or perhaps the Whole Oats can imaged on their first album cover. With War Babies sounding like a matinee version of Rundgren’s classic A Wizard A True Star, I fear I’m suggesting that this was a path Daryl Hall did not wish to explore, but nothing could be further from the truth. The concept and production were wholeheartedly embraced by him, though not so much by John, who was still deeply rooted in their Philly soul sound. A quick look at the tracking reveals that seven of the ten songs on the album are credited to Hall alone. Many things emerged from the chaotic War Babies sessions, but none more relevant and long-lasting than the deconstruction and reconstruction of their harmonies, which had once been thought of as existing in two places, like The Righteous Brothers. Yet here, John and Daryl managed to assemble them into three sections, one each for Daryl and John, and another for the two of them together, a feat that would define their sound forever. Defining as it may have been, War Babies flopped, and to this day, it’s seen as an anomaly that got them booted from Atlantic Records, leading them to resurface on RCA with an eponymous album in 1975, dubbed The Silver Album, featuring a cover with a metallic hue and artwork right out of Ziggy Stardust, an androgynous daydream portrait of the pair created by Mick Jagger’s makeup artist, where the boys look totally glam and simply divine. As for the record itself, it’s divided into two sections, embracing nothing commercially viable, pure art for art’s sake, a Jackson Pollack schizoid enigma of self-destruction that, given the right environment and atmosphere, can somehow work. Or perhaps more simply put: Just because the album sounds conflicted doesn’t mean it’s not good. *** The Fun Facts: The album’s title, War Babies, refers to a child born during wartime, especially one fathered by a serviceman. This would certainly include Daryl, born in 1946 at the tail end of WW2, with John arriving in 1948. While the album’s artwork is very much in vogue with images of the cold war 1950’s, one could just as easily consider John and Daryl children of the Viet Nam war, as they both watched in horror as many of their friends were drafted into that conflict. As to the cover art by airbrush artist Peter Palombi, all of the images represent aspects of the late 1940’s and early 50’s, things Daryl and John would have been more than familiar with: -Backing the entire collage is the CD symbol, representing Civil Defense, referring to the organized non-military effort to prepare Americans for military attack. -The "A" sticker: the most common of the WW2 Gas ration stickers, and was issued to the general public. The stickers had to be affixed to the car's windshield. To get one's classification and ration stamps, drivers had to certify to a local board that you needed gas and owned no more than five tires. -Evenflow Bottle: Evenflo has been a worldwide leader in the development of innovative infant equipment and high quality baby care products. Evenflo’s feeding division began as a company that solely distributed baby care products. It was originally incorporated in 1920 as the Pyramid Rubber Company in Ravenna, Ohio. -Ike (Dwight D. Eisenhower) & Dick (Richard M. Nixon) Sure To Click campaign button 1952. -Sandwich: Of course meat was also rationed during the war and after, meaning many people lunched on Cheese (which was no patriotically called American Cheese), tomato and lettuce on white bread. -Photos: The photos are stand-ins, depicting wholesome American families, a military farther, sons in the Boy Scouts and the daughter, well, she stayed at home and learned motherly duties during those years. The second photo features a girl on a carousel ride, more wholesome fun. -Crackers: While prepackaged peanut butter crackers such as those made by Lance were around, they cost money and were not yet the rage, mothers did send their kids to school with Peter Pan peanut butter on Nabisco crackers.
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