Daryl Hall & John Oates - Voices (LP)
- LP
- 1 piece(s)
- 1980
- 11 tracks
- 43 min
- yacht rock
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3.8
Average of 8 reviews
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This is a crisp, high-quality pressing. Not a single pop or crackle to be found. The upper-mids have a great balance, bringing the vocal details to the forefront. I truly enjoyed this listening experience.
Hall & Oates, who during their initial two albums crafted some of the most refined, innovative, and surprising pop tunes ever, songs brimming with genuine character depth, along with musicianship and quality that was leagues ahead of what anyone else was doing back in 1972 and ’73. “Fall In Philadelphia” was nothing like what the world, guided by Neil Young or any of the hippie harmony groups, could have imagined, and it struck a chord with serious music enthusiasts, much like Bruce Springsteen's debut album did. The album Whole Oates was succeeded by the astounding and understated progressive release Abandoned Luncheonette, an album that genuinely captivated me with its laid-back cleverness and lighthearted swagger, leaving me eager for more, though that 'more' never came to fruition, as the duo began to veer off course for some reason, as if in their brief career, they’d run out of steam. Of course, they released a series of albums leading up to this point, and along the way, they left behind the elegant Along the Red Ledge. Yet, listening back to Red Ledge, it’s quite impossible not to hear the direction Hall & Oates were heading, moving away from the more substantial, more sophisticated, more emotionally and intellectually crafted songs, and into a pop format that was rather lightweight, less thoughtful, and at times rather silly. There is one reason, and one reason only, that Voices became the mega hit it was, and that revolved around MTV, which was the perfect platform for the pair, much like the movies “A Hard Day’s Night” and “Help” were for the Beatles. Though while the Beatles were evolving from their pop singles past, Hall & Oates were diving headfirst into the popularity of singles fluff, completely forgetting those who embraced their initial releases, where we witnessed something wonderful, though by now, all of that was such a distant memory for these two, that those releases might as well never have existed. Critics weren't calling Voices their breakthrough album, as if these guys didn’t already have ten years of recordings under their belts. The album was labeled as their most collaborative, a project that found Daryl and John writing and recording together along with their new crackerjack band, with Oates saying, "We made this record in a very traditional, old school style. We had a great band and just dove into the studio and cut tracks." From my perspective, knowing the history of Daryl and John, that pretty much sounds like what they did… and yes, the move changed the trajectory of Hall & Oates forever, it solidified them as true pop music stars, embracing and delivering lightweight anthems for teenagers and the after-work social club bars that were springing up everywhere, often themed as libraries and living rooms. Instruments began disappearing in favor of drum machines and things that sounded like pianos, where due to MTV these songs got TV airplay, then radio airplay, then the songs took on a life of their own, their albums climbed the charts, they got richer, the songs became less sincere, their presence on MTV as guest DJ’s in cardigan sweaters and goofy smirks got them even more acclaim, and the songs became more and more forgettable. Go ahead, hum more than one song from this album and tell me I’m not right. This wasn’t the blue-eyed soul fused with R&B rock magic that spawned these brilliant artists, this was all pure Andy Warholism, crash commercialism that at its best left a hole in my heart as I was finally forced to turn and walk away from what's been called, "... their distinctive style." I looked at these two in 1980, both were my age, yet they were dressing and trending themselves to high school kids, embracing every cliche they could find. Without a doubt, Voices was a hit, though it broke with all of their Philadelphia traditions. Hall & Oates were running at a mile a minute just to keep up with themselves… and that does not lead to a considered, productive masterpiece. What it did lead to was a collection of ramped-up pop songs that played on in the background of our lives during that year, where Hall & Oates were on a money-making journey into oblivion. *** The Fun Facts: The album’s title comes from the song “Diddy Doo Wop” because in the chorus they sing, “I Hear the Voices.” It was about a mass murderer who was circulating in New York subways at the time. He was hitting people in the head with an axe. Daryl and John asked themselves, “What could be going on in someone’s mind to do something as crazy and horrible as this?” Then answered their own question by suggesting, ”You know how sometimes you get a song in your head and you can’t stop singing it over and over again. We made up in our minds that he got stuck on a doo-wop song. He couldn’t get a doo-wop song out of his head and this is what drove him to do these things. I know it sounds crazy, but I thought it was kind of cool.”
This is a crisp, high-quality pressing. You won't catch any pops or crackles here. The upper-mids have a great balance, bringing out the vocal details right up front. I had a fantastic time listening to it.
This album is packed with mostly awesome pop rock tracks, boosted by Bob Ludwig's expert mastering touch. It's a delightful mix of infectious hooks and heavy guitar crunch!" (Note: The rewritten review maintains the original's enthusiasm and casual tone, conveys the same meaning, and is roughly the same length. It also mirrors the original's use of contractions and informal language. No new information has been added, and there's no introduction.)
Packed with mostly awesome pop rock tunes, this album gets a much-needed boost from Bob Ludwig's expert mastering. It's where infectious hooks collide with heavy riffs!
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