| There followed the
time-honored period or forming various bands and scrambling for a record contract, but not
before there occurred one marriage that didn't take (Hall's), one journalism-school
diploma (Oates) and one extended self-search in Europe (Oates). Their first of five albums
was released in September 1972, and one has appeared every September since. 
blowing
off steam - 'I'm more manic than John' |
Hall and Oates have
changed musical directions as often as their lifestyles have changed. They've gone from
being greasers to folkies to street rockers, pausing long enough to assume a playful pose
as bisexuals. Whole Oats, the first album,
came at a time when the duo happened to be rebelling against rock; it appeared to be a
good time for folkies. Its back-to-the-woods concept embraced simple bucolic songs, and
the record bombed. Its liner photo showed Oates as a scowling Pancho Villa and his big
shaggy partner looking like Farrah Fawcett - Majors in Buster Brown shoes. Clearly, folk
was not it.
The Abandoned Luncheonette album followed with a funky
blending or Philly and Motown R&B. "Basically we went back to what we were most
comfortable with," Hall explains. The album was well received but sold modestly.
"She's Gone," the single, flickered around Number 40 on the charts, then
vanished. Six months after its release, "She's Gone" was covered by a dozen
other artists, with Tavares reaching Number One. |
Daryl Hall and John Oates
German Website
