Over the years, I’ve enjoyed the songs of Daryl Hall and John Oates. The rock critics at the time called their music “Blue-Eyed Soul.” There’s no doubt that many Hall & Oates songs have a soulful vibe. With Our Kind of Soul (2004), Hall & Oates present three original tracks and 14 covers of soul hits of the 1960s, 1970s and 1980s. Clearly, they picked songs they really liked as the basis for their cover tracks.
Although this album is 20 years old, Hall & Oates sound great as they interpret these soul songs. Some are better than others. I enjoyed Hall’s version of “I’ll Be Around,” the old Spinners song. Maybe the best song on this CD is the Hall/Oates version of “Love TKO,” the classic Teddy Pendergrass hit. Also well done is “You Are Everything,” the Stylistics standard.
How many of these soul songs do you remember? Any favorites? GRADE: B
TRACK LIST:
| Let Love Take Control (Hall, Oates, Billy Mann) | 3:29 | ||
| Standing In The Shadows Of Love (Eddie Holland,Lamont Dozier, Brian Holland) | 3:59 | ||
| I’ll Be Around (Thom Bell, Phil Hurt) | 4:02 | ||
| Used To Be My Girl (Kenny Gamble, Leon Huff) | 4:00 | ||
| Soul Violins (Hall, Greg Beck)) | 4:05 | ||
| I Can Dream About You (Dan Hartman) | 3:16 | ||
| Don’t You Turn Your Back On Me (Hall) | 4:50 | ||
| Fading Away (Warren Moore, Smokey Robinson, Robert Rodgers) | 3:39 | ||
| Neither One Of Us (Jim Weatherly) | 4:19 | ||
| After The Dance (Marvin Gaye, Leon Ware) | 4:11 | ||
| Rock Steady (Aretha Franklin) | 4:04 | ||
| Love TKO (Gip Noble, Cecil Womack, Linda Womack) | 5:20 | ||
| What You See Is What You Get (Anthony Hester) | 4:30 | ||
| Can’t Get Enough Of Your Love (Barry White) | 3:48 | ||
| You Are Everything (Thom Bell, Linda Creed) | 3:55 | ||
| I’m Still In Love With You (Al Green, Al Jackson, Willie Mitchell) | 4:06 | ||
| Ooh Child (Stan Vincent) | 3:51 | ||
| Me & Mrs. Jones (Live) (Billy Paul) | 6:21 |
I’ll have to look for this one—I know & like most of the songs here, and I also like H&O (although they seem to have recently reached the “grumpy old men” stage of their musical partnership, featuring competing lawsuits and public shade-throwing). I’m glad they did a version of Dan Hartman’s “I Can Dream About You” because I can never hear the original without thinking it IS Hall & Oates!
Deb, accord to the Notes included in OUR KIND OF SOUL, Daryl Hall writes that Dan Hartman originally offered the song to them. They passed on it and Hartman recorded it and “I Cann Dream About You” became a hit for him.
Saw them once in during there run of hits and thry were very good. I prefer Memphis Soul and Motown over Phiklly soul and a lot of these songs were never on my radar. I do have a loathing of Me and Mrs. Paul. The song is like nails on a blackboard to me.
Steve, Philly Soul seems a bit smoother than Memphis or Motown Soul.
I recognise about half of them. I’d rather hear the originals than cover versions. “I Can Dream About You” is Soul? Really? Can’t stand Barry White.
Fred, when I lived in an apartment building in Madison, Wisconsin back in the 1970s, the guy who lived above me would set his phonograph to REPEAT when he was “entertaining” women for the night. And guess who I heard over and over and over all night long…BARRY WHITE!
We saw them once too. Never a huge fan but they did some good stuff. As for the covers, I know most of the originals.
It’s “Me and Mrs. Jones” not “Mrs. Paul” – she made fish sticks, Steve.
😉
I like Standing in the Shadows of Love and I’ll Be Around and You Are Everything and O-o-h (original spelling) Child.
Jeff, in 2023 I posted about the soul covers of Rod Stewart and Michael McDonald. Now, Hall & Oates. Soul music was a big influence on these guys and their music.
oops
Never heard of this one, George, but I do like Hall & Oates. I’ll have to watch for it.
I’m also a fan of Live from Daryl’s House. He’s had good people on and the chitchat between songs is interesting to me.
Beth, I’m with you on LIVE FROM DARYL’S HOUSE. I really liked the episode with Rumor. Sometimes the chitchat is the best part of the program!
Blue-eyed Soul was The Righteous Brothers first!
Bob, you’re right! I listen to The Righteous Brothers on a regular basis!
Well, Mose Allison laid some groundwork.
Never was a big fan of them, ok mihjt listen but wouldn’t by a record.
Not too much OT:
Just found a report on several Partnerships in the pop music and how they deelopd. H&O is there just like Simon and Garfunkel, thr Davies brothers and the Everly brothers. Quite interesting to see what became of them.
https://www.theguardian.com/music/2023/nov/23/hes-a-man-with-a-fork-in-a-world-of-soup-the-bitterest-music-duo-spats
Wolf, money always changes everything.
I must admit, I prefer Garfunkel & Oates.
Todd, when John Oates considered selling his share of the duo’s publishing to Primary Wave Music Hall was outraged.