Apart from the track 'Sara Smile' on their 1975 self titled album 'Daryl Hall & John Oates', as far as I'm concerned Hall & Oates should have packed it in after 'Abandoned Luncheonette'.
I disliked their later 'hits' with a passion. 'Your Kiss Is On My Lips', 'I Can't Go For That' ... rubbish. However, this album is a different kettle of fish.
In the mid 70s living in Auckland I had a friend who was an audiophile like me. We had vinyl test records for speaker phasing, high and low frequency sine-wave test tones, tracking, balance and positioning, turntable isolation techniques, wow and flutter measurements and messed about with the motor screws for cassette players, geek stuff coming out of every pore. We would spend hours debating tape head cleaners or the optimum balance weight position on a turntable tonearm.
He was financially better placed than I was so he would buy and sell speakers regularly and invite me over to critique them with him.
One day, as his baseline record, he played this album. Repeatedly. Making fine adjustments and tweaking as we went from track to track. Because we were busy listening for faults I really didn't appreciate the music until later when we sat back and let the album run it's course.
It's a beautiful piece of work.
'She's Gone' was the breakout single, but for me it could easily have been any of the first 4 tracks of the first side of the album.
'When the Morning Comes', 'Had I Known You Better Then' and 'Las Vegas Turnaround' were 1,2 and 3 and 'She's Gone' was 4. What a lead in - and the rest of the album didn't disappoint.
Even the album cover at the time was intriguing. An old American diner overgrown with grass and sitting amongst trees.
Who knew that years later I'd be living about 100 miles from where the photo was taken.
Not much more to say about this album other than - find it - play it - enjoy it and forgive Hall & Oates for their later mistakes.
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