Hall & Oates

H2O

The fact that the duo is sweating on here is very accurate!

Review Score:

(10/10)
Even when Daryl Hall & John Oates weren't exactly famous, they never stopped working and remained quite prolific. So it's no surprise that even after such blockbuster albums like VOICES & PRIVATE EYES, it was immediately followed by yet another runaway hit, H2O. Of course, prolific doesn't always mean great, and H2O is a bit of a return to form after the lackluster PRIVATE EYES. The interesting thing about Hall & Oates was that Hall's wife, Sara Allen, and her sister Janna often collaborated on the duo's songs. Songs like "Crime Pays", "Art Of Hearbreak", and "Open All Night" are surprisingly co-written by the Allen sisters, consider the fact that some militant feminists might take them the wrong way as sexist rants. Of course, that fate nearly befell "Maneater", which topped the charts for 4 weeks and remains their most successful single. When the video compared a woman with a tiger, feminist groups cried foul, even when it did feature a co-writing credit by Sara Allen. Strange, isn't it? But in the end, the supposed female-bashing was at the most subliminal, and unintentional. For fans and enemies of Hall & Oates, H2O is a prototype for all that the duo is about. Apparently, fans couldn't get enough of Daryl Hall & John Oates, because the two new songs on the subsequent greatest hits album also went into the top 10. So it was no surprise, the duo would take some time away from each other later in the decade to concentrate on solo work. After nearly a decade of non-stop activity, they certainly could have used it.

More Reviews: