Hall & Oates - Ultimate Daryl Hall & John Oates

For the Ultimate Fan . . . This is it!

I decided to get the CD after H&O's last October's concert in South Florida and I wasn't disappointed. I didn't even mind the longer version of "She's gone" - maybe because it was performed as such at the concert and to rave reviews. It is well worth the price for 37 tracks over three decades of music. I think such longevity and relevance even to someone of my young generation (with an old-soul taste in music) should be rewarded. January 18, 2007

looking for the most comprehensive Hall & Oates collection?

maybe you're like me and you're looking for the most complete Hall & Oates collection. well, let me save you some time. After looking through the 5 or 6 "greatest hits" collections in their catalog, THIS 2-CD set has virtually ALL of the songs that the other collections have and then some. Nothing is left out.

In fact, there are two 2-CD sets here (ESSENTIAL Hall & Oates and ULTIMATE Hall & Oates) and THEY HAVE THE EXACT SAME TRACK LISTING. What the hell's the point in that? LOL So buy whichever one is cheaper.

You're welcome. :-) December 22, 2006

All Here...

I actually bought this CD set for one song that is unavailable pretty much any place else..."Do What You Want.." I was in a San Francisco flophouse with no money and no hope and this song came on the radio and sort of summed it up.... December 3, 2006

ULTIMATE Hall and Oates... well, almost

`Cept for one track `Mano A-Mano' from their 1981 hit album PRIVATE EYES (now reissued with bonus tracks) - this retrospective double disc CD of Daryl Hall and John Oates kind of covers 'em all, quite resolving the problem of securing every hit or notable song of theirs (mixed on the jumble of their other least likeable tracks) from their first ever seventies single "She's Gone", to their earliest noteworthy tracks ("When The Morning Comes", "How Does It Feel to Be Back", and the real good less-familiar track "It's A Laugh"); to the more known hits ("Rich Girl", , "Kiss On My List", "You Make My Dreams", "Private Eyes", "Did It In A Minute", "Maneater", "One On One", "Family Man"); their most commercial ones ("I Can't Go For That (No Can Do)", "Say It Isn't So", "Out of Touch", "Method of Modern Love", "Possession Obsession"); and their great ones "Wait For Me", "Some Things Are Better Left Unsaid" (the song with a very spaced-out video), and the grand Bon-Jovi produced "So Close", along with their attempted former and later comebacks "Don't Hold Back Your Love" and "Do It For Love"; plus one of the best remakes since Van Halen's rendition of "Pretty Woman" - the song "You've Lost That Loving Feeling", and the original version of a Paul Young covered tune "Everytime You Go Away". The back-up vocals for "Starting All Over" sounded a lot suspiciously like those of then-Christian rock songstress Leslie Philiphs (now Sam Philiphs), who's hubby - the noted record producer T. Bone Burnett produced the said track.

All in all containing the whole lot from the predecessor greatest hits compilation ('cept for the Live version of "Wait For Me"), this one's not that bad at all, includes a booklet listing chart positions of the songs (wherever applicable), along with Hall and Oates' comments for some of the tracks.

RATE = 8 ½ out of 10
November 15, 2006

BMG does right by H&O

BMG, which nearly a decade ago released the solid Hall & Oates "Best Of" compilation "Starting All Over Again" overseas, outdoes itself with this "Ultimate" upgrade.

Everything you should expect from a Hall & Oates retrospective, short of a boxed set, is here. This collection spans all of the duo's major hits, with first-class remastering and liner notes. And it improves on the "Starting All Over Again" double-CD by subbing out a couple of the duo's Arista-era clunkers with the wonderful "Las Vegas Turnaround" and "When the Morning Comes."

A thumbs up, too, for including the John Oates composition "How Does It Feel To Be Back," from the "Voices" album, a nicely-written tune and a vital link between the struggling post-"Rich Girl" years and their 80s salad days. (To me, only the unneeded echo on Oates's voice kept it from really clicking on on the charts.)

Otherwise, take your pick from the catalogue of the duo's truly great songs -- "Sara Smile," "She's Gone," "Kiss On My List," "Maneater," "Out of Touch" or the well-written 1997 comebacker "Promise Ain't Enough."

Going through "Ultimate Daryl Hall & John Oates" is a trip into an ocean of hits at the perfect temperature. Come on in; the water's fine. February 4, 2006

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