80s icons not so out of touch

Daryl Hall and John Oates. Photo by Mark Maglion.
Daryl Hall and John Oates. Photo by Mark Maglion.
Long since paroled for their fashion crimes of the '80s, Hall & Oates are finding new audiences online. Rashod D. Ollison, of The Baltimore Sun, catches up.

In the 1980s, the era of Pac-Man, hair bands and Flashdance, seemingly anything synthetic and hyper-stylised ruled pop culture.

If you were around then, you couldn't escape the sounds of Hall & Oates, the superduo of blond, clean-shaven Daryl Hall and raven-haired, mustached John Oates.

The hits abounded: Maneater, Kiss on My List, I Can't Go for That (No Can Do), Private Eyes, Out of Touch, Method of Modern Love.

Up and down the radio dial, black and mainstream stations spun their records regularly.

This new thing called MTV played Hall & Oates videos, in all their hopelessly cheesy glory, almost nonstop.

By the end of the decade, the two friends from Philadelphia had racked up six No. 1 hits and sold 80 million albums worldwide.

But Hall & Oates never garnered critical respect.

In their 35 years of recording, the two have never taken home a Grammy.

Yet their influence - the strong R&B inflections in unabashedly slick pop arrangements - can be heard in the platinum music of such contemporary acts as Robin Thicke, Justin Timberlake and Gym Class Heroes.

Ben Gibbard of Death Cab for Cutie and Brandon Flowers of The Killers have name-checked Hall & Oates in interviews.

Hip-hop stars such as Kanye West and Wyclef Jean have sampled their grooves and lyrics.

The two recently appeared on The Daily Show, hamming it up with Jon Stewart.

It seems Hall & Oates may be receiving some long-overdue props.

The duo has a new album, Live at the Troubadour, a two-CD/DVD set recorded at the famed Los Angeles venue in May.

"It's a vindication," says Hall, 62.

"The people writing about bands at that time were opposed to what we were doing. Right now, people seem to relate to what we did in a modern way."

Stripped of the dated synthesizers and drum machines, the '80s hits hold up well in sensitive, acoustic arrangements.

It's a testament to the strength of the songs, which have fluid melodies and easy choruses that burrow immediately: "Private eyes/They're watching you/They see your ev'ry move."

Many new fans are discovering the duo's classics on Hall's popular monthly web show, Live From Daryl's House.

The site, which streamed its 16th episode last month, features crisply shot performances in Hall's large rustic home in upstate New York.

An array of younger artists - Travis McCoy from Gym Class Heroes, Finger Eleven, Eric Hutchinson, KT Tunstall and others - have jammed with Hall and a full band on the show.

The episodes feature reimagined takes of Hall & Oates classics and other songs.

"I've been travelling on the road for years and thought about turning it upside down and bringing the road to me," Hall says.

"This concept allows me to work with younger artists, do an intergenerational thing. The young artists are looking at the music differently. They hear something that I don't hear. So, creatively, it keeps me on my toes, and I love that."

McCoy, the lead rapper and focal point of Gym Class Heroes, performed with Hall in one of the site's early episodes.

"Daryl Hall is my hero, hands down," he says.

"That was one of the happiest moments in my life."

The web show is a progressive way to reach old and new fans.

"When the music business fell apart, it made me happy," Hall says.

"I did well commercially for a certain period, but the music business was always a hindrance to the creative side. This allows me to be much more flexible. I don't have to deal with the gatekeepers - the [artist-and-repertoire] people and record execs who think they know what's best for the music but too many times don't know."

Hall & Oates' last smash, Everything Your Heart Desires, sailed into the Top 10 two decades ago.

Since then, they have toured occasionally and quietly released albums together and solo.

In 2003, the duo was voted into the Songwriters Hall of Fame, one of few high regards their work has received over the years.

"Sometimes it takes awhile for people to appreciate what has been done before," Hall says.

"The songs have stood the test of time."

 

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