Hall & Oates Our Kind Of Soul CD

Daryl Hall and John Oates sold millions of records in the 1970s and '80s by fusing their soul influences with contemporary pop production, so it's only fitting that decades down the road they would pay tribute to those influences via OUR KIND OF SOUL. Most of the album is made up of the duo's cover versions of classic soul/R&B tunes. Instead of slavishly recreating the original arrangements, though, Hall & Oates give songs a modern update, with crisp keyboard touches and programmed drums in abundance. While such chestnuts as the Four Tops' "Standing in the Shadows of Love" and Aretha Franklin's "Rock Steady" may be forever ingrained in the collective musical consciousness in their original versions, Hall & Oates do their best to redefine these songs on OUR KIND OF SOUL. Perhaps partly as a gesture to longtime fans anxious for new material, the duo throws in a few original tunes as well, which unsurprisingly sound very much of a piece with the rest of the material here.

DARYL HALL JOHN OATESOur Kind of Soul is more than a great new album of great old soul songs. Our Kind of Soul is the purest expression yet of the shared love for the music that first brought together Daryl Hall and John Oates -- the most successful duo of the rock era -- at a soul revue show in Philadelphia's Adelphia Ballroom more than three decades ago. A collection of nine familiar soul classics that Daryl and John have now made their own -- as well as three brand new soulful originals -- Our Kind of Soul is in many ways the album of a lifetime by Hall and Oates."This is an album that reflects our past, but it's very much about the present," says Daryl Hall. "This isn't about nostalgia - we're singing these songs here and now, and doing them our way."In intriguing and often revealing ways, Our Kind of Soul manages looks back to the future, boldly bringing some of the duo's favorite songs into the 21st Century. "This music is like an old friend, one for whom you will always feel a kinship and closeness," explains John Oates. "When people hear this recording, they will understand more clearly the roots of our original songs and perhaps have a bit more insight into where they really came from."Throughout Our Kind of Soul, Daryl Hall and John Oates's roots are clearly showing. By exploring the music that first inspired them, Daryl and John have made another great addition to what is a truly remarkable musical legacy. "She's Gone." "Sara Smile." "Rich Girl." "Kiss On My List." "Private Eyes." "I Can't Go For That (No Can Do)." "One On One." "Maneater," "Out of Touch." "Do It For Love." The list of hits -- pop hits, rock hits, R&B hits, dance hits, crossover hits -- goes on forever. Yet mere commercial success isn't enough for these two. An inspired and heartfelt declaration of an enduring musical passion, Our Kind of Soul -- like their 2002 album Do It For Love -- comes from a group of musicians who seem reinvirgorated and rededicated to doing what they do best. As one uptempo song on the Do It For Love album suggested, Daryl Hall and John Oates are men on a mission. Their sense of musical purpose has been very much on display during the duo's recent 2004 tour headlining a remarkable "Rock & Soul road trip that also featuring Michael McDonald and special guest, the Average White Band."Truthfully, I feel like we have really captured the essence of what we do in these past few years," explains Daryl Hall. "We took enough time apart to realize exactly what it is that we do best together. And that's what we plan on doing for here on.""I think we've clarified a sound that best represents what Daryl and I do together," adds John Oates.Now with the altogether stunning Our Kind of Soul -- produced by Hall, longtime collaborator T Bone Wolk and Greg Bieck -- Daryl Hall and John Oates have done much more than just gracefully salute some past classics. Our Kind of Soul is intimate, revelatory music that's been lovingly made in the present tense. Thirty years after "SaMojo (Publisher) (p.102) - 3 stars out of 5 - "[T]heir poised take on the old Stylistics' hit 'You Are Everything', for example, is a masterstroke..."