Tonight is the Rock ‘n Roll Hall of Fame induction ceremony in Brooklyn. As you may know, Daryl Hall & John Oates are among tonight’s inductees. It’s very well deserved, as Hall & Oates have been incredibly successful and influential. Their list of hit singles is lengthy: “Sara Smile,” “Rich Girl,” “You Make My Dreams,” “I Can’t Go For That” and “Out Of Touch” have to top anyone’s list of best pop songs of the modern era.

This particular list won’t focus on those hits, as you probably are extremely familiar with them. Here are five songs from their lengthy catalog that don’t get their just due. One was a major hit, a couple were minor hits, and a couple are album tracks (so we can do away once and for all with the assertion that Hall & Oates were just a singles act.) The songs featured here span the last four decades. All are jams. Check ’em out:

“Everything Your Heart Desires“

1988’s Oooh Yeah! was supposed to be H2O’s return to chart dominance after a four year break between studio albums.  Although the album was successful (going Platinum,) it (and this, its lead single) seems to be forgotten about when discussing Daryl & John’s run of hits. For what it’s worth, “Everything” is a fantastic slice of late ’80s soul/pop (indeed, it was a Top 15 hit on Billboard’s R&B chart.) The lyric might be a bit too wordy for top 40 radio, but the song is very well-written, and I’ve always thought that it was one of the best imitation Jam & Lewis productions to ever be released. It even makes use of the “zipper” sound effect that’s prevalent on many Flyte Tyme productions. Don’t make the connection? Listen to this and then check out The Human League‘s “Human.”

“Have I Been Away Too Long”

This song comes from 1978’s Along The Red Ledge. The album was produced by David Foster, and many of the songs here have an edge not normally associated with the adult contemporary producer. “Have I Been Away Too Long” is a standout, mostly due to the fact that Daryl Hall goes the fuck off vocally on this song. This, folks, is a master class in singing. Is that yodeling I hear?

“Melody For A Memory”

Often lost in discussion is the fact that Daryl and John could harmonize like nobody’s business. This song makes the most of their unique vocal blend. As someone who takes a particular interest in vocal arrangements (blame it on Luther Vandross,) “Melody,” which finds both members darting in and out of the mix, is a favorite of mine. Plus, at the song’s climax, there’s some serious jamming. Here it is, paired with “It’s A Laugh,” which was actually a hit single. Man, Along The Red Ledge was a solid album.

“Open All Night”

1982’s H2O (the album that brought us “Maneater,” “Family Man” and the supremely sexy “One On One”) is in the running for Daryl & John’s best album (their self-titled 1975 album is its main competition) and it boasts this killer album cut. Just about the only person who could pull off the “accusatory but really hurt” vocal style as well as Daryl was Michael Jackson. Listen to the man sing about what happens when he finds out his lady has been a little…uh, loose…in his absence.

“(She) Got Me Bad”

Hall & Oates’ most recent album of original material is 2003’s Do It For Love, which is quite good. This slow jam should fit right in on your “time to seduce” mixtape alongside the aforementioned “One On One.”

 

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