Ultimate Daryl Hall + John Oates
DARYL HALL + JOHN OATES
BMG Heritage
At some point in the '80s, the rock critic community — perhaps led astray by tin ears and a misguided quest for "real substance" — branded Hall & Oates hacks. The most charitable among them labeled the best-selling pop duo of all time a "guilty pleasure." Well I'm here to say that I'm not feeling guilty at all. Ever since I heard "When the Morning Comes" wafting through the dormitory hall in '73, I've been a hardcore fan.
Yes, there have been missteps. The Philly tandem followed up 1973's sublime Abandoned Luncheonette by handing over production reins to Todd Rundgren for the murky War Babies (an album represented by exactly zero songs on this two-disc retrospective). The duo's late '70s LPs Along the Red Ledge and X-Static aren't exactly jewels in their discography (although "I Don't Wanna Lose You" and "Wait for Me" are certainly fine singles from those albums). And as far as the big, thwacking snare drum sound that burdened such otherwise great records as "Adult Education," "Say It Isn't So," "Everything Your Heart Desires" and "Method of Modern Love," well, people, that wasn't their fault. That drum-machine-run-amok sound was the fashion of the times. I'm sure Daryl and John regret it 20 years on.
Let us now focus on the good about Hall & Oates, of which there is much, most of it captured on the 37-track Ultimate Daryl Hall + John Oates. They started out as folkie-hippies with a predilection for Philly soul, and they fused it beautifully in their early work. Over the years, they stirred in power-pop, dance-funk and a bit of glam for a sound that consistently delivered mega-hooks and marvelous vocal chemistry.
Their lyrics were mostly cliches — at best, faux-hip attempts at urban angst ("Do What You Want, Be What You Are"), at worst, sophomoric chastising ("Rich Girl"), but at times you could glean little truths and insights. (Who can argue with the romantic eloquence of "Sara Smile"? And, besides, it wasn't just that Hall sang the words "Sara smile," it was how he sang the words "Sara smile.")
To these ears, the best of the collection's material is on Disc 1, which captures all of the '70s stuff, plus five songs from 1980's Voices (the best being the spunky "You Make My Dreams" and soulful "Every Time You Go Away") and four from the following year's Private Eyes (home of the overlooked gem "Did It in a Minute"). The crafty Motown cop "Maneater" leads off the second disc and includes subsequent hits "One on One," "Say It Isn't So" and "Out of Touch."
Hall & Oates ceased being relevant right around 1990. The explosion of hip-hop and alternative rock early in that decade didn't help their cause, but they still managed a few solid songs that actually sound better given a little time. The partners returned to acoustic guitars on "Don't Hold Back Your Love," with satisfying results. Even better is 1997's "Starting All Over Again," an unabashed love letter to Philly soul.
Hall & Oates may never be truly relevant again — although I'm not completely counting them out — but Ultimate Daryl Hall + John Oates shows they were plenty relevant for quite some time, and that the bulk of their back catalogue holds up extremely well. 
—ERIC SNIDER
Van Hunt
VAN HUNT
Capitol
This precocious 25-year-old from Atlanta has written, produced and performed (with guest players and singers) what will likely end up the hippest neo-soul album of '04. Van Hunt has learned his R&B lessons well — you can hear traces of Marvin Gaye, Al Green and Terence Trent D'Arby in his high, sensitive vocals; vestiges of Shuggie Otis and Curtis Mayfield in the flowing, psychedelic soul of his arrangements; pinches of Stevie Wonder, Green and others in his songwriting. Yet Hunt is no mere throwback, an amalgam of his influences — all of them get tossed into a blender, pureed, and damn if Van Hunt doesn't come out his own man. Another way he breaks with the modern R&B mold is his refusal to rely on sexual bravado and macho come-ons for his lyrics. This is a cat who's comfortable with his own vulnerability. This is a guy who begs for a woman's attention, wonders aloud "Did I mean anything to you?," revels in "Seconds of Pleasure," because "I don't know when I will feel it again." On "Down Here in Hell (With You)" he celebrates the ups and downs that give a relationship its complexity and richness. Van Hunt is a beautifully paced CD balancing gorgeous balladry, percolating groovemanship and pop melody that manages to be forceful but never heavy-handed. And it gets better with each spin.
—ERIC SNIDER
Only With Laughter Can You Win
ROSIE THOMAS
Sub Pop
Slowing things down is easy. Keeping it engaging is not. The multifarious pitfalls are as follows: if your lyrics suck, playing slow makes it more obvious; if the structure and instrumentation stay the same, playing slow makes it sound more redundant; and if you're obsessed with dreams of teddy bears, angels and Irish castles, playing slow makes it sound like Rosie Thomas. Only With Laughter Can You Win is an album with everything going for it — the girl's signed to the venerable Sub Pop label, and even has Mr. Sam (Iron and Wine/this-week's-new-Dylan) Beam singing on one track. For anyone familiar with Iron and Wine's grainy, lo-fi texture and Old Testament-via-Faulkner ruminations, it's easy to contrast with Thomas' wholly different approach — namely, slick production, concert hall vocals, and a host of guest vocalists. She has just enough indie cred to make you think her lyrics matter, but when listening, it's hard to deny the fluffy schoolgirl-diary theme that's evident throughout Only With Laughter …. Then there's the Jesus thing. Despite Thomas' peerless singing voice, cast in the same mold as Sarah McLachlan, her overly simplistic preaching eclipses every well-executed syllable she utters. Give this one to your 12-year-old niece; she may get a good two years out of listening to it before finding something with more substance (on the scale of, say, Jewel). 1/2
—MARK SANDERS
This article appears in Apr 15-21, 2004.