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My Amazon Reviews: Daryl Hall & John Oates "Daryl Hall & John Oates (The Silver Album)"

Taking Flight
4 Out Of 5 Stars

Despite some minor success with their first three albums on Atlantic (most notably "Abandoned Luncheonette"), this was the album that found Daryl Hall and John Oates breaking through. "Sara Smile" became the duo's first major hit, enough so that "She's Gone" to re-chart and go top ten two years after it was first released. They had honed their songwriting to a new found tightness, and Hall's soulful voice become was helping to carry the songs.

The merger was not quite perfect; while the soul influence is obvious, the production is dated. Strings have that super lush Philly-seventies sound, there's a faux-reggae number ("Soldering") and some overdone horn/orchestral stuff. (We won't even start on the androgynous cover and the original nude inner-sleeve pics...) The songs overcome the shortcomings, like "Grounds For Separation" and "Out of Me Out of You." The upbeat "Gino (The Manager Song)" and John Oates' occasional huskier voice provide contrast. As a snapshot of a career at the beginning of its trajectory, this album still stands up well.