42. Daryl Hall & John Oates--Private Eyes
#42: Daryl Hall & John Oates--Private Eyes (1981)
Top-Notch Tracks: "Did It In a Minute," "Head Above Water," "Friday Let Me Down," "I Can't Go For That (No Can Do)," "Private Eyes"
Album Depth: "Your Imagination," "Tell Me What You Want," "Mano a Mano," "Looking For a Good Sign"
Weak Links: "Unguarded Minute," "Some Men"
Stand-Out Lyrics: "If two can be one, who is the one two becomes?"--"Did It In a Minute"
"You've got the body, now you want my soul. Don't even think about it, say no go."--"I Can't Go For That (No Can Do)"
"Dial your number. Tape reply. 'I'm not at home right now but leave your name and I will call you Friday night.'"--"Friday Let Me Down"
"You're caring too much about what I say. You're wondering too much about what I do."--"Your Imagination"
"A hand stuck in a pocket comes up empty every time."--"Mano a Mano"
"What my head overlooks, the senses will show to my heart."--"Private Eyes"
"Everybody always laughs at love, but what they want is to be proven wrong."--"Did It In a Minute"
"You're messing with my love life!"--"Did It In a Minute"
Album Cover: 6 out of 10. It fairs better than most "close-up of the face" album covers because it's stylized a bit and it has two faces. (Well, two half faces.) It's just too bad there isn't more focus on Oates' mustache. (The world would be a better place if there was more focus on John Oates' mustache.)
Comments: It's 1981. Daryl Hall and John Oates are in their wheelhouse. After making it through the 1970s with a few hit and miss hits, they were coming off the mega-success of their album "Voices," with its four Top 40 hits. They release the album "Private Eyes" in September, with the first two singles from the album, "Private Eyes," and "I Can't Go For That (No Can Do)" both reaching #1 on the charts. Life is good.
It's 1981. I'm in my wheelhouse. I've just completed a very successful three years at Marsh Valley Junior High, and am starting my sophomore year at Marsh Valley High School. Sure, I'm a social misfit, and I have an innate inability to talk with or to girls. (Heck, I struggle to even talk about girls, I just listen to my friends argue about them while on campouts.) Despite that, my whole life is ahead of me, and I have a small group of great friends. Also, the music is fantastic. Especially the Daryl Hall & John Oates album "Private Eyes."
I like both of the #1 hits--I really do. But, my favorite three songs from this album are "Did It In a Minute," "Head Above Water," and "Friday Let Me Down." I'm not sure why. The three songs are very similar in style and tempo, so maybe that's it. Maybe it's, in respective order, my love of alliteration, my desire to not drown, and my fondness for songs about answering machine messages. (Can't get enough of Rupert Holmes! "Dog food for the cat." Hilarious!)
Also, the album shared a title with a Don Knotts/Tim Conway comedy released in 1980. It was the kind of movie that, at the time, was right in my comedy wheelhouse. (Here's a clip.) Yup, at that age Don Knotts and Tim Conway were the pinnacle of hilarity. (At least until 1982, when Police Squad (In Color) came along. And then we were introduced to the sophisticated humor of The Paul Hogan Show. Tim and Don never knew what hit them.)
These are just some of the reasons why I like "Private Eyes." Or maybe it's just about the mustache.
Up next: There's more to the subway than just sammiches.
I know why you like "Did It in a Minute," "Head Above Water," and "Friday Let Me Down." Two words.
ReplyDeleteElliptical worthy.
They've got the right mix of an uptempo beat, power chords, and singable chorus lines to keep an elliptical workout going at the perfect pace. The beat and the power chords give those energy bursts that make a workout fun, and if you can sing the chorus lines, that's an indicator that you're not going too fast. I know that because back in my sophomore year when I was trying to figure out how to be a better long-distance runner (because we had ZERO help from the coaches), I went to the Downey library and checked out a book by Jim Fixx called "The Complete Book of Running" in which The Fixx said that if you can run at a pace where you're still just able to talk, that's the sweet spot. If you're too out-of-breath to talk, then you're probably running too fast. I think it's the same with singing along to workout songs. If you're still able to join in the chorus lines, then you've got the right pace for your elliptical workout.
But then again, in 1984 The Fixx died of a heart attack while running, so maybe he's not the best source of workout pacing advice.
Oh, and even though the power chords are somewhat muted in the album version of "Did It in a Minute," they are definitely there. If you listen to a live version of the song, the power chords come become much more noticeable. Why? Because they're power chords, and when you're playing guitar for a live audience, you've gotta crank up the visual energy with some vigorous strumming.
https://youtu.be/o9ihV2WnOgE
And yes, that is pre-Saturday Night Live G.E. Smith playing with Daryl and John in the video. He was their lead guitarist on their albums and did a lot of arranging their music. Anyway, he's a big reason why the guitar on their albums is so damn good.
At some point in my life, I must have listened to this album a lot, because even though I don't have any particular memories associated with it, and even though it's been at least 20 years since I would have listened to it straight through, I still knew all of the songs. It really is a great album. There isn't a song on it that I'd hit the CD skip button on. Besides, if I did hit the skip button, I would then suffer the mighty wrath of the Oates Stache.
All hail the Stache!