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Elly Roberts reviews
UWatch Records
- Released: February 2005
- Rating: 2/10
- Cat.no.: UWRCD1
For nearly three decades, Daryl Hall and John Oates have been standard bearers of blue-eyed Soul music.
Taking their cues from Motown stars like The Temptations, they evolved into aprolific hit machine responsible for some of the most memorable songs of thelast thirty years. They are also the most successful duo in US chart history.
Looking at their CV a string of classic hits, starting with Shes Gonein October 1976, followed by Kiss On My List, and Private Eyes,they peaked commercially in the UK in January 82 with I Cant Go For That(No Can Do) and later the same year with the Motownish dance classicManeater. Their biggest selling album was Private Eyes in the same year.
It was around this time I first saw them at the NEC Birmingham, and then in 1990supporting Fleetwood Mac at Maine Road Manchester. On stage theyre a hot act,particularly Halls emotive vocal style.
This bumper collection sees the pair far more self-indulgent, covering some oftheir favourite songs, all done in Halls familiar Philly mood.
The collection doesnt work, prinicipally because it lacks the very thing theyretrying to convey: SOUL. Very little of their efforts do justice to the genre,except perhaps the single I Can Dream About You. The remainder arecontrived and pretentious. Hall struggles with his disastrous falsetto onYou Are Everything. Great Soul music comes from the heart, whereas thiscomes from the head and the production room.
Their objective was to “make old songs feel new again”, but theyve failedmiserably. The duos own songs are usually superb: even the self-pennedSoul Violins and Dont Turn Your Back On Me fail to impress.Worst album in years.
The full list of tracks included are :
1. Let Love Take Control
2. Standing In the Shadows Of Love
3. Ill Be Around
4. Used To Be My Girl
5. Soul Violins
6. I Can Dream About You
7. Dont Turn Your back On Me Baby
8. Fading Away
9. Neither One Of Us10. After The Dance
11. Rock Steady
12. Love(TKO)
13. What You See Is What You Get
14. Cant Get Enough Of Your Love
15. You Are Everything
16. Im Still In Love With You
17. Ooh Child
18. Ill Be Around (7″ edit)
Elly Roberts passed away in 2011, but he was a man who was so passionate about all types of music and loved meeting his musical heroes, such as Mick Hucknall at a book signing at the Trafford Centre, Manchester in 2007.
A former teacher and also a music journalist, DJ and radio presenter on local community station Calon FM, plus appearances on BBC Radio Wales, BBC Radio Cymru and BBC Radio 2, Elly started doing reviews for DVDfever.co.uk in 2004 and he did the majority of the CD and concerts reviews on the website.
I know also that he loved getting away for the summer to Spain and I hope that wherever he is now he is enjoying the hot sunshine and, as one of his friends has said on his Facebook page, that he is interviewing his musical heroes.