defend the indefensible: Hall and Oates

And, you know, you don't have to take sides between H&O and Rundgren, because War Babies is both of them -- it's produced by Rundgren, and he plays lead guitar on the entire album.

I love the weird vocoder/warped guitar sounds of their cover of "family man". also those giant keith leblanc drums on the remix of "out of touch". and the sound production on "i can't go for that" made this the only 80s song that sounded BETTER on AM radio than FM radio.

don't forget g.e. smith! oh, why did you fall so low and become the driving force behind making us all hate the SNL band, G.e... why why why?

WTF??? "Family Man" was a cover???

This song never gets as much love as "I Can Go For That."

Which is funny in that he didn't write the song. (It was the dudes who wrote "Like a Virgin" for Madonna a couple of years later.)

Never owned that album but "Dreamtime" was as close as Dave Stewart got (along with "Don't Come Around Here No More" for Tom Petty) for trying to make pop/psych that got on the radio via production. But Prince was doing far better on that front overall.

"out of touch" is brilliant ."everytime you go away" is clasic,"everything your heart desires" was the comeback song .

Abandoned Luncheonette is one of the most underrated albums ever made. well, actually, the second half does fall apart some (trying waaaay too hard to be "deep" and shit, though "Laughing Boy" does have a nice tune and "Lady Rain" pulls it off), but side one is DYNAMITE. "When the Morning Comes" = some of the coolest, most understated Moog action evah + beyond-perfect "whoo" harmonies + wonderful folk acoustic strum + marvelous bridge, esp. Daryl's high notes. "Had I Know You Better Then" = gorgeous mumbly Oates vocal + that piercing little guitar punctuating the chorus + sudden drama in final chorus-buildup/breakdown, John cool and understated against Hall's urgency and then dissolving back into the rippling harmonies. "Las Vegas Turnaround" = the greatest Belle & Sebastian song ever written (I stole this comparison, though not the rating, from Douglas Wolk), the ricky-tick drums and jazzy guitars/electric keybs are like a more humane early Steely Dan. "She's Gone" = a monument, one of the records I beat myself up about for not including on my top-100-singles-of-the-'70s list, the first 45 seconds are the greatest thing I've ever heard to listen to while stoned out of your gourd, totally widescreen cinematic verse-to-chorus transitions, the breakdown w/the bass solo and guitar stuff and horns and the sudden stop is one of the most honestly dramatic pieces of music I know. I played it obsessively all of 2004 and want to do so again right now. "I'm Just a Kid (Don't Make Me Feel Like a Man)" = tentative and folky and oversensitive but fuck it, after those first four they've earned it. everything else they did was, is, gravy.

the sudden stop is one of the most honestly dramatic pieces of music I know

Easily.

Recently, I'm thinking "Your Imagination" = best H&O song. Except it's really still "I Can't Go for That (No Can Do)"

Amen. You've discovered the Holy Grail, my son. I can write pages about that song. Luvluvluv the organ.

This actually might be one of their most underrated songs. "I Don't Wanna Lose You" as well (he says, while listening to same).

But so superior.

And don't get me started on "We are the World"

also, they are from philly. i live in philly. therefore, they're awesome.

been listening to Sacred Songs again lately in lite of the Exposure reissue, the stretch from babs and babs-urban landscape-nycny-the father away I am is pretty awesome.