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Hall & Oates: Voices

Hall & Oates: Voices

Mobile Fidelity  UDSACD2114

Stereo Hybrid

Pop/Rock


Daryl Hall, John Oates


Divine Sonics: Spacious, Polished Production Shines on Mobile Fidelity Reissue, Mastered from the Original Master Tapes

Daryl Hall has inferred that if Voices failed to catch fire, it would have likely signaled the end of he andJohn Oates’ recording career together. Suffice it to say that the 1980 effort not only caught on—it established a production and songwriting template that would help largely define the decade. The album also propelled Hall and Oates into the mainstream and turned them into superstars, placing them at the top of the charts for a multi-year run during which the duo proved superior singers, master songwriters, and visionary producers.

Mastered from the original master tapes, Mobile Fidelity’s hybrid SACD reissue at last affords this pop classic an expansive, engaging, dynamic reach absent from all prior editions. Self-produced, the record’s sonics were key to its success. As evidenced by the greater information and finer details found in the pits of this amazing SACD, the polished, sleek, and open sound works hand-in-hand with the arrangements. Hall and Oates’ knack for stylish tones, instrumental placement, and edgy accents has never been clearer—literally or figuratively. This disc is nothing short of a game-changer.

By the dawn of the 1980s, Hall and Oates had already released more than a half-dozen albums and attached themselves to a folk-pop model they gradually took in blue-eyed soul directions. Hints of a pop/new wave/R&B amalgamation initially appear on 1979’s X-Static, but only fully come into play with confidence, conviction, and commercial flair on Voices. Arriving upon a near-flawless fusion of dance grooves, soft rock rhythms, smooth vocals, romantic sentiments, catchy beats, and spotless hooks, the collaborators simultaneously crossed over into multiple markets and eradicated stylistic boundaries.

Rightly recognized for its four hit singles—the irresistible “Kiss on My List,” building “You Make My Dreams,” cover of the Righteous Brothers’ “You’ve Lost That Lovin’ Feeling,” and original rendition of the poignant “Every Time You Go Away,” which Paul Young took to the top of the charts years later—Voices towers as both an 80s masterpiece and all-time pop classic.

Independent of the ubiquitous fare, the record holds up courtesy of the deep-album cuts. There isn’t a weak note or false move to be found. Hall and Oates paint “United State” with uptempo assertiveness; “Big Kids” passes as first-rate new-wave rock; “Diddy Doo Wop (I Hear the Voices)” pays loving tribute to the duo’s doo-wop influences; “Gotta Lotta Nerve (Perfect Perfect)” oozes emotional rawness.

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Tracks
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1. How Does It Feel to Be Back
2. Big Kids
3. United State
4. Hard to Be In Love With You
5. Kiss on My List
6. Gotta Lotta Nerve (Perfect Perfect)
7. You've Lost That Lovin' Feelin'
8. You Make My Dreams
9. Everytime You Go Away
10. Africa
11. Diddy Doo Wop (I Hear Voices)
Reviews (1)
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Review by Rick Kosmick - October 21, 2015

Daryl Hall and John Oates are the most commercially successful recording duo in rock history and "Voices" released in 1980 is the starting point on their road to becoming superstars. Already successful as early as 1976 with the major hit singles “Sara Smile” and “She’s Gone”, Hall & Oates took control of the recording process and self-produced "Voices" with spectacular results. They meshed their Philly soul with a spirited pop style based on the virtuosic vocals of Daryl Hall to come up with an album full of strong material and several hit songs to literally hit the bullseye.

There was more to "Voices" than control over production. Hall & Oates employed top musicians, including ace guitarist G.E. Smith, in their touring band and these players formed the very tight session unit for the studio recordings. Well known Neil Kernon was hired as recording engineer and his mix forms an essential part of the high production values. Mobile Fidelity Sound Lab (MFSL) utilized the original master tapes from the state of the art production to come up with the top-notch audio quality for this SACD release.

From the opening track “How Does It Feel To Be Back” (and Top 30 hit), you are swept up by the brilliant and warm sound. The fidelity is superlative. This is a clean production with transparent sound qualities. Daryl Hall’s lead vocals are crisp with strong backing vocals and harmonies with John Oates that are superbly placed forward in the mix (as they seem to jump out at you). The placement of instruments is well arranged and always in support of vocals; these instruments sound concise such as the drums that are punchy but just enough to hold their supporting role ..... nothing is either flashy or overdone. The result is a dynamic sound that is astonishing as your hear the mid to upper range literally bloom with splendid detail in the vocals and melodies. Further, as a recommendation, please consider turning up the volume to hear the best audio from this SACD with it's great spatial characteristics.

Hall & Oates approach to production values consistently seeks to inject each song with the best performance. On the infectious #1 hit song “Kiss On My List”, they bring in an additional session man such as Jeff Southworth to specifically play this excellent lead guitar part mid-song. Daryl Hall’s keyboard work has a bouncy tonal quality that is integral to not only this song but the pop style created on this album. On the beautiful song “Every Time You Go Away” (itself a #1 hit for Paul Young a few years later in 1985), they again employ another session player, Ralph Schott, to play organ that gives the melody this swirling sound as an underlying special feature.

For Hall & Oates, "Voices" was the first step on the road to mega stardom. It is part of a superlative trio of albums that include Hall & Oates: Private Eyes (1981) and Hall & Oates: H2O (1982). All are SACD releases from MFSL. All have one common aspect: each album is full of quality song writing and high charting singles; each is self produced by Hall and Oates; and each has Neil Kernon as engineer/producer for top quality production. MFSL adds to the quality with excellent work from Rob LoVerde as mastering engineer on all three releases.

"Voices" represents Hall & Oates in their prime. This album could have been released yesterday with it’s modern day character. High standards for production do make a difference. It is all evident in the exceptional audio quality produced by MFSL based on their impeccable reputation for releasing SACD from the ‘Original Master Recording‘.

Copyright © 2015 Rick Kosmick and HRAudio.net

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Comment by Ralph A Mazzeo Jr - October 22, 2015 (1 of 1)

As always, Rick Kosick has done justice to one of the greatest rock duos of all time. Hopefully, Hall and Oates much lauded Atlantic recording "Abandoned Luncheonette" will eventually be released on SACD.