Daryl Hall & John Oates 'Our Kind of Soul' album

Our Kind of Soul is the purest expression yet of the shared love for the music that first brought together Daryl Hall and John Oates -- the most successful duo of the rock era -- at a soul revue show in Philadelphia’s Adelphia Ballroom more than three decades ago. A collection of nine familiar soul classics that Daryl and John have now made their own -- as well as three brand new soulful originals -- Our Kind of Soul is in many ways the album of a lifetime by Hall and Oates.

“This is an album that reflects our past, but it’s very much about the present,” says Daryl Hall. “This isn’t about nostalgia – we’re singing these songs here and now, and doing them our way.”

In intriguing and often revealing ways, Our Kind of Soul manages looks back to the future, boldly bringing some of the duo’s favorite songs into the 21st Century. "This music is like an old friend, one for whom you will always feel a kinship and closeness,” explains John Oates. “When people hear this recording, they will understand more clearly the roots of our original songs and perhaps have a bit more insight into where they really came from.”

Throughout Our Kind of Soul, Daryl Hall and John Oates’s roots are clearly showing. By exploring the music that first inspired them, Daryl and John have made another great addition to what is a truly remarkable musical legacy.

“She’s Gone.” “Sara Smile.” “Rich Girl.” “Kiss On My List.” “Private Eyes.” “I Can’t Go For That (No Can Do).” “One On One.” “Maneater,” “Out of Touch.” “Do It For Love.”

The list of hits -- pop hits, rock hits, R&B hits, dance hits, crossover hits -- goes on forever. Yet mere commercial success isn’t enough for these two. An inspired and heartfelt declaration of an enduring musical passion, Our Kind of Soul -- like their 2002 album Do It For Love -- comes from a group of musicians who seem reinvirgorated and rededicated to doing what they do best. As one uptempo song on the Do It For Love album suggested, Daryl Hall and John Oates are men on a mission. Their sense of musical purpose has been very much on display during the duo’s recent 2004 tour headlining a remarkable “Rock & Soul road trip that also featuring Michael McDonald and special guest, the Average White Band.

“Truthfully, I feel like we have really captured the essence of what we do in these past few years,” explains Daryl Hall. “We took enough time apart to realize exactly what it is that we do best together. And that’s what we plan on doing for here on.”

“I think we've clarified a sound that best represents what Daryl and I do together,” adds John Oates.
Now with the altogether stunning Our Kind of Soul -- produced by Hall, longtime collaborator T Bone Wolk and Greg Bieck -- Daryl Hall and John Oates have done much more than just gracefully salute some past classics. Our Kind of Soul is intimate, revelatory music that’s been lovingly made in the present tense. Thirty years after “Sara Smile” first hit the airwaves, the duo are no longer just willing and able students of this remarkable music. They have become authoritative and inventive teachers. And on Our Kind of Soul, rather than just faithfully and professionally covering some of the greatest soul songs ever, the pair have made them their own -- bringing some of the most soulful songs of the Twentieth Century alive and still very much kicking into the Twenty-First Century.

“The concept was to treat these songs as if they were written today,” John Oates explains. “When you strip away the original production, which inevitably represents the musical style and attitudes of the era when these songs were first popular, you appreciate the material purely on the basis of the songwriting itself.”

The process of making Our Kind of Soul was wonderfully spontaneous. “Truthfully, I can barely describe the joy of making this music,” says Daryl Hall. “We basically did the whole thing in three weeks on a very small island in the Bahamas where I live. We came there to do some drum programming, and it all just flowed. The local people would come by and check out what we did each day. There was lots of community support -- the local church even lent us a bass. And in between takes, we’d just open my front door and look out at the ocean. This was a joyful experience and I believe that comes across in the music.”

In addition to vital covers of "Standing In The Shadows of Love" (The Four Tops), "I'll Be Around" (The Spinners), "Neither One of Us (Wants To Be The First To Say Goodbye)" (Gladys Knight and The Pips), "Use Ta Be My Girl" (The O'Jays), "After The Dance" (Marvin Gaye) and "Rock Steady" (Aretha Franklin), Our Kind of Soul also features three exceptional new Hall & Oates gems that fit right into the musical mix: "Let Love Take Control," "Soul Violins" and "Don't Turn Your Back On Me." Taken as a whole, this is an album that, like all great music, really connects with the listener. As John Oates puts it, "When you speak your mind and heart -- or when the song does it for you -- you touch the soul and in doing so you touch the people who hear it."

Fittingly, Our Kind of Soul concludes with the duo's moving cover of "O-o-h Child," a song first made famous by the Five Stairsteps, a group that features prominently in the history of Daryl Hall and John Oates. "John and I first met at the Adelphi Ballroom in Philadelphia," Hall recalls. "It was this big soul revue record hop that quickly turned into a riot. And the group that was on right before that famous fight broke out that night was The Five Stairsteps. We were both on the bill with different groups that evening, so I guess you could say that John and I really met at a Five Stairsteps show. This was the last track we cut for the album, and I'll confess it was very emotional. That's why we put the song last on the album. I mean, talk about really going full circle."

Our Kind of Soul -- going full circle has never sounded so good.

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Daryl Hall & John Oates - Our Kind of Soul