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From the Vault...
06/21/1998
#582 |
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info
Daryl Hall & John Oates
"Marigold Sky"
© Push/BMG Records
Year of Release: 1997
Rating:
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track listing
Romeo Is Bleeding
Marigold Sky
The Sky Is Falling
Out Of The Blue
Want To
Love Out Loud
Throw The
Roses Away
I Don't Think So
Promise Ain't Enough
Time Won't
Pass Me By
Hold On To Yourself
War Of Words
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Daryl Hall & John Oates
"Marigold Sky"
It had been seven years since Daryl Hall & John Oates
released a new album. In 1990, Change Of Season was
released, and when it was announced in 1997 that H&O
were due with a new album, it was just a matter of waiting
for the new release to hit the stores. Marigold Sky
is that album, and since I am a huge fan of this duo, without
hearing any media reviews concerning the album, it was quite
obvious for me to pick up this new release. (I don't know what
the reviews were; I can say that I was not disappointed with this
album.)
Hall & Oates' music in the past had a 1970s soul feel.
But on Marigold Sky, the first six songs have a standard
pop-rock sound, and some songs (from the first six) meets the
standards of today's rock and alternative. (That's a surprise!)
The remaining six songs are your standard Hall and Oates' soul-inspired
regulars.
The first six songs - An Update: Hall and Oates meet the 1990s...
Romeo Is Bleeding starts out the album, yet it doesn't
have the soul of their past hit, Say It Isn't So, it is
a bouncy pop song. The title track, Marigold Sky's main
verses has a sound similar to John Mellencamp's most recent
material, as in Just Another Day, from his album called
Mr. Happy Go Lucky.
The Sky Is Falling is another pop-rock song, and it
has a gentle feeling to it. Out Of The Blue has a more
grittier rock sound. Likewise, Want To and Love Out Loud
are songs with grit, and both have an alternative/rock style that
could become regular playlist items on any alternative rock station.
(YIKES!! That's different for Hall and Oates, but I'm not complaining...)
The remaining six songs - Back to Basics
These remaining tunes captures the sweet soul sound Hall & Oates
are famous for. Throw The Roses Away, is a ballad. Having a
1990s sound to it, this is a song that Boyz II Men could of easily recorded.
I Don't Think So has a 1970s soul feel to it. The solo-Lionel
Richie sounding tune, Promise Ain't Enough, is another soft
ballad that is enjoyable and has a smooth new-age jazz style.
Time Won't Pass Me By's guitar works is compared to those
heard in Barry White's songs. Hold On To Yourself is a funky
number, mixing both styles of the 1970s and 1990s. War Of Words
closes out the album, and is another soft ballad done well, only Hall
and Oates can do.
Marigold Sky's beginning tracks are different than the common
sound normally heard by Daryl Hall and John Oates. It's pop rock, and
songs with a harder rock edge. This is considered Side One. Side Two
returns the duo back to what they were famous for: Recording tunes with
a sound compared to soul, mixing this style to the 1990s style of today
(in some cases).
For the die-hard H&O fan, Marigold Sky is not a disappointment.
This album returns the duo back to their common ground popularity, meaning
that Hall and Oates can still write and record songs in their usual style,
even if the sound of today's popular music is different to theirs.
Hall and Oates didn't change their style of music completely, they just
took their normal sound and updated it. Hall and Oates are just one of
many few white artists that can truly capture the sound of sweet soul
music, and stamp their names as part of that musical style.
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Review or any portion may not be reproduced
without written permission. Cover art is the
intellectual property of
Push/BMG Records
and is used for reference purposes only.
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