AllMusic

 

Daryl Hall & John Oates

Private Eyes

 

AllMusic Rating ****1/2

 

Review by Stephen Thomas Erlewine

 

Hall & Oates were in the middle of recording Private Eyes when Voices suddenly, unexpectedly broke big, with "Kiss on My List" reaching number one not just on the Billboard charts, but in Cashbox and Record World. As the album's producer, Neil Kernon, admits in Ken Sharp's liner notes to the 2004 reissue of the album, everybody knew that the new record would have to do better than Voices, but even if Hall & Oates were under a lot of pressure, they were in the fortunate position of not just having reintroduced their modernized, new wave-influenced blue-eyed soul on their previous record, but they already had much of the material nailed down. In other words, the sound and songs on Private Eyes were essentially conceived when the group was confident of the artistic breakthrough of Voices but not swaggering with the overconfidence of being the biggest pop act in America, and the result is one of their best albums and one of the great mainstream pop albums of the early '80s. Hall & Oates don't repeat the formula of Voices; they expand it, staying grounded in pop-soul but opening up the stylized production, so it sounds both cinematic and sharp. Lots of subtle effects are layered on the voices, guitars, and pianos as they mingle with synthesized instruments, from the keyboard loops that give "Head Above Water" a restless momentum to the drum machine that lends "I Can't Go for That (No Can Do)" a sexy, seductive groove.

Though the production is state of the art for 1981, what keeps Private Eyes from sounding robotic is that it never gets in the way of the kinetic energy of Hall & Oates' touring band, who give the music muscle; they are what keeps the album sounding vibrant 20-plus years after its release, since while elements of the production have dated, it still captures a real band working at a peak. These are the elements that make Private Eyes a sterling example of the sound of mainstream pop circa 1981, but the record was a hit, and has aged well, because both Hall & Oates, along with regular songwriting collaborators Sara and Janna Allen, were at a peak as writers. Yes, Oates' "Mano a Mano" is dorky (arguably in an appealing way), but apart from that there are no duds on the record. "Private Eyes," with its sleek surfaces, widescreen hooks, and unforgettable, handclap-propelled chorus, and "I Can't Go for That (No Can Do)" were the number one hits and the best-known songs here, but the insistent smaller hit "Did It in a Minute" deserved to reach the Top Ten too, as did the album tracks "Head Above Water" and "Looking for a Good Sign," a tribute to the Temptations that is the great forgotten Hall & Oates song. But it isn't just the hits and should-have-been singles; the rest of Private Eyes is filled with strong tunes, such as the reggae-tinged "Tell Me What You Want" and the paranoid vibe of "Some Men," making this a record that improves on Voices in every way, from its sound to its songs. Though they continued their streak of excellent hit singles, Private Eyes was the culmination of the sound they'd been developing since Along the Red Ledge, and it stands as the pinnacle of their time as the biggest pop act in the U.S.A.

 

 

 

 

 

music direct

 

1981 Album Established Parameters for Decade's Celebrated Pop Sounds

Includes "Private Eyes," "I Can't Go For That (No Can Do)," "Did It in a Minute"

Meticulous Merger of Pop, Soul, Rock, and R&B Crossed Over Into all Fields

Stylish, Sophisticated Production Comes to Fore on Mobile Fidelity Reissue, Mastered from the Original Master Tapes

 

Hall and Oates could’ve easily followed the protocol established on their breakthrough Voices, done nothing else, and watched 1981’s follow-up Private Eyes scale the charts. Yet the duo continues to press forward, further refining the era-defining stylistic mélange that propelled them to mass stardom a year prior. The creative and artistic peak of the all-time best-selling male duo’s output, Private Eyes delivers relentless pop bliss and functions as an instruction manual that, as Rolling Stone opined, still teaches “the way to make rock girls, disco girls, and new-wave girls scream together.”

Mastered from the original master tapes and pressed on 180g LP at RTI, Mobile Fidelity’s reissue presents the Top 5 album’s sharp, widescreen production values with awe-inspiring detail and palpable realism. For the first time, listeners can get inside the songs’ internal mechanisms by experiencing first-hand the vast surfeit understated sonic effects. Well-appointed tones now grace the array of guitars, pianos, basses, and voices placed against synthesized backdrops. Each member’s singing also claims enhanced intimacy and balance. Offering tremendous insight, Mobile Fidelity’s LP doubles as a lesson in the construction and sustain of big, bold grooves.

Advancing their rhythmic support and melodic symmetry, Hall and Oates give extra space to their still-underrated backing band, affording the material a muscular punch and organic warmth crucial to their success and ability to transcend the largely artificial era. While the tandem’s peers often relied on robotic mechanisms and now-dated keyboard noises, Hall and Oates wisely merge the period’s savvy sounds with tried-and-true soulful instrumentation.

Reflecting the album’s infallible level of quality control, no song disappoints. The three Top 40 singles—the title track, “I Can’t Go For That (No Can Do),” and “Your Imagination”—feature clever elements such as hand-clapped choruses and staccato piano lines. The distinctive traits complement the duo’s hallmark harmony vocals and add R&B flavors to already-scintillating pop concoctions. Yet Private Eyes’ pleasures advance well beyond the radio singles.

Whether witnessed via the taut tension of “Some Men,” reggae-splashed “Tell Me What You Want,” or Motown homage “Looking for a Good Sign,” the group’s blend of dance vibes, electrifying hooks, keyboard loops, and sleek beats epitomizes seduction, style, and swagger. Private Eyes is an 80s juggernaut that hasn’t lost a step. Utterly classic.

 

 

 

 

treblezine.com

 

Private Eyes
(1981; RCA)

 

Their self-determinism validated, Hall & Oates made their most confident work in short order. Almost every song on Private Eyes is shaped and formed with the lurking possibility that it could be a radio hit. But the two riskiest songs were released as singles, one of them becoming one of the most instantly recognizable No. 1 hits of the ‘80s.

Hall & Oates paired their melodic conventions with a wallop. The title song is “Kiss On My List” in a minor key (and another Hall metaphor) anchored by Mickey Curry’s thick snare drum, the signature sound of Private Eyes. It’s all over the album’s most forceful songs. The beats punch up Oates’ somewhat directionless “Mano A Mano” and his gorgeously descending “Friday Let Me Down.” They fasten up Hall’s overly busy “Head Above Water” and his curt social commentary “Some Men.” But they never overwhelm the harmonious charms; they provide a brashness that pushes the songs over. That’s good with “Did It In A Minute,” which rebounds off the title’s overly precious internal rhyme into a something more insistent. Dismounting from the oil-drum snare, “Looking For a Good Sign” repays an acknowledged debt to their old friends the Temptations.

“Your Imagination” is so arch it’s buried near the close of the album, yet was chosen as its final single. It’s a big gem Hall & Oates hid in plain sight. A heavy guitar thud plays off an eerie instrumental hook whose particular instrument I can’t make out. It’s either organ or heavily treated guitar. Curry’s drumming is insistent clockwork, and all Hall has to do is ride the groove out and fill in spaces. It’s a vitalizing, great track.

“I Can’t Go For That (No Can Do)” launched a thousand schoolyard parodies. Bouncing off a steady, gentle 808 beat, “I Can’t Go For That” layers on feather beds full of synth and Oates’ understated single-note funk guitar line, while Hall waxes a lyric about emotional proprietorship. (Supposedly the lyric’s actually about their pre-Voices label affairs.) It might take years for “I Can’t Go For That” to fully work; it’s at once obvious and clever. But it sounds like nothing before or since, and like the rest of Private Eyes it’s so sure of itself you can’t help but float along with it.

 

Rating: 7.5 out of 10