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 Sara and everyone else will smile-very good box set but missing a few key tracks from a few key albums Jan 05, 2010
If blue eyed soul has a perfect example, it's Hall & Oates. "Do What YOu Want, Be What You Are" covers Hall & Oates from their earliest groups (Hall-The Temptones although it's missing a key track or two from Hall's band Gulliver/Oates-The Masters) including key singles they cut and then moves forward to cover (with curious exception of "Beauty on a Backstreet", "Livetime", "Marigold Sky" and "Our Kind of Soul" in the case of two of the four albums it may be due to contracting issues but the other two were recorded for RCA) their entire career from Atlantic Records to Arista.
The mastering by Vic Anesini is extremely good for a contemporary remaster. It's not too loud nor does if suffer from the massive amount of compression often seen with new reissues. While one could quibble with the track selection and what's missing (particularly the inclusion of the live version of the title track at the expense of the excellent studio version), this is an exceptionally good box set. You can't please everyone with a box set as there are always going to be fans that want a particular track that's missing the only major flaw revolves around why there are no tracks from the four albums previously mentioned and overlooking "Beauty on a Backstreet" is pretty inexcusable. Aside from that, this is an exceptionally good set for fans and those that want to dig a little deeper into the duo's extensive discography.
We get a good representation of their early material prior to the BIG hits plus five live tracks from their 1975 tour (which have never been released) including the songs "Lady Rain", "Beanie G and the Rose Tattoo", "Better Watch Your Back", "Abandoned Lunchonette" and "When the Morning Comes), a 2009 remix of the track "Gino (The Manager)", "Everytime You Go Away" from a 1996 Tokyo appearence, the 7 inch remix of "I Don't Wanna Lose You", "Don't Go Out", "Storm Warning", "All the Way from Philadelphia", "Dreamer" all previously unreleased studio tracks. Also included with this set are live tracks from their 1995 Tokyo show, Portland Oregon 2006 show, a great cover of "Me and Mrs. Jones" from 2003 (which despite the title and the supposed subject matter of an illicit romance was reportedly written about Billy Paul's heroin addiction)by Huff, Gamble and Gilbert), "I Want Someone" and the title track performed live in 2007. All of these only enrich the set (and hopefully for those who purchased this Sony/Legacy/RCA won't be releasing these tracks on remastered editions of their individual releases making this redundant).
The 60 page book features Hall and Oates commenting on each song and there is an excellent but brief history about how the duo met and their recording career to date. If you couple that with the 74 tracks included on the four CDs here, you've got a exceptionally good representation of Hall & Oates long career.
This DOES NOT have the 8 track live bonus disc that was advertised at QVC--that was exclusive to that website. The live bonus disc featured additional tracks from a 2005 show the duo did.
Recommended.
0 of 3 found the following review helpful:
 gift purchase-easy transaction Nov 30, 2009
I bought this as a Christmas gift for a friend. I'm sure she will love the product. The transaction was great, quick and easy.
0 of 9 found the following review helpful:
 for Die Hards only Nov 20, 2009
too much filler for this set to rate higher than 3 stars. and nothing from "Beauty on a Back Street".
1 of 1 found the following review helpful:
Hall & Oates - classics Nov 16, 2009
I really like the production and the remastering of some of their best music of the past 40 years.
Good song selections. New material very good, especially the live song versions. For those of you that have never seen Hall & Oates live; they are a revelation - fantastic vocals and harmony!
Why I can't give this five stars is that they did not include the song lyrics - a major faux paus.
3 of 3 found the following review helpful:
Most Amazing Box Set Ever! Nov 09, 2009
As a long time H&O fan, I wasn't sure what to expect out of this box set as I have all of their albums and thought I had heard all of their songs. To my surprise, I found this box set to be an extremely well thought out and personal overview of their work.
For the casual fan, this is a great way to expand their knowledge of the duo without having to go out and buy their entire catalog. For the "superfan," it's a great trip down memory lane, with some new gems thrown in.
The liner notes "book" is also extremely well written. I love the fact that we hear Daryl and John's voices regarding the overviews of the songs and finally get to know the history "behind the songs."
I find this box set one of the best ever created--a must have for any music fan!!
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