No one goes to see Hall & Oates to hear deep cuts and rarities. Hell, no one wants to hear anything the Philly duo has recorded post-1985. Youâre there for the hits, the classics, the canonical pop standards that make you strain for falsetto notes you canât reach and dance like youâre in a Wellbutrin commercial. But if I, a noted scholar of the H&O Extended Universe, were to put together the set list for their current tour, it would be much different than what youâll hear on Saturday at KeyArena. How different? Iâm glad you asked.
âUnited StateââH&Oâs 1980 album Voices reckoned with the rise of new wave, including this scorcher that stretches a patriotic metaphor to its absolute limits.
âBebop/DropââLetâs get a little weird with this herky-jerky proto-glam metal jam that Oates concocted for 1979âs X-Static.
âGuessing GamesââCo-written by the late Janna Allen for 1982âs H2O, this gem about the trials of loving a mercurial lady is set to a sweet midtempo synth shuffle.
âPossession ObsessionââThe forgotten fourth single from 1984âs Big Bam Boom finds the pair adapting to the slinky sound of gated snare synth-pop.
âCrazy EyesââA sweet lead vocal turn by Oates caps off this funk-soul dandy from the duoâs 1976 release Bigger Than Both of Us.
âStarting All Over AgainââThe â90s were not kind to H&O, but they greeted the decade with a fine LP (Change of Season) and this cover of a â70s soul classic.
âWaterwheelââImagine a spotlight shining on a grand piano and Daryl Hall reducing everyone to tears with a rendition of this nostalgic heartbreaker from the duoâs 1972 debut Whole Oats.
âAbandoned LuncheonetteââLetâs get even weirder with the title track from H&Oâs 1973 album that shifts from swing to piano soul to stringy funk like an ersatz prog epic.
âDo It for LoveââTheir last album of originals was not their finest creative hour, but the sweet-natured title track from 2003 is a great showcase for their honeyed vocals and ability to meld in with a sick groove.