As Hall & Oates enjoyed their first string of hits, Hall sidestepped and made an art rock record, colored by the woozily beautiful guitars of Robert Fripp. And it's not just a curio -- it's fucking topnotch stuff. The first song and a half lull you into a false sense of accessibility, then, midway through "Something in 4/4 Time", the wall of Fripp guitars hits, and you realize this is not just another pop/rock record. This back-and-forth continues throughout the record. Recorded in 1977 but -- as is tradition for any great experimental record by a mainstream artist -- shelved by those damn money-blinded record company fat-cats.
Track listing:
1. Sacred Songs
2. Something in 4/4 Time
3. Babs and Babs
4. Urban Landscape
5. NYCNY
6. The Farther Away I Am
7. Why Was It So Easy
8. Don't Leave Me Alone with Her
9. Survive
10. Without Tears
They're all sacred songs
They're not easily won
You would probably also enjoy:
 |
| Mick Ronson - Slaughter on 10th Avenue (1974) |
 |
| Dwight Twilley - Twilley (1979) |
I love the black metal, I love the disco, I love the new age, but posts like this really make me appreciate this blog. <3
ReplyDeleteThanks for this. If I remember right, this was part of a loose trilogy with Fripp's album Exposure and something else. Either way, it's a gem of a record
ReplyDeleteDidn’t realize this. Just googled it and the other is the second Peter Gabriel solo album. Noice
DeleteFripp said that Daryl Hall could have been an artist on the level of Bowie, if he wanted, but he chose to play pop songs.
ReplyDeleteI 100% with Mr. Fripps observation Hall is extremely talented but I guess he likes $$ so chose the pop avenue.
DeleteBowie did not make money...
DeleteThis is a great album. "You Burn Me Up, I'm A Cigarette" is a gem I discovered in college.
ReplyDeleteThe album was actually from 1977
ReplyDeleteYes, as I say above, it was recorded in 77 but shelved until its release in 80
DeleteThere's also quite a bit on here that ties back to Hall's interest in Aleister Crowley and Thelema, particularly in "Sacred Songs" and "Without Tears." This is one heck of a record.
ReplyDeletewow, killer! i never would have guessed.
ReplyDeletebless ur dr_spirit
Now now now! see what you've done to us, your faithful followers- we're all here with our replies, amazed at this gem. funny that you posted this, could it be a bit of crowley-inspired chaos magick going on across the universe? who knows! the funny thing's that i've been on a Daryl Hall kick lately, in search of lost time or something, since back in the 80s i only liked 'serious rock', i.e., underground metal, punk, 70s prog and obscure bands, et al.. so now that i'm 46 i KNOW i missed out on a lot of gorgeous stuff. its good because now i can appreciate a bit more how all this stuff was done, and why! i mean, Daryl kills it with Cee Lo on his TV show when they do 'i can't go for that'- but just listening right now to fripp while he belts out some sort of shimmering Japanese garden on 'babs on babs' is total eargasm. and those angular punk/kinks riffs on 'nyny', it's all too bloody much... as usual, great choice, love your blog, except for the black metal, which leaves me...ahem...cold, as i'm sure all those deaf norse kids intend! if you're ever in Mexico City, i'll buy the beers. promise.
ReplyDeleteExcellent story!! greetings from Michoacan!!! An excellent singer!!
DeleteI'm not just buttering you up but thanks for one of the best and most diverse music blogs out there, truly.....
ReplyDelete....and it would be brilliant and super appreciated if you somehow ever manage to find the time to re-up this somewhat unknown work of art.
Much thanks for everything in any event!