Last Albums: Daryl Hall And John Oates - Home For Christmas (2006)
I've always liked Daryl Hall and John Oates from afar but in the 21st Century I've come to appreciate them a lot more than I have in the past. Home For Christmas was their third really strong CD in a row following 2003's Do It For Love and 2004's Our Kind Of Soul. All three CDs rival their best albums from the 70s and 80s suggesting that the 21st century edition of H & O is arguably just as good as their earlier incarnations. Even considering that hot streak I still wasn't expecting anything as stunningly and consistently great as Home For Christmas, one of my all-time favorite holiday albums.While Home For Christmas never loses sight of what Hall & Oates do best - making blue-eyed soul colored with lots of mainstream pop-rock - their choice of material for this album indicates the duo has far more eclectic tastes than they ever showed us during their glory years of the early 80s.
Recording carols and religious songs for pop Christmas albums are considered brave moves during these overly politically correct times but apparently Hall and Oates are unafraid of any negativity. "The First Noel" and "O Holy Night" both sound fine in the Hall and Oates production style. "It Came Upon a Midnight Clear" should remind listeners of the acoustic soul from their adventurous early 70s records, and that is always a very good thing.
There are two original songs. Oates' "No Child Should Ever Cry On Christmas" proves he should sing lead far more often. Hall's title track is excellent too but where this album really shines is on the well chosen and obscure cover material. Stax-Volt's William Bell and Booker T. Jones wrote "Everyday Feels Like A Holiday" and it's rendered superbly here. It wasn't originally written as a Christmas song but Hall made some alterations to the lyrics to turn it into full blown holiday tune. You can see a live version below taken from Live From Daryl's House. Robbie Robertson's sacred "Christmas Must Be Tonight" from The Band's last LP is another excellent choice.
Two traditional gospel songs are the biggest surprises. A fine arrangement of "Mary Had A Baby" is preceded by a real treat: an exciting, uptempo version of "Children Go Where I Send Thee" in which the whole band raves it up in full gospel mode.
The only excursion into the land of overused and abused Christmas songs are "The Christmas Song" and a new version of their only previous holiday release, "Jingle Bell Rock." Charlie DeChant's sax and Oates's lead vocal on the former are nice touches, and Hall's take on the latter does not disappoint.
The very eclectic Home For Christmas will have you wondering if Hall and Oates have been holding back on us for decades.
There are two original songs. Oates' "No Child Should Ever Cry On Christmas" proves he should sing lead far more often. Hall's title track is excellent too but where this album really shines is on the well chosen and obscure cover material. Stax-Volt's William Bell and Booker T. Jones wrote "Everyday Feels Like A Holiday" and it's rendered superbly here. It wasn't originally written as a Christmas song but Hall made some alterations to the lyrics to turn it into full blown holiday tune. You can see a live version below taken from Live From Daryl's House. Robbie Robertson's sacred "Christmas Must Be Tonight" from The Band's last LP is another excellent choice.
Two traditional gospel songs are the biggest surprises. A fine arrangement of "Mary Had A Baby" is preceded by a real treat: an exciting, uptempo version of "Children Go Where I Send Thee" in which the whole band raves it up in full gospel mode.
The only excursion into the land of overused and abused Christmas songs are "The Christmas Song" and a new version of their only previous holiday release, "Jingle Bell Rock." Charlie DeChant's sax and Oates's lead vocal on the former are nice touches, and Hall's take on the latter does not disappoint.
The very eclectic Home For Christmas will have you wondering if Hall and Oates have been holding back on us for decades.
While the duo technically have never broken up this is the last record they worked on together. It's also one of their best.
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Last Albums discusses music that was recorded as new material and intended to be released to the public as a complete album but not necessarily the last one. Live albums, greatest hits or "best of" collections and compilations do not count, nor do posthumous releases of leftover tracks cobbled together to make a final album.
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